Generation Y and Real Estate requirements

[Anonymous]

We only know 2 Gen Yers who did this, so I am wondering if it's a Gen Y thing or not. In both cases, they bought houses in decent shape and they re-modeled like crazy before moving in. Both couples are still playing off student debt and they joke about how they really can't afford this. In both cases there was not a dire need to remodel. They remodeled bathrooms that looked "too outdated." They remodeled functional kitchens to get the granite and other trendy stuff. They got rid of laminate flooring to have wood floors. All this was done BEFORE moving.

I understand there are wealthy people who can do this stuff with ease, but I just can't relate to spending so much money you don't have to get everything looking just right. I live in a home with a lot of stuff that was built in the 80s and if it still functions I don't mess with it. We have had to make changes as things break down or leak or what have you so gradually we are remodeling, but this will be over many many years. We didn't know one of our kids would end up in the NICU and then have SN when we moved in and we didn't know the roof would need replacing so soon and our basement would flood, but we assumed there would be big unexpected expenses so we kept a good savings just in case.

What happens when hard times hit and all your money went into keeping up with the Jones'?

[Anonymous]

I'm Gen Y and we're not buying at all. Any home that we could afford would need major work that we wouldn't have cash for after putting down 20%. If we were to remodel it would be before moving in. Living through a remodel is the worst thing. Bottom line for us is that this area is far too expensive for what you get. We're making cash while we're here, socking it away and plan to relocate somewhere else and buy a home for cash. DC is just not a place for young couples with kids who want to buy a home.

[Anonymous]

The Gen X was the Sesame Street Generation, I think Gen Y is the HGTV generation....

[Anonymous]

This is not a gen Y thing. Plenty of people in your generation and every other generation do the same thing. Do you think gen Yers are the first people to ever "keep up with the joneses". The term was coined a very long time ago.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, I totally think this is an HGTV thing. Every episode of House Hunters has people whining about how a perfectly adequate kitchen needs to be "gutted" because it doesn't have granite and stainless steel.

[Anonymous]

MYOB

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, I totally think this is an HGTV thing. Every episode of House Hunters has people whining about how a perfectly adequate kitchen needs to be "gutted" because it doesn't have granite and stainless steel.

Yes, and many of the people buying these houses are not just gen Y. Plenty of gen Xers and baby boomers with these same demands. It has become an American thing, not a generational thing.

[Anonymous]

We have done it both ways and it is definitely less expensive over all to do renovations at once time before moving in. It might seem counterintuitive, but there are significant cost advantages if you have the cash or a low interest line of credit to hiring one contractor, getting his or her full attention, looking inside of walls and seeing what the real state of the house is so that you can fix minor problems before they become major problems. Plus, it is significantly less disruptive to get major areas done when not living in a house.

BTW, I am a Gen X'er. I don't think it is a generational thing. If these people have friends or family who have renovated houses, they may be getting good advice about how to maximize a renovation budget.

[Anonymous]

ITA that it's the influence of HGTV and media in general that makes some many of us want the "perfect" home right off the bat. When DH and I bought our first house we muddled through many years of gradual renovations to get a "nice" home. This was pre House Hunters and the like. Expectations have been raised in this area as they have with respect to how we should dress and what type of activities our kids should participate in.

It's a "rat race" out there if you buy into this stuff.

[Anonymous]

There's a lot of this type of thing on HGTV's House Hunters. Young couples look at houses and turn their noses up at kitchens and baths that are not brand-new and high-style (and even ones that are brand-new, but not high-style) and comment that they "can't live" with these (perfectly functional) rooms.

No wonder so many people are in foreclosure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have done it both ways and it is definitely less expensive over all to do renovations at once time before moving in. It might seem counterintuitive, but there are significant cost advantages if you have the cash or a low interest line of credit to hiring one contractor, getting his or her full attention, looking inside of walls and seeing what the real state of the house is so that you can fix minor problems before they become major problems. Plus, it is significantly less disruptive to get major areas done when not living in a house.

BTW, I am a Gen X'er. I don't think it is a generational thing. If these people have friends or family who have renovated houses, they may be getting good advice about how to maximize a renovation budget.

I do. I'm a Baby Boomer and DH and I are still living with our run-down, pink-tiled original 1952 master bath, 12 years after buying. Our HHI is close to $200K but we are saving aggressively for retirement and college. As long as the bathroom is functional, we're not remodeling.

We re-did our kitchen 10 years ago, but kept most of the cabinets and chose very modest materials for everything else.

Generational for sure IMO.

[Anonymous]

OP..This makes sense. We gave up cable a long time ago, I do remember HGTV. I can see how people of any generation change their expectations when they see this stuff on TV.

Re:MYOB. I care because if they can't afford it and if they ever need government assistance because hard times hit. I'd prefer the money go to people who saved, but faced hard times or people who didn't have nearly the same advantages as these young people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have done it both ways and it is definitely less expensive over all to do renovations at once time before moving in. It might seem counterintuitive, but there are significant cost advantages if you have the cash or a low interest line of credit to hiring one contractor, getting his or her full attention, looking inside of walls and seeing what the real state of the house is so that you can fix minor problems before they become major problems. Plus, it is significantly less disruptive to get major areas done when not living in a house.

BTW, I am a Gen X'er. I don't think it is a generational thing. If these people have friends or family who have renovated houses, they may be getting good advice about how to maximize a renovation budget.

I do. I'm a Baby Boomer and DH and I are still living with our run-down, pink-tiled original 1952 master bath, 12 years after buying. Our HHI is close to $200K but we are saving aggressively for retirement and college. As long as the bathroom is functional, we're not remodeling.

We re-did our kitchen 10 years ago, but kept most of the cabinets and chose very modest materials for everything else.

Generational for sure IMO.

Being a cheapskate is also not a generational thing. You could renovate your house if you wanted to and you are choosing not to. That is fine. But, IF one is going to renovate a house then it is more cost effective to do the most work you can at one time.

[Anonymous]

IMO, Gen Y'ers are a bunch of entitled people - the gimme gimme now generation.

[Anonymous]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0369117/board/thread/173598462