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Anecdotal, but I don't know anyone my age that has a house that didn't get their college paid for or had significant down payment help from their parents. Ever

Anecdotal, but I don't know anyone my age that has a house that didn't get their college paid for or had significant down payment help from their parents. Every one else has started to view the world with pinko-commie lenses. I'm genuinely amused at the confusion this causes to the people I talk to who are at the end of their careers. This really ought to be scaring the upper 20%, but I guess it's hard to feel the heat when the system is working for you.

gnicholas 8y ago
I see much of the same thing. All of my neighbors who bought homes before turning 35 grew up in Atherton and presumably had help from their parents (or at the least, didn't have any student debt).
ethanwillis 8y ago
I'm 27, I bought my house when I was 22. I received no down payment assistance from my parents, in fact my parents were actively stealing money from me. I also had a boatload of student debt, still do. Now what I did do, was take advantage of government programs that were and still are in place to qualify for an FHA backed mortgage loan. My mortgage is $640/mo roughly while my peers see their rent increase massively year over year..
- danielvf 8y ago
  Yeah, I had no help with a down payment nor college payment help, and bought around the same age. And I know plenty others young couples and singles who have done the same thing. I’m guessing the effect the grandparent is seing is in high cost of living, coastal cities. It’s certainly not the norm across the US.
  - smush 8y ago
    Not to pile on, but I also managed to buy a house at 22 after paying off my student loans, and I'm not alone in it by any stretch where I am. Pet theory with zero evidence attempted : Geography really does affect one's filter bubble / worldview more than we've explored. Edit: with no down payment or student loan assistance from guardians.
- gnicholas 8y ago
  I'd be curious to know if anyone who is posting about buying a house without parental assistance in their 20's did so in the bay area. It would have been useful if the parent comment had specified his/her age and location, since otherwise we get a smattering of data points that can neither confirm no reject the original anecdotal observation.
  - ethanwillis 8y ago
    Wanted to follow back up on my original comment in this thread since to add some data since I can't seem to edit it now. I didn't do this in the Bay Area, I did this in the Southern U.S.
    - gnicholas 8y ago
      Makes sense! Things like FHA-backed loans are a much more effective tool in less-expensive regions. When the cost of a 3bdrm/2ba is $1.5M (roughly the current cost for a suburb outside Palo Alto), the maximum FHA loan max only gets you halfway there.

gnicholas 8y ago

I see much of the same thing. All of my neighbors who bought homes before turning 35 grew up in Atherton and presumably had help from their parents (or at the least, didn't have any student debt).

ethanwillis 8y ago

I'm 27, I bought my house when I was 22. I received no down payment assistance from my parents, in fact my parents were actively stealing money from me. I also had a boatload of student debt, still do. Now what I did do, was take advantage of government programs that were and still are in place to qualify for an FHA backed mortgage loan. My mortgage is $640/mo roughly while my peers see their rent increase massively year over year..

danielvf 8y ago
Yeah, I had no help with a down payment nor college payment help, and bought around the same age. And I know plenty others young couples and singles who have done the same thing. I’m guessing the effect the grandparent is seing is in high cost of living, coastal cities. It’s certainly not the norm across the US.
- smush 8y ago
  Not to pile on, but I also managed to buy a house at 22 after paying off my student loans, and I'm not alone in it by any stretch where I am. Pet theory with zero evidence attempted : Geography really does affect one's filter bubble / worldview more than we've explored. Edit: with no down payment or student loan assistance from guardians.
gnicholas 8y ago
I'd be curious to know if anyone who is posting about buying a house without parental assistance in their 20's did so in the bay area. It would have been useful if the parent comment had specified his/her age and location, since otherwise we get a smattering of data points that can neither confirm no reject the original anecdotal observation.
- ethanwillis 8y ago
  Wanted to follow back up on my original comment in this thread since to add some data since I can't seem to edit it now. I didn't do this in the Bay Area, I did this in the Southern U.S.
  - gnicholas 8y ago
    Makes sense! Things like FHA-backed loans are a much more effective tool in less-expensive regions. When the cost of a 3bdrm/2ba is $1.5M (roughly the current cost for a suburb outside Palo Alto), the maximum FHA loan max only gets you halfway there.