patrick.net

If you are interested in protecting the American Dream, then prevent investors from purchasing single family homes. Investors are driving up prices for average people who want to raise their families. They are taking away wealth from the American family and lowering the American child's standard of living, future inherited wealth, mental and emotion health. Small apartment living effects childhood obesity. Instead of playing in a yard, children are forced to watch TV or play video games . Kids need a safe outside play area to develop into a healthy adult. Investors have played a major role in the housing run-up and collapse leaving the tax payer with the bill. What resulted from this collapse was also the closing of many public schools and layoffs of teachers. Again effecting the weakest members of our society, children. Investors need to be eliminated. If you want to get rich, work like all the hard working poor do.

Carolyn C says

If you are interested in protecting the American Dream, then prevent investors from purchasing single family homes.

You can't prevent investors from purchasing real estates.

Carolyn C says

Small apartment living effects childhood obesity. Instead of playing in a yard, children are forced to watch TV or play video games . Kids need a safe outside play area to develop into a healthy adult.

I rased my kids in apartment complex and they believe it was the best years of their childhood regardless of the tiny apartment we had rented back then, we had big swimming pool, tenis courts, volleyball... so they used to play outside with other kids. Once we moved to a house they stopped doing that.

I don't say owning a house is a bad thing, but if you compare the price of owning a house to renting an apartment, sometimes its more affordable to rent a smaller place and pay for kids activities. We have been able to pay for our kids dancing, swimming, art classes... while paying a relatively low rent.

Bubbles happen out of ignorance in an average participant, they don't re-inflate if everyone knows the game and where it is heading.

zhanka says

I rased my kids in apartment complex and they believe it was the best years of their childhood regardless of the tiny apartment we had rented back then, we had big swimming pool, tenis courts, volleyball... so they used to play outside with other kids. Once we moved to a house they stopped doing that.

Any apartment complex in Los Angeles that has all those amenities will cost you more than buying a single family home.... Avalon, Archstone, big property management companies that charge well over $1000 for a studio apt.. and into $2000s for 2 bedroom townhome style.

Now if you want to live in a 1 bedroom apartment with paper thin walls and shared laundry facilities.... (fun when changing baby puke rags in a hurry).

Then yeah, keep renting.. But if you want some space, a yard for a dog, and some privacy for teenagers down the road, the premium of a SFH might not be that awful.

6 years ago..it was insane to buy vs. rent.. Now, the pendulum is swinging back toward owning due to record high rents. Rents have never been higher in history in a lot of big cities. So, maybe it was cheaper to rent when you raised your kids.. But that's not true anymore...

And the ironic thing is.. If home prices continue to drop and more people are foreclosed on and shadow inventory continues to build... All this is going to do is put more pressure on rents to go higher. Less credit-worthy homebuyers means more renters.. means less vacancies.. means higher rents.

BoomAndBustCycle says

So, maybe it was cheaper to rent when you raised your kids.. But that's not true anymore...

True, but still depends. Just checked the place we were renting, it is still cheaper renting the similar place ($2,350) vs. buying ($3,350), condos stars from $530,000, houses from $930,000.

BoomAndBustCycle says

And the ironic thing is.. If home prices continue to drop and more people are foreclosed on and shadow inventory continues to build... All this is going to do is put more pressure on rents to go higher. Less credit-worthy homebuyers means more renters.. means less vacancies.. means higher rents.

Agree, but while home prices continue to drop it is still better to rent vs. buy at least in SV if you're not planning to "downgrade" (choose different neighborhood, smaller place...)

zhanka says

True, but still depends. Just checked the place we were renting, it is still cheaper renting the similar place ($2,350) vs. buying ($3,350), condos stars from $530,000, houses from $930,000.

Fair enough... What's your price point where it be worth paying more to own a place than rent?

I don't think I'd ever want to OWN a condo though.. Eternal HOAs and assessment fees scare me too much. (You already have to pay property taxes for life... add HOA fees to that and it feels too much like renting for life to me).

If condos are that expensive .. $530K... and homes are $930K and you can be happy renting for $2350.. then that makes perfect sense!

I'm just finding where I live we are at rental parity.. give or take a few hundred bucks a month on SFHs.

Our rent was like $1,450, so we didn't want to spent more than $350,000, but we couldn't find a place at that price range that we would like as much as we did the one we rented. Although, we almost bought a 2bed/2ba townhouse in 2003 (offered $410,000 and they accepted), however we changed our minds within 3 days and walked away. That property was sold later on for $405,000 and resold in 2005 for $690,000.

This time is different, we have cash to buy a house, but we don't want to spent more than $850,000. We are looking for a house with a big lot and/or city lights, well still looking... :)

zhanka says

we have cash to buy a house, but we don't want to spent more than $850,000. We are looking for a house with a big lot and/or city lights, well still looking... :)

http://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Jose/707-N-Henry-Ave-95117/home/1280728

http://www.redfin.com/CA/Santa-Clara/2820-Butte-St-95051/home/1416511

http://www.redfin.com/CA/Santa-Clara/3191-Orthello-Way-95051/home/733117

Thank you for the links, but those houses are not quiet what we're looking for.

These ones are close enough :
http://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Jose/6412-Montego-Ct-95120/home/1267702
Beautiful house and and views of downtown San Jose. We went to the open house back in March, and when we asked realtor if the owner would consider $925,000 she told us that there will be a bidding war and they are looking for more than asking price, so we just didn't bother with this one.

http://www.redfin.com/CA/Los-Gatos/284-Las-Miradas-Dr-95032/home/734881
Those houses are little bit over the price we would like to spent on house, and thats the only reason we're not buying right now, maybe after reelection is over there will be more houses on the market to choose from and sellers/realtors would be me more "friendly".