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The problem with renting is that it's so expensive that it's hard to stop renting. How, in this market, do you save enough to buy when you can't afford to pay l

The problem with renting is that it's so expensive that it's hard to stop renting. How, in this market, do you save enough to buy when you can't afford to pay less rent? Most people are being squeezed between a rock and a hard place.

dvh 3y ago
Live with your parents, save money, then buy.
- micromacrofoot 3y ago
  “just don’t be poor”
  - Groxx 3y ago
    Also "be born somewhere with decent employment options". Tons of people move to find work.
- reactordev 3y ago
  Some people don’t have that luxury
- dsgnr 3y ago
  [dead]
- mattnewton 3y ago
  “Just have well off parents”
  - dvh 3y ago
    They didn't gave me a cent. Just living with them and not paying rent and food meant I could save almost 100% of income. After 13 years I was able to buy apartment.
    - defrost 3y ago
      So .. they gave you a room and food, both of which have considerable value and cost others a considerable proportion of their early income? How much additional money would your parents have were they not paying for your food? How much could they earn on AirBnB if they had that room spare?
    - mattnewton 3y ago
      Not to try and compete about who’s got a bigger chip on their shoulder, but for context I have financially supported my parents and at no point was living with them an option while keeping my career. Not paying rent and food in a high cost of living area requires you to have a parent able to afford a high cost of living area. It’s extremely frustrating to me when people suggest this policy as if everyone has access to this privilege when most people, in the Bay area especially, don’t. (Hence the snark, for which I apologize, I am sure I have blind spots on privileges I had that you didn’t)
xboxnolifes 3y ago
Unfortunately, the answer is roommates.
- linguae 3y ago
  Thus, the squeeze, sometimes literally. When costs rise faster than incomes, people are forced to accept a lower quality of life, such as longer commutes and living with roommates, both of which can be stressful. I understand that this is just the way things are right now, but we need more housing so that way fewer people have to resort to these measures.
linguae 3y ago
To make matters worse, renting often means dealing with annual rental increases. Since the pandemic started my apartment rent has gone up roughly 8% per year, compared to the annual 2-3% raises I get for good performance at work. Some people have to contend with much more dramatic rent increases. Many people end up getting priced out of renting due to rent increases, forcing them to either move further away (which means longer commutes or even switching jobs) or downsize/downgrade, such as living in a smaller space or living with roommates. A fixed-rate mortgage would shield me from rent increases, but the price of a mortgage is substantially higher than market rents on equivalent properties in my area (San Francisco Bay Area), and home ownership has many costs that are not fixed, such as maintenance, HOA dues, property taxes, and insurance. It's truly sad to see the price of owning or renting a home rising faster than most people's ability to keep pace. There's a major homelessness crisis in California, and one of the causes is very high home prices and rents.
- fragmede 3y ago
  California's AB 1482 gets renters some relief, though it may not apply in your case. It limits rent increases to 5% + CPI, or 10%, whichever is lower. If you just happened to have a spare $200k lying around to make a 20% down payment on a million dollar condo in the Bay Area in the low interest rate era, you'd be paying the same as a renter, but fixed, and with equity.
- dragonelite 3y ago
  Pretty much my situation in the Netherlands, my overal costs rise like 6~8% and my pay raises like 2~4%. Im pretty much forced to job hop every 2~3 year to make up and keep up with rising costs of living. That is with me owning my own house i also have a sibling that will most likely end up being a forever renter. His rent has increased so much the past 6~7 years. That he now pays way more in rent then i do for my mortgage like almost €150~200 more in a shittier neighbourhood in the same city.
- ljm 3y ago
  Ever since the dawn of 'trickle down economics', wealth has only continued to be distributed upwards and is becoming increasingly concentrated at the top. This is because the cost of everything except labour has increased, forcing many to try and do more with less. It is completely and utterly unsustainable and I doubt anybody young will ever experience the kind of prosperity that came after WW2. You can't even rely on getting a decent white collar job and climbing up the ladder any more - loyalty is expected from an employer but no longer offered in return.
crtified 3y ago
There's no easy answer, beyond the two infinite (and equally, vague) options : "make more", and/or "spend less". Many who make it have the key advantage of having been nurtured into that outcome across their first 2-3 decades of life, by a strong or effective family foundation. And from there, naturally, the so-called network effect opens that gap yet wider. So it stands to reason that, for those outside that advantaged demographic, some degree of 'breaking the mould' is often required, in order to raise oneself up. And there are so many ways. Conversely, so many factors of inertia and lock-in. The average salary is so easily spoken for, in a life of weekly car payments, weekly phone payments and expensive phone plans, digital subscriptions for music, movies, TV, apps, games, quizzes, every spare dollar going to the endless and essential bargains on Amazon and Aliexpress, 1 x coffee or 1 x beer @ $5 a pop, throwaway fashion, neverending rubbish processed and convenience food in the trolley, while paying others to cook and deliver us food, a brand new service entering the market every day with an accompanying "small fee". A million ways and reasons to turn your money into the profit of others.

