how do people do it?

[jims69camaro]

i just did some research on my neighborhood and the home values, etc. here in my town. the average home sale for the past three months is $244,000. we're talking your basic 3 bedroom ranch layout and up (4 and 5 bedrooms with two and a half baths are upwards of $850,000).

a house just like mine sold at the end of november for $317,000.

now, get this, the median income is $57,000. how the hell are they affording homes like that for with such low incomes? you have to figure they've probably got at least one car loan or lease, most likely two, plus taxes, insurance and utilities. i can't get my mind around it.

[79CamaroDiva]

yeah, the housing market is rediculous. my friend just bought a house and i have no idea how he's actually going to afford it. He was tired of paying rent and wanted to be a homeowner, but the fact of the matter is he's only 24 and still working on his masters. I hope that i dont see him fall under, but when we did his budget, he left himself only $100/month for food, then no spare change. its tough

[enRo]

Lets just say this... I was looking at a house on the border of PA and NJ (by the Del Water Gap on RT 80)... built in 1999, 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, 2 car garage (a must), living room, family room, dining room, den, fireplace, basement ... basically, it was around 2,300 sq. feet that sat on 2.5 acres for $309,000 ... a house like that in my area would seriously top out around $840,000 :shock: The housing market is insane ... and im afraid that if I do buy a house for a certain price, the housing market will drop and im outta money.



Another story... my parents bought our house in 1989 for $155,000... its an old house, 2 stories with a functional basement, about 1900 square feet, 2-lot-property sitting on around .90 acres. They just had the house apraised at $430,000 !!!! :shock:

[Oddball]

I'm the chair of a property tax reform group in South Jersey. People do it a couple of ways:

1. Mom and Dad help out or Grandpa / Grandma leave them cash from their house
2. They over extend their credit
3. Gimmick financing like interest only payments
4. 40 year mortages
5. They have equity in their "starter house" -- buying small at first to build equity before buying the "McMansion" when kids go to school. My house has ore thn doubled in value in 5 years.
6. They were really good with their money and invested / saved the little they had.
7. They make a boat-load of money

Also, that 57k is kind of bogus. The income data is probably bi-modal or even tri-modal meaning there probably "humps" in an income histogram. At the bottom end are retired who have owned their homes for 30 years and are being screwed when it comes to taxes. At this top end are two-income households making over six figures. There may be a third peak of young workers or lower "blue collar" workers. I say "low end" as in the guy turning the wrench at Jiffy Lube, not the skilled machinist or electrician who is pulling in 70 - 80k if not more.

If you are interested in learning more about the tax issues send me an email CHCPTR@comcast.net. Let me know you heard about it here.

Josh a.k.a. Oddball

[trashman01]

i heard that the hosing market is starting to fall, which is nice for me cuz i plan on being outta my rents house and into my own. i want like 2 acres, 2/3 bedroom raised ranch. im gonna throw a barn up for working on my car so ill prob just inclosed the garage.

[GP99GT]

about 15-20 years ago, my house was worth about $120,000...3br, 1.5 bath, probably an acre or a little less. now its worth at least $300,000

[Frosty]

i just did some research on my neighborhood and the home values, etc. here in my town. the average home sale for the past three months is $244,000. we're talking your basic 3 bedroom ranch layout and up (4 and 5 bedrooms with two and a half baths are upwards of $850,000).

a house just like mine sold at the end of november for $317,000.

now, get this, the median income is $57,000. how the hell are they affording homes like that for with such low incomes? you have to figure they've probably got at least one car loan or lease, most likely two, plus taxes, insurance and utilities. i can't get my mind around it.


..and that's why personal debt among families is at an all time high.

[foff667]

we bought ours for $45k in late 98 and mid last year we took out a heloc on the equity in the house so we could pay off the mortgage...basically the heloc was a 5 year loan paid bi weekly whereas the mortgage was a 30 year paid monthly...much less interest this way & we'll get it paid off just that much quicker. I think last year we pulled in like 49k between my wife & myself and we're doing just fine. But you need a budget...these $300k homes we cant afford there is no way in hell which really sux :(

[MilehighBird]

That's why I moved to PA. There are alot of homes out here for under $200K and property tax is lower. You just have to leave for work real early:).

[V]

i wish there were $300k homes around my area. average is like 450. anythign new...figure like 600k+. the houses at the top of my street are going for 900-1M. 30 years ago, my parents bought my house for like 48k, put 80k into it in additions and now its worth around 1.1M, mainly because its a 2 family and the property size.

[jims69camaro]

I'm the chair of a property tax reform group in South Jersey.

If you are interested in learning more about the tax issues send me an email CHCPTR@comcast.net. Let me know you heard about it here.

Josh a.k.a. Oddball

this one? (http://www.citizens4propertytaxreform.org/index.html)

that's the one i heard about on NJ 101.5. i listen in the morning, so i catch all of the political stuff.

i understand about the median income being across several classes, but, still, it doesn't seem to work out mathematically. now that they've revamped the bankruptcy rules, there will be far fewer people going that route. i guess it's all about foreclosure and throwing people out in the street?

it's good for me, i can't complain, because i am not in the market to buy. well, we thought we were going to pick up a rental property around the corner from me, but when i heard it was $279,000 i thought that there must be some mistake. that's when i started nosing around and finding out what's what. taxes in our town are still on the low end, but i hear they could triple by the end of the year, so getting involved in a group that will charge the state government with property tax reform (remember, that was one of the big issues in the governor's race? i do...) is a good idea. property taxes affect all of us - either you're a homeowner and you're getting fleeced or taxes are what's keeping you out of homeownership or you know someone that it is affecting (like your parents).

