you used to be able to afford a house on a single minimum wage job
I think this post should be home that you own. I’m going to say something controversial in that, in the US, I actually think houses should be expensive. I think a single family dwelling >1500sqft on a half acre or more of land is a luxury, and most people don’t need to have that much land and space all to themselves. The problem is that that’s ALL that’s available for most regions in the US. The US is suffering from foolish post-war suburban centric zoning codes that prohibit building medium density housing (“the missing middle”). We need to change zoning codes across the country to encourage building up “gentle density” and mixed use areas, even in rural regions, because they use land and infrastructure much more effectively and efficiently. They raise more revenue for towns while bringing down home prices. If everyone had the option to buy a place of their own <1000sqft with a small land footprint, I don’t think there would be as much dissatisfaction with not being able to afford a “house”.
Op thinks we can afford a house by 30 if we go to college.
36 and counting…
People have gone to college and still can’t even afford a single home, much less, a suitable apartment spot.
It took an MS for me, a BS for my partner, choosing to not adopt children, five years of saving, a minor inheritance from an unexpected death, and the housing market cratering due to the pandemic for us to be able to afford a house that we absolutely could not afford now without making 150% of our current income.
All it took was accruing nearly $100k in combined school loan debt, plus over three times that much in mortgage debt. That’s freedom debt! Murica!
You shouldn’t have to work to be able to live, period.
I mean, someone has to work. How do you choose who the unlucky bastards are that get sent to the field to grow food for the people who don’t have to work?
The right to live with dignity should not be dependent on productivity.
Anyone working full time should always be able to easily provide for themselves and a “reasonable size” family.
Im glad i bought my home 20 years ago… no way i could afford a 3-2 at todays going rate.
I blame all the house flipping shows. Made everyone think they could buy a house, paint it, then resell for 100k more.
Shit, I’d agree if companies like Blackrock didn’t exist.
if you go to college you can’t even afford to pay for it by 30.
Going to college doesnt allow you to buy a house at 30 either lol
It did the opposite for me!
NOT IF YOU DRINK THE STARBUCKS EVERY DAY.
I found a blurb that Americans spend an average of $22/week at coffee shops. That’s nearly $1200 per year!
With a median US home price of $410,000 and a minimum FHA loan down payment of 3.5%, all you need to do it save that for twelve years and never have anything go seriously wrong in the meantime. Then you too can pay about $3300 per month for 30 years, ultimately spending nearly $900,000 for your $410,000 loan.
💲 Fine auntses 💲
I CAN LIVE WITH THAT AS LONG AS YOU I CAN STILL HAVE MY AVOCADO TOAST.
I majored in buying houses
Rather, it puts you in debt. And now you have even less power. We should normalize everyone being able to live and not force college on everyone. But also make it free/super cheap so people can attend if they want without having to suffer financially
I went to college, I’m way over 30. Buying a house is a vague dream.
I got lucky and bought a house in 2015 at 28, I barely pulled it off with roommates, barely pulling it off now with a fiancé. There’s no way I could buy a house now. I’m not even sure we could upgrade if we needed to.
You don’t need to. All you really need is to go for a walk in your desired neighbourhood, find a house you love, knock on the door and introduce yourself. Ask any questions you have about the property, then kill the occupants, flay them and wear their skin as your own as you lead your new charmed life, for as long as you can.
Since you said “house” I’m going to push back a little bit. Housing is unaffordable and we should address it but single-family homes are not a feasible solution for a lot of places and situations.
I didn’t go to college and I bought a house at 30
Where they give you houses for going to college? Did I missed a promotion?
we shouldnt have to afford a house
Exactly! Learn a good profession like electrician, woodworker, furniture making… any kind of profession where you can create beautiful products and services customers love.
When we’re at school the teachers never actually take the time to talk about:
- what non-university educated careers
- what they involve
- how to pursue trades based jobs
And it’s weird, because I’m sure everyone would love to at least dabble in woodworking or some other form of craftsmanship. But they don’t get the chance to.
The school-university pipeline works for a lot of people, but I don’t think uni straight after school is the ideal situation for most people. It means we lose sight of what education is actually for, outside of progression to further qualifications
Home economics and shop class used to be pretty common, but most folks don’t take them anymore either because they aren’t offered or students aren’t aware they exist.
The trade-off is that finding a job that doesn’t require the large debt that comes with college means the job might not pay enough for a house, or if it does, its the kind of job where you don’t get much time to actually spend at said house.
They didn’t say “find a job”, they said “learn a profession” it’s a different thing. It’s learning a skilled trade. You have to learn a trade first, then you can find the high paying job. Your early 20s will be relatively low paying, but by the time you are 30, you should have multiple years of being a journeyman under your belt and should be making good money.
I understand. Skilled trade is still a job that one needs to find in order to get paid. You either need to go to trade school then find a job or find someone to take on an apprentice and learn on the job.
Those jobs might pay well after a while, but what I wouldn’t like is the reason those jobs pay well is usually because they require a lot of overtime. So yes you might be able to buy a house, but you won’t get to spend as much time actually living in it.
A good tradesman can make a very good living. I know a builder who paid his mortgage off in his early 30’s.
It’s also one of the last bastions of hard work paying off.
Except private equity is increasingly getting involved.
