So investment firms buying SFH are actually helping you financially?!?!

[mkd]

Problem is every house being built are far from the 1000 sq/ft, single garage starter home that was popular 50 years ago.

Sadly, small homes have been virtually outlawed in Kali. Not profitable to build small houses with regs.

[CNCAppsJames]

With the regulatory cost per lot in The People's Republik of Kommieforniastan you CANNOT build a single unit dwelling less than around 2,000²ft. regardless of lot size. Smaller than that gets you into multi-story condos. 

Here in Utah it looks like it's going that way too..

[pmartin]

I don't know what living in Cali or some other extremely expensive housing market is like, However, housing prices here in VT are certainly within spitting distance of places like NYC, Boston, or Cali. I am doing quite well because I have with only one exception bought fixer-uppers, done the lions share of the labor to make the needed repairs and always sold for a decent profit. Sweat equity, gotta love it. I bought my last fixer for cash and after some engineering costs, subdivided and sold the resulting lot for about a third on my initial price. I hope to put the rest of the property on the market this summer and expect to get about 350k for it. Not bad for an investment of 235K with about 50K in repairs and engineering costs over 2 years . What market investment could even begin to approach that rate of return?

I have to say that I cannot imagine how a young family could afford to buy a house now days.

[Jim at Gentex]

Sweat equity, gotta love it.
What market investment could even begin to approach that rate of return?

Yep, the sweat equity is the difference.    

I have to say that I cannot imagine how a young family could afford to buy a house now days.

They often overextend themselves on credit, and most don't have a care in the world doing it.

I guess our generation just sees things differently.

[neurosis]

Yep, the sweat equity is the difference.    


They often overextend themselves on credit, and most don't have a care in the world doing it.

I guess our generation just sees things differently.

It could have something to do with the percentage of income it takes just to get by currently vs back in our day.

Rent was no where near the percentage of income it is today. Neither was food, healthcare, childcare, automobiles, etc.

I'm not trying to make excuses for lazy people or people who can't manage their finances, it's just harder to get by these days. We had it easy.

[mkd]

It could have something to do with the percentage of income it takes just to get by currently vs back in our day.

Rent was no where near the percentage of income it is today. Neither was food, healthcare, childcare, automobiles, etc.

I'm not trying to make excuses for lazy people or people who can't manage their finances, it's just harder to get by these days. We had it easy.

Maybe mid-westerners had it easy, but I never did. Started out making $7/hr with $800 dollar rent. My situation has only gotten better, <edit> but yes housing has in fact gone up as a percentage of income over t he last 30 years.
 Would be interesting to investigate the cause; Population/ demand vs regulation vs materials regulations etc.

[neurosis]

Maybe mid-westerners had it easy, but I never did. Started out making $7/hr with $800 dollar rent. My situation has only gotten better, so diametrically refute what the class warfare commies purport.

Yikes. 

When I was 19 I was making $7 an hour and the trade was in a mild slump so it was hard to get a raise. My rent was $265 a month.  I didn't have much.  The apartment I was renting had free basic cable, which was just network television with a couple of extra channels that all came in clear. Food was cheap.  I bought a 1979 Camaro (wish I had that back) for $1500 that had under 100,000 miles on it and looked like new other than some minor pain blemishes. 

I had shit furniture and couldn't afford to do much but I ate well and didn't go without anything I needed.

[mkd]

Yikes. 

When I was 19 I was making $7 an hour and the trade was in a mild slump so it was hard to get a raise. My rent was $265 a month.  I didn't have much.  The apartment I was renting had free basic cable, which was just network television with a couple of extra channels that all came in clear. Food was cheap.  I bought a 1979 Camaro (wish I had that back) for $1500 that had under 100,000 miles on it and looked like new other than some minor pain blemishes. 

I had shit furniture and couldn't afford to do much but I ate well and didn't go without anything I needed.

I had a 1980 firebird with T-tops that i painted myself and built the tranny that got us from the shithole known as New York to the peoples republik of Kommieforniastan with zero oil pressure and a rusty trailer that rocked back and fourth all the way. Only one window worked and the A/C quit before we bought it. Got a 10 lbs bag of ice to put on the floor baord to mitigate the heat coming off the transmission and texas roadway in mid-july.
 Funny, when we finally decoupled the trailer we were so used to the rocking, that we were bobbing our heads.

[CNCAppsJames]

It always amazes me. Guys from Kali that love to espouse free markets and constantly complain about communism, in a free country, still choose to live in Commie central. You guys must be closet commies or something. Otherwise you would use you free market freedom and move to, and spend your dollars, in a non-commie state. 

Take that vegan shit and GTFOH.



I moved. GTFO that leftist shithole of a cesspool in August. Sadly we had to leave behind a son, his wife and 4 (soon to be 5) grandchildren. Whatever money I saved is not being spent traveling back to the shithole to see said grandchildren because apparently I15 only works for us.

[CNCAppsJames]

When My wife and I got married in 1994, I was making about $12.25 an hour. Our rent for a 2 bedroom apt in San Dimas was was $710. We made it on my wages alone. It was tough.

[Dan_AKA_ROY23]

When My wife and I got married in 1994

30 year anniversary soon? 

[CNCAppsJames]

30 year anniversary soon? 

Actually February was 30.

[neurosis]

Actually February was 30.

Congrats.  That's a long time to convince a woman to tolerate us men.   

[Incogneeto]

Bwahahaha!!!^^^^^^^^^^ He thinks he's a Man. Bwahahahaha

[Del.]

When My wife and I got married in 1994, I was making about $12.25 an hour. Our rent for a 2 bedroom apt in San Dimas was was $710. We made it on my wages alone. It was tough.

I started in the coal mines in January of 1979. I was making $8.09/hr. That was top money around here for a blue collar worker.