[Oddball]

this one? (http://www.citizens4propertytaxreform.org/index.html)

that's the one i heard about on NJ 101.5. i listen in the morning, so i catch all of the political stuff.

i understand about the median income being across several classes, but, still, it doesn't seem to work out mathematically. now that they've revamped the bankruptcy rules, there will be far fewer people going that route. i guess it's all about foreclosure and throwing people out in the street?

it's good for me, i can't complain, because i am not in the market to buy. well, we thought we were going to pick up a rental property around the corner from me, but when i heard it was $279,000 i thought that there must be some mistake. that's when i started nosing around and finding out what's what. taxes in our town are still on the low end, but i hear they could triple by the end of the year, so getting involved in a group that will charge the state government with property tax reform (remember, that was one of the big issues in the governor's race? i do...) is a good idea. property taxes affect all of us - either you're a homeowner and you're getting fleeced or taxes are what's keeping you out of homeownership or you know someone that it is affecting (like your parents).

Yes we're affiliated with that group, but we're "based" on Cherry Hill (I live in Blackwood). They are the umbrella group to which many of the smaller groups are affiliated with. We *need* to get younger citizens involved. The tax issue is seen as a "senior" isue it prevents many of us from buying our first house.

[WayFast84]

A house up the street is for sale at a bit over 500 thousand...wow....

[JL8Jeff]

Our neighborhood has gone up a lot since we bought 12 years ago. I look at our house and say there's no way this house is worth the money people are getting for them. Housing is way overpriced everywhere. I don't know how people can make ends meet with the price of a house and the price or owning or leasing a newer car/SUV. Add to that the increased cost of heating and gas. I think housing prices will be coming back down as people realize how overextended they are. The price of everyday household goods will continue to go up as the cost of transporting them goes up. And a lot of people who have ARM loans will be screwed over with the higher rates now to go along with the higher energy costs. Any of you younger folks that are paying $3000-4000 a year for car insurance should be getting rid of that vehicle and buying something you can afford to insure so you can save up that money towards buying a house. I lived at home for 4 years after college so I could save up $35K to put down on a house. That kind of downpayment won't get you too far today. If your loan to value ratio is above 80% you will be forced to get PMI(mortgage insurance) which adds to your monthly payment. So plan on putting 20% down towards a house.

[Frosty]

Taxes are the main reason I won't move back to NJ. In about a year or so I'll be in the market to purchase a house and I really want to move back to NJ(never thought I'd say that lol). 99% of my friends and all of my family live there but after seeing some of the property tax rates it's nuts.

[BonzoHansen]

I bought my house in 2000 for $160k. I'd get $325k or more now. But I can't realize that gain.

I'd like to move, but I can't figure out where to go. My problem is I do not want to drive an hour to work. I did that and hated it. The cost of fuel & maintenance probably would offset a tax reduction. It is all starting to bother me.

I just want a little bigger house with a big detached garage. In a good school district. Damn. Too much to ask?

Barring some way-out event (crazy terrorism, sudden end of oil, etc.), I do not believe housing proces in our area will drop. Level off, perhaps, but a widescale decline? I don't think so. They don't make land anymore.

What is a family to do?

[SSport]

Me and the lil' man just put a bid in on a house is edison for $320,000....we will see how everything works out. It just makes me mad that 5 years ago my parents bought their totally remodeled house for $143,000 and it was just appraised at $475,000.

[jims69camaro]

just a little history, since everyone is citing prices from just a few years ago. my wife and i were married in '97. at that time, she was renting a 2 bedroom apartment for $730 a month. i started checking out home rentals, because the 4 of us wouldn't have done too well in such a cramped space (the two of us and her two sons).

i found the house we're in now, and the rent was only $700 a month. seemed like a crazy deal to go from an apartment to a house and pay less per month, so we jumped on it. now, the house was far from new or modern - the last thing upgraded was the carpeting, and it must've happened after the homeowner left the property and before we looked at it. it had a newer furnace and hot water heater (within 5 years, they said) so we weren't expecting anything to go wrong. we bought a fridge and moved in.

now, with a 30 year old house, little things started to go wrong. i started nickel and diming the rental agency for things that needed to be repaired. all of a sudden, after about 6 months of renting, and the faucet in the kitchen going bad, there was a note included with the reimbursement check that said, "do you want to buy the house?"

we had not considered it up until that point, but the asking price was in the right neighborhood at $95,000. we ended up with a loan for $73,000 and $13,000 instant equity (paper downpayment). i was thrilled. a coupla years later, we refied for a lower interest rate, which dropped our payment drastically. instead of just pocketing the money every month, we decided to pay off the principal with it instead. so, each month we are paying an extra $200 on the principal with the monthly mortgage being right around $700. from the start of the loan until the last payment was scheduled to be 15 years, as well - much better than a 30 year note and the interest rate is stable (no ARM here). since we bought the house i have upgraded both the kitchen and the bathroom and put a new roof on it.

now, knowing how much the house is worth makes the plans to move out of this godforsaken state/country even more possible, regardless of the size of the check in the insurance settlement. alright, i'm all typed out. phew.

[Koll]

When mom and dad bought house
$45k.
Now its value is 845k
Similar house down the street sold for 1.2 Mil

[chevyt454]

Thats why I've been looking down in the Atlanta, GA suburbs

http://idx.prugeorgia.com/details.aspx?firstrecord=51&=&VIP=Yahoo!+IDX&cc=realestate&fclose=n&newhome=n&za=and&fullnodeid=750007014&searchgeo=Stone+Mountain%2c+GA&searchtype=2&propertytype=1&sort=5&sortacdc=desc&searchminprice=200000&searchmaxprice=250000&searchbedrooms=4