Can't afford a home? Rent a walk-in closet

I agree, and wish I could do something smilar. It would be too hard to do since I'm a 55 year old woman, and care for my 80 year old father, 22 year old son, and 14 year old grandson. I wish I knew of a way for us to cut costs. We already live in a 50 year old single wide trailor where everything cost way too much to repair, but, I was told my credit was 100 points too low for an R&D loan, so, I guess we're stuck.

If you live like that to save money is ok but if thats all you can afford its sad. everyone likes to compare us to the rest of the world all the time we used to be different. well with the nasty union almost defeated now this is about how the worker will be living.in the near future maybe now.

Arizona doesn't need basements. Basements are for disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes; we don't get any of them here. Do some research, Arizona is not the highest priced housing market.

thank god we have you to lecture us all, jackass.

perhaps if you made some damm sense peope would listen to you but the insane dribble you spew forth about how we shouldnt own a home if pure idiocy.... and not even going to get into your spelling and word usage are from some ancient civilization that never learned to speak like an american so dont come here to MY country spittting out your bullshit..save it for someone in pakistan or egypt or whichever middle eastern country you come from and ps if you dont like this country please feel free to leave trust me i wont stop yoou ..lets just see what you get in your homeland

HowardRoark43: Is that language really necessary? You sound bitter. You must be one of those people who bought at the top of the market and now your home is worth less than you paid for it.

Shea: Who told you that basements are only for disaster-prone areas? We're not talking about the kind of basements (aka storm cellars) like in The Wizard of Oz. We're talking about a basement that runs the full length and width of the house and is accessed from indoors. It can be unfinished and used for storage, or finished and used as additional living space. Many homes in the Northeast (where I live) have basements and we're not exactly in earthquake or hurricane zones.

Scott: I love it when people on comment boards criticize other people about their spelling and/or grammar -- in a post that is riddled with errors! Allyndp made a few spelling mistakes/typos but not much worse than what I typically see in reader comments. I think, however, that Allynsp's first language is English. I know yours is, so what's your excuse? Were you snoozing during English classes? You have several misspellings, syntax errors and your punctuation (what little you use) is horrible. You sound like another bitter homebuyer who had rotten timing and is taking your frustation out on another person who has only good intentions and is trying to save others from making the some mistake you did. Chill out.

Allyndp: I wholeheartedly agree with you. The whole notion that owning a house is "The American Dream" that everyone must strive for is just BS that's been crammed into people's heads since childhood. With the exception of a few people, homeownership in the 21st Century is nonsensical. Owning a home made sense in the world that Alex (first poster) describes: When most people lived in the same town they were born in for their entire lives and divorce was rare and frowned upon. People (usually just the husband) worked for one company for 50 years, then retired with a gold watch. By then, the house is long paid off and they can enjoy a comfortable retirement. But how often does that happen anymore? Practically never.

Now we live in an entirely different world. We live in a global economy and a mobile society. People need to be able to move wherever they can find a job. Owning a home severely impacts your ability to move should you lose your job and you find another one cross country. Trying to sell a home you've lived in less than five or six years means you will lose money. The quick appreciation that happened from roughly 1999-2005 is unlikely to happen again. Houses normally appreciate about 3% per year. Many people move anyway and leave their house behind, and get stuck paying two mortgages, or one mortgage and rent. This puts an enormous strain on finances, and some people even go into foreclosure because of this.

It is very difficult to sell a home these days because 1) it's tough for people to get mortgages, and 2) people are reluctant to buy a home that could be worth less than what they paid for it a mere three months after closing. So, if you own a home or recently bought one, you are more than likely stuck with it until homes prices hit rock bottom and start rising again.

And since 50% of people getting married these days will end up divorced, that often means uprooting a family. If a couple gets divorced, many times the court will order that a home must be sold and the couple split the profits. That means kids have to deal with not only the trauma of their parents getting divorced, but they have to move out of their home. If the couple had been renting instead, the non-custodial parent will just have to pay his ex child support and the kids can stay put.

People who brag about how much their house is worth now compared to what they paid for it 30 years ago forget that they didn't pay the SALE price; with the interest, they probably paid at least DOUBLE (maybe even triple!) that amount. Plus add in never-ending maintenance, homeowners insurance, and renovations that must be done every seven or eight years to retain the home's value, and they really didn't make much profit at all. Yes, one can deduct the mortgage interest when they pay taxes, but many times people would get a bigger refund if they took the standard deduction!

I bought a condo in Florida in 1997, sold it in 2006 -- after being on the market for a year. I saw the bust coming in 2005 and tried to get out. I had already moved 1,000 miles away for a job, several months earlier. I was fortunate to make a profit of $150,000, but that doesn't include all the money I spent on condo fees, taxes, maintenance, Realtor fees while renting it out, etc. -- not to mention the headaches of ownership!

From now on, I'm renting. I get to live in a brand new apartment and when something breaks, someone else fixes it. If I should have to move and break my lease, I will only be liable for two months' rent. I have freedom and convenience -- priceless.

And Allyndp, you're right about the mark-up on new homes. I have a friend who does post-construction cleaning at housing developments. He said people buying McMansions would be shocked at how high the mark-up is and how much profit the builder makes on each house.

Sorry this post was so long...but I (in case you can't tell) I'm very passionate about this subject.

window

I was wondering that too! Where is the loo? Y

not only the bathroom, but where is the shower??? the story failed to cover that major part of any size living quarters.

bathroom? we dont knead no stinking bathrooms,, where a diaper and take to work to empty,lol

Lori,

Well said. Thank you.

lets all bring back free tv,,, now that stations must broadcast through the air,,, why pay?