Must be nice - where I come from, the children, not the grandchildren, inherit everything. I had always thought that was the normal course of things.
I had a friend who talked about how his grandmother was going to leave him a six figure fortune - I wonder how y’all know this ahead of time?
Median home prices in Alameda County, California (which includes Oakland) went from $299K to $650K since 1999. (Link ) I haven’t seen a $400K home in my neighborhood on the market in years.
How do people do it? Lots of them don’t, and move far away from their jobs to cheaper houses. Some have good jobs . Some get help from parents. Our neighbor two houses down helped his daughter buy the house between us. And lots aren’t making it. At our street fair last weekend the real estate brokerage who usually advertised to recruit agents to make a killing was this year offering a one hour class on making money off of foreclosed properties.
On preview, I’m with John. Even ten years ago an agent showed us what we could afford in Saratoga. It was a falling down shack on top of a hill, not quite as in good a shape as some cabins I used to stay in when I was a Boy Scout.
Well, i was ignoring all additional costs, including mortgage interest, to make the calculation simple. Since you’ll pay that interest on one house or on four, it doesn’t affect the comparison.
You pay interest in both cases - the same amount, if I understand the example correctly. In both cases, though, you are getting the use of the house for those interest payments, so it is unfair to consider the investment a loss based on mortgage payments. If you were borrowing for something you didn’t get direct benefit from, like stock, it would be a different story.
It isn’t unusual for some families to discuss matters such as inheritance prior to the sad event, just so that any arguments about it can be settled while the will-maker is still alive (so as to avoid family fights).
In some cases, grandparents will leave cash to grandchildren on the theory that they need it more - where parents already have “made it” in some business or profession, have bought house, are out of debt, etc.
In the case of my family, when my last living grandparent passed on, we knew in advance what would happen with her money - she wasn’t a wealthy woman, but had decades ago purchased a tiny home on a huge lot in a very desireable part of town … when that was sold, it fetched a substantial sum, which was split between her children. Us grandkids got nominal sums - $2,500.
This is what’s so frustrating about living near Boston. 2.5 times my income won’t buy me a fucking mud hut here. :mad: The other three options are (1) buying a cheap condo in a town with high crime and mediocre schools; (2) having my wife work, which would then involve spending more than my wife earns on childcare [day care is hundreds of dollars per week in this area], which makes option 2 a non-starter; or (3) continue to piss away $15,000 per year in rent. Boy, those are some great options. :rolleyes:
Real estate was so much more affordable in Beirut. Of course, there was the occasional war to contend with, but I’m beginning to think that the periodic outbreak of violence is a small price to pay for affordable housing.