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I think it's going to hit housing hard (again), but probably not anytime soon. A lot of my friends have student loan debt that will never be paid off. They eith

I think it's going to hit housing hard (again), but probably not anytime soon. A lot of my friends have student loan debt that will never be paid off. They either can't get a job that pays enough to pay it off in a timely fashion or they choose not to grind for 5-8 years to pay it off. Instead, the plan is to do as little as possible for the next 25 years until it's forgiven, and try to keep as much cash off the books as possible so they can live a life worth living. I can't say I blame them. We can probably ride the debt train for the next decade or so, but at some point there will be too few buyers with capital because they spent the last two decades intentionally not building assets.

staticelf 9y ago
This is basically not possible in my country since there is basically no cash. Most people I know don't carry cash at all if it's not absolutely necessary for some reason.
thatwebdude 9y ago
This is only possible in certain situations for certain borrowers who borrowed a certain kind of loan. Too many people think there's forgiveness light at the end of the tunnel. I feel really bad when they realize there isn't. Except death, maybe. I bet we'll see some of that, too. https://studentloanhero.com/featured/federal-student-loan-forgiveness-actually-begin/ https://studentloanhero.com/featured/federal-student-loan-fo...
- themagician 9y ago
  It's possible in most situations. Most people have federal student loans—which are the ones that aren't easily discharged—and as long as you are on an income-based repayment program, the loans are forgiven after 25 years. You are basically given two choices as an average person after you hit over $150k debt: 1) Spend 5-10 years throwing your life away to a job to try and grind away your debt; or 2) Work a low-income job for 25 years and spend your time more meaningfully. Low income doesn't mean no income, it just means you don't get to participate in consumer capitalism the way those without debt do. You can fault people for their lack of foresight, but honestly if I was in that situation I'd probably opt for option #2 as well.
  - thatwebdude 9y ago
    For those with private student loans, the options are much less; usually deferment or forbearance, usually short-term. Most people who have/had private loans did so because they didn't qualify for FAFSA to determine that their federal loans covered room and board, but also didn't have enough saved to offset this cost. I think a lot of people are forgetting that, and a large group of people fall into that category.
    - themagician 9y ago
      Private loans are much easier to get discharged or reduced through bankruptcy though. Something like close to 50% are. And in some states the statute of limitations for collections of private student loans is under 5 years.
      - thatwebdude 9y ago
        I wasn't aware of that. I assumed the no-default rules a la Federal loans.

staticelf 9y ago

This is basically not possible in my country since there is basically no cash. Most people I know don't carry cash at all if it's not absolutely necessary for some reason.

thatwebdude 9y ago

This is only possible in certain situations for certain borrowers who borrowed a certain kind of loan. Too many people think there's forgiveness light at the end of the tunnel. I feel really bad when they realize there isn't. Except death, maybe. I bet we'll see some of that, too. https://studentloanhero.com/featured/federal-student-loan-forgiveness-actually-begin/ https://studentloanhero.com/featured/federal-student-loan-fo...

themagician 9y ago
It's possible in most situations. Most people have federal student loans—which are the ones that aren't easily discharged—and as long as you are on an income-based repayment program, the loans are forgiven after 25 years. You are basically given two choices as an average person after you hit over $150k debt: 1) Spend 5-10 years throwing your life away to a job to try and grind away your debt; or 2) Work a low-income job for 25 years and spend your time more meaningfully. Low income doesn't mean no income, it just means you don't get to participate in consumer capitalism the way those without debt do. You can fault people for their lack of foresight, but honestly if I was in that situation I'd probably opt for option #2 as well.
- thatwebdude 9y ago
  For those with private student loans, the options are much less; usually deferment or forbearance, usually short-term. Most people who have/had private loans did so because they didn't qualify for FAFSA to determine that their federal loans covered room and board, but also didn't have enough saved to offset this cost. I think a lot of people are forgetting that, and a large group of people fall into that category.
  - themagician 9y ago
    Private loans are much easier to get discharged or reduced through bankruptcy though. Something like close to 50% are. And in some states the statute of limitations for collections of private student loans is under 5 years.
    - thatwebdude 9y ago
      I wasn't aware of that. I assumed the no-default rules a la Federal loans.