Reply to We need homes. A lot of homes. Not just affordable, but also middle-income homes.

Forum Index » Metropolitan DC Local Politics

Reply to "We need homes. A lot of homes. Not just affordable, but also middle-income homes."

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]You know, 20% of a $400k house is still $80k. That’s a lot to save on $108k household income (median for MoCo). I love how our definition of “affordable” has ballooned. [/quote]
So? There are options there as well.  One can get an FHA mortgage with 5% down (it might be as low as 3.5%), meaning all they need is $20,000. With an income of $108,000, they can save that in two or three years if they put their minds to it. And true, they'll have to pay PMI, but I had to do that with my first place, too.

What is it with all these people and the excuses for why people can't buy a home? And who says it has to be a single-family house? What's wrong with a 3-bedroom townhouse with two full bathrooms - one for the parents and one for the kids? Until I was 13, we lived in a house of five people with 1 full bathroom (plus a half-bath by the rec room). Way too much entitlement these days.[/quote]

Because there is demand at the low end that can never be satisfied as the politicians moved to eliminate that low end housing. Currently, the board is desperate to replace a couple trailer parks along Route 1. Those homes will be replaced with smaller apartments (rental only to ensure you don't build equity) and "middle income" townhouses. The trailer park home owners will be displaced becasue with a government subsidy, they aren't going to be able live in the same location. [/quote]
Where did we switch to talking about low-end housing? Isn't this thread about middle-income" buyers? And middle-income buyers can afford a $400,000 rancher or townhouse out in Sterling or Wheaton.

Trailer-park homeowners are a different topic. That's low-income.[/quote]

So, people with low incomes shouldn't have a path to home ownership unless they live two hours outside the metro area? Removing the low priced homes, only drives up the median and mean. [/quote]
OK, a few things:

1) This idea that EVERYONE, including those with very low incomes, is entitled to owning a house caused a big problem in 2008/2009. Let's not repeat that.

2) There are worse things than renting. My grandparents, low-income work in a factory, rented their entire lives. Their apartment was modest, but it was clean and welcoming, pleasantly furnished, and always had great (cooking) smells.

3) There IS a path to home ownership for low-income people without job skills: Acquire job skills that have a higher market value, and then earn your way into a buying a modest $300,000 condo or townhouse an hour outside DC in one of the cheaper areas.

4) Finally, since I'm guessing you live near the low-income trailers you're talking about, isn't it a crime-ridden area? [/quote]

The 2008 crisis was caused by people getting loans for more house than they could actually afford. Backloading the loans with variable rates, or requirements to refinance at a hopefully lower rate in the future. Had affordable housing been available these people would not have overextended.

Home ownership is one way to build generational wealth. Excluding a segment of the population is creating a permanent underclass.

As for crime. No idea. I haven't been mugged. No one has been shot. Nextdoor is full of pictures of suspicious people walking in the neighborhood. Oh, and snake pictures. This is Fairfax County though. Step out of line and get the boot. Well.. It used to be.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics