Re: OT: AARP

That must surely be a typo, Phyllis. Did you actually say "No one needs a
$100,000 home..."? Do you actually have any concept of what $100,000 buys
in areas OTHER than yours? My house appraises for well over that, and I
live in a place where housing is relatively modest. Trust me, mine is not
even a nice house. $100K doesn't buy much hardly anywhere, and where it
does, there's no work to pay for it.

Strike that. $100K doesn't even buy much in my hometown, where there is no
work.

And before you say, then don't buy a house because you can't afford it, the
rentals - modest rentals, little 2-bedroom apartments - are comparable in
monthly cost. I honestly believe that you are just speaking from personal
experience, which bears no resemblance to the current state of the economy
most places today.

Sandi

"Phyllis Nilsson" <phyllisnilsson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:t6ydnfsKwugYzmreRVn-vw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I read the real estate transfers in my newspaper every week. There are
houses that are priced from half a million down to $25,000. I have a very
good grasp of what is available and how much it costs. It isn't a matter
of nothing else being available, it is just a matter of the scale of living
a person wants, and that is what he or she buys.

I don't think all of this "I want it and I want it now" syndrome is
strictly with young people, although most of them certainly want the same
life-style their parents have worked 30 years to attain. I believe there
are plenty of older people who don't understand the workings of money in
versus money out as well.

I don't blame anyone for wanting something better. And I know that some
areas of the country have a higher cost of living than others, which means
there are cities and states with lower costs of living as well.

There are some people who confuse "want" with "need". No one "needs" a
$100,000 home if they can't afford it. In fact, I'd be hard pressed to
find any differences in the "needs" of most of us, but a great deal of
difference in the "wants" we each have, some just because they are a
convenience (and we ALL love convenience).

I understand the reasoning behind buying a house versus renting, but if
one cannot afford to buy, one rents until the money is saved up for a
sizeable down payment so the mortgage and interest don't keep them from
doing the truly important things in life.

It isn't because there is nothing else available, it is because there is
nothing cheaper that they "want" to live in. Shelter is certain a need;
the degree is a want.

LizzieB. wrote:

Marsha wrote:

I think Phyllis is saying that a lot of young people don't want to start
out at the bottom anymore. I'm not talking about people who can't even
afford the basics. I'm talking about young people who want to start out
big, with as much mortgage as they can possibly get. I believe this
comes from a sense of entitlement that they get from their parents
giving them everything when they were growing up. I know several people
who make sure that their children have *more things than they did*,
without making them earn it. That's sad, IMO.



While I agree that this happens way too much, I don't believe Phyllis is
talking about JUST this. The tone of her posts suggests that anything
she feels is unnecessary spending IS unnecessary spending, and I think
that (as usual) is where hackles are getting raised.

I actually do agree with Phyllis on a lot of things on this spending
topic, but she does not seem to think that what is objective to her is
subjective to others.

She also does not seem to acknowledge the notion that a good portion of
the out-of-this-world mortgaging MAY NOT BE a result of young,
unestablished persons trying to keep up with the Joneses, but may be all
that's available, and rents are competitive with mortgage payments (for
less square footage) so why rent?

I don't think anyone here disagrees with her notion that a lot of people
my generation and younger are spoilt brats and want it all right now. But
I also don't think that she is seeing the true price levels in today's
markets--and that makes some of her arguments totally invalid just on
arithmetic.


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: OT: AARP
    ... My house appraises for well over that, and I live in a place where housing is relatively modest. ... And before you say, then don't buy a house because you can't afford it, the rentals - modest rentals, little 2-bedroom apartments - are comparable in monthly cost. ... I understand the reasoning behind buying a house versus renting, but if one cannot afford to buy, one rents until the money is saved up for a sizeable down payment so the mortgage and interest don't keep them from doing the truly important things in life. ...
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  • Re: OT: AARP
    ... Well, then, Phyllis, you have more house in better condition than I have. ... So I repeat my point that you don't understand what the market is like TODAY. ... While it would be more difficult now to buy a house in a large popular city, I think Phyllis is saying that a lot of young people don't want to start out at the bottom anymore. ... I'm talking about young people who want to start out big, with as much mortgage as they can possibly get. ...
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    ... Suppose you have a house that would ... cost $500K to rebuild and you have a $200K mortgage remaining. ...
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  • Re: OT: AARP
    ... But Phyllis, did you note that by trying to stay under or near $100,000 it actually COST me $90,000? ... Now that same house in the better neighborhood with more room would cost me $500.00 a month more than I am paying now. ... We could live in a 2 bedroom apartment, sharing the space with our daughter, her 5 cats and our 4 cats, but for some strange reason we did not "want" to live that way for the rest of our lives. ...
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