dvh 3y ago

Live with your parents, save money, then buy.

micromacrofoot 3y ago
“just don’t be poor”
- Groxx 3y ago
  Also "be born somewhere with decent employment options". Tons of people move to find work.
reactordev 3y ago
Some people don’t have that luxury
dsgnr 3y ago
[dead]
mattnewton 3y ago
“Just have well off parents”
- dvh 3y ago
  They didn't gave me a cent. Just living with them and not paying rent and food meant I could save almost 100% of income. After 13 years I was able to buy apartment.
  - defrost 3y ago
    So .. they gave you a room and food, both of which have considerable value and cost others a considerable proportion of their early income? How much additional money would your parents have were they not paying for your food? How much could they earn on AirBnB if they had that room spare?
  - mattnewton 3y ago
    Not to try and compete about who’s got a bigger chip on their shoulder, but for context I have financially supported my parents and at no point was living with them an option while keeping my career. Not paying rent and food in a high cost of living area requires you to have a parent able to afford a high cost of living area. It’s extremely frustrating to me when people suggest this policy as if everyone has access to this privilege when most people, in the Bay area especially, don’t. (Hence the snark, for which I apologize, I am sure I have blind spots on privileges I had that you didn’t)

xboxnolifes 3y ago

Unfortunately, the answer is roommates.

linguae 3y ago
Thus, the squeeze, sometimes literally. When costs rise faster than incomes, people are forced to accept a lower quality of life, such as longer commutes and living with roommates, both of which can be stressful. I understand that this is just the way things are right now, but we need more housing so that way fewer people have to resort to these measures.

linguae 3y ago

To make matters worse, renting often means dealing with annual rental increases. Since the pandemic started my apartment rent has gone up roughly 8% per year, compared to the annual 2-3% raises I get for good performance at work. Some people have to contend with much more dramatic rent increases. Many people end up getting priced out of renting due to rent increases, forcing them to either move further away (which means longer commutes or even switching jobs) or downsize/downgrade, such as living in a smaller space or living with roommates. A fixed-rate mortgage would shield me from rent increases, but the price of a mortgage is substantially higher than market rents on equivalent properties in my area (San Francisco Bay Area), and home ownership has many costs that are not fixed, such as maintenance, HOA dues, property taxes, and insurance. It's truly sad to see the price of owning or renting a home rising faster than most people's ability to keep pace. There's a major homelessness crisis in California, and one of the causes is very high home prices and rents.

fragmede 3y ago
California's AB 1482 gets renters some relief, though it may not apply in your case. It limits rent increases to 5% + CPI, or 10%, whichever is lower. If you just happened to have a spare $200k lying around to make a 20% down payment on a million dollar condo in the Bay Area in the low interest rate era, you'd be paying the same as a renter, but fixed, and with equity.
dragonelite 3y ago
Pretty much my situation in the Netherlands, my overal costs rise like 6~8% and my pay raises like 2~4%. Im pretty much forced to job hop every 2~3 year to make up and keep up with rising costs of living. That is with me owning my own house i also have a sibling that will most likely end up being a forever renter. His rent has increased so much the past 6~7 years. That he now pays way more in rent then i do for my mortgage like almost €150~200 more in a shittier neighbourhood in the same city.
ljm 3y ago
Ever since the dawn of 'trickle down economics', wealth has only continued to be distributed upwards and is becoming increasingly concentrated at the top. This is because the cost of everything except labour has increased, forcing many to try and do more with less. It is completely and utterly unsustainable and I doubt anybody young will ever experience the kind of prosperity that came after WW2. You can't even rely on getting a decent white collar job and climbing up the ladder any more - loyalty is expected from an employer but no longer offered in return.

crtified 3y ago

There's no easy answer, beyond the two infinite (and equally, vague) options : "make more", and/or "spend less". Many who make it have the key advantage of having been nurtured into that outcome across their first 2-3 decades of life, by a strong or effective family foundation. And from there, naturally, the so-called network effect opens that gap yet wider. So it stands to reason that, for those outside that advantaged demographic, some degree of 'breaking the mould' is often required, in order to raise oneself up. And there are so many ways. Conversely, so many factors of inertia and lock-in. The average salary is so easily spoken for, in a life of weekly car payments, weekly phone payments and expensive phone plans, digital subscriptions for music, movies, TV, apps, games, quizzes, every spare dollar going to the endless and essential bargains on Amazon and Aliexpress, 1 x coffee or 1 x beer @ $5 a pop, throwaway fashion, neverending rubbish processed and convenience food in the trolley, while paying others to cook and deliver us food, a brand new service entering the market every day with an accompanying "small fee". A million ways and reasons to turn your money into the profit of others.