Thanks so much for the encouragement, spark! I remember not that long ago bemoaning the fact that everyone IRL keeps telling me to go get a house RIGHT NOW. I realized that it wasn’t the idea of owning a house that that was the problem or even having money, since they have programs for first-time homeowners. It was the fact that all the houses in my area are HUGE. Not necessarily McMansions, but two-story row house dealies that are fine to look at, fine to visit, but are simply not me. The idea of heating, cleaning, and maintaining a 1200 sq. ft house all by myself is not my idea of fun. Especially if it’s a generic house that looks like all the other houses on the street.
I think if I were an entrepreneur (hey, unemployed yet resourceful people! Listen up!), I would become a developer of “small housing”. I would buy tracts of land close to downtown or midtown areas–which at least in Richmond are populated with comfortably-classed, married or shacked-up renters who want to be in the urban “scene” but cannot afford or do not want the $400K houses that are being offered. If these people will plop down money for a condo with just 800 sq feet, with no yard for the dog or for gardening or even a private porch–then why wouldn’t they plop down some money for a beautiful house with similar square footage? There is no reason, other than real estate agents and developers think “bigger is better” and advise clients to think the same. My hope for kids today? That they will see that this is a myth and will go in the opposite direction.
[/soapboxing hijack]