re: The math for buying a home no longer works, per WSJ

bullshite!!!! Is it more challenging..sure. Do you have to temper expectations….sure. But it is still doable.

My son was 21 and making $18 an hour as a plumbers helper. Bought a house in Blanchard, La which is small town just north of Shreveport.
3/1 1200sf on pier and beam built in 1958 on half acre lot. Good bones but needed some TLC. Not in greatest area but definitely not an area where you would be scared to sit in front porch at night.
Bought it with a Zero down Rural Development Loan. Even at 6.5% interest his note is only a little over $500 month. He spent $6000 over last two years fixing it up a little at a time and did all the work himself ( and some help from his pops). Fresh paint, all new fixtures, new kitchen countertops, Totally gutted and redone bathroom, sanded and restrained original hardwood floors. House is very charming now and a great starter home.
He is now a licensed journeyman plumber making $26 hour and just married a girl that is just steering her career as a dental hygienist. They now make somewhere between $120 and $130k a year depending on his overtime and side jobs. They plan on living in this house until there first child is ready to start school, then they will move to an area with a good school district. Even if she got pregnant today that puts them on a 5 year plan. With only a $500 house note he will have tons of extra money each year to save or invest. He is actually planning on using the extra money and his currently low debt to income ratio to invest in either homes to flip or turn into rental property.

It’s doable. Just have to be willing to do it.

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The truth is y’all are worried about us “old school out of touch” folks, I’m not even a boomer. I was just raised poor. We are “out of touch” but somehow were able to live without the finer things in our 20s, people now just refuse to. I do agree in Louisiana insurance is a bitch though and currently buying a house is difficult. It’s been difficult many times over the last century, it sucks, but if you want one, sometimes you have to give up nicer things to have it. If you need internet, fresh coffee at coffee shop everyday, Netflix, Amazon, nice ride, then owning a home isn’t gonna work for someone who is 24, or 30, or 50

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I hate how some of try to portray this type of attitude as a virtue. Again, if your message is be cognizant of your spending and cut where you can, I get it, and it's something that everyone should take to heart. But you're not a saint because you're going without internet. You're kind of a dumbass.

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A big issue is foreign entities and corporations buying these overpriced houses as investment properties. Drive around any neighborhood in the Austin area and you'll see multiple single-family homes with For Rent signs.

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Our perfect and wonderful market forces are about to correct and it will be great for everyone*

*billionaires

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So no, cutting internet is no longer a viable solution to save money towards a down payment for a home in 2023.

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Ok, well if internet is free, then you’re right.

I mean, I love bashing on entitled and spoiled little fricks as much as the next guy but you pretty much can't exist without 24/7 internet these days.

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I have internet now, Netflix, Hulu, I’m not saying I don’t have it

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we know you have it, you wouldn't be able to Boomer up this thread so well if you hadn't had it

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mean, I love bashing on entitled and spoiled little fricks as much as the next guy but you pretty much can't exist without 24/7 internet these days.

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So if you dropped your smart phone and home internet you’d die?

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Most have that option at work, or just have a cell phone with internet, or just have internet with cable. Nowadays young people expect to have all 3. It you have to pay for it, it’s not a virtue, it’s the truth. Keep all the internet but don’t bitch about not being able to pay rent or a house

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My God. Such a boomer, and you're only a few years older than me. This is ridiculous. It's like you don't even understand what you're talking about.

I’m not saying having internet isn’t a big convenience. There are many people whose work doesn’t give them a smart phone who may need it. I promise; 99% of us could go on with our lives without one. It would be less convenient, would suck, but we could do it. I

Right now is an awful time to buy a house, I’ve already said that. My parents rented in the 70s because then it was also a bad time to buy a house. 2-3 years ago was a good time to buy one though

It would probably be more expensive to live without a smartphone these days than without one. They're pretty cheap these days. Even Dirt poor eastwards in rural Africa are carrying smart phones these days.