patrick.net

you will find lower income neighborhoods like these but in East Pasadena (Hastings Ranch, Sierra Madre) you wont find one gang member. Los Feliz is not an area you or I would want to raise our kids. It is surrounded by gangs, thugs and pushers. The city of Los Angeles is a giant ghetto….good luck to everyone who visits.

I would at least anticipate a shift in the status quo, regardless of zip code. It is normal too see a rise in crime rates, but especially violent and organized/gangland crime, particularly when the economy is on the skids to the degree that it is now -- at least at street level.

@ 4x

She fixed up the house already. Spent money doing it. Whoever was there before hadn't, so this is already an upgrade.

If she chooses not to further her education and pursue a life with lower paying jobs, higher working hours and decided to purchase a house early in life, what is wrong with that? If she can maintain the loans, housing, and jobs, she is fine.

She has at least 2 loans on the house now. One for the house itself, and one for the upgrades. If she defaults, she'll lose her down payment, and the 2nd recourse loan could come after her. She'll have decent incentives to keep up the work. If she's competitive, like it appears to be from the video, she'll find a way to keep winning.

There are lots of people who CAN afford to keep their homes up to a normal decency level and who don't. Money helps, but doesn't dictate that they will be. Gardening is free. Paint is pretty cheap. She can do the things herself. Probably a good hobby for her as well, since she won't have that much money for spending on external entertainment!

When there are rules and economic incentives, people will find ways of abusing them. Telling people they can't buy until they've been to college, or this has to happen first, will invariable lead to problems within a few years. People will always find a way.

@Pkennedy

I am not saying we need rules, but stating there is a less riskier way to go about a home purchase. From the start she has not been operating under ideal conditions, especially with her father direction. God bless her if she can maintain this home, I am rooting for her.

Can you at a minimum agree that she has bought more house than she can afford?