The Joe Biden Presidency I :: Hallelujah!

You see. Corners with taco trucks would be good for my family so I'm going to have to vote against Biden.

 

OTOH I'm gonna call my next band "The Taco Truckers."

 

Housing, health care and education inflation have all outpaced CPI. Unless you're wealthy in this country, all of these are out of reach and a lot of younger folks are giving up on saving for them.

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again, when taking into consideration the annual budget (tuition + living expenses), it is cheaper for a student to get a degree in New Zealand as an international student than it is to get one at the University of Washington in Seattle if you are an in-state tuition paying student.

 

Totally. I think about people who had been long term planning and saving for a house during the ZIRP days only to see their dream washed away by inflation and the resultant rate hikes.

 

That’s when Los Lobos does Drive By Truckers covers.

 

Insert 'why this is bad for Biden' meme

 

Been reading some stuff from this guy and I wonder how it will play out in the next election...



His point is that, over the last 30+ years, despite average incomes going up, for the 2/3rds of Americans without a college degree their lives have generally got worse and, (in some ways more importantly), levels of inequality have also risen.

 

Or you have good timing.

I bought a small condo in 2019. At the time, I was either at the office, traveling constantly, or just out and about. Didn't see a need to buy a large place, I wasn't home often, just needed a place to rest between adventures. Interest rate? 3.3 percent.

Then, Covid happens. I'm not traveling as much and really haven't since 2020 (Though I'm hoping to fix that next year). I had a chance to buy my sister's condo but I'd have been paying 6% so I said nah. In hindsight, I'd have bought the small bungalow down the street from me.

Either way, not complaining.

 

You're not exactly "young" anymore, my young friend.

Also, I know you're family isn't "loaded," but I imagine you probably had a bit of a head start over most of your peers across the nation. The rest of this is not taking you to task, but just kind of illustrating the point:

When I bought my first place at 25yrs old, you could get a house in SLC in the mid $100's if you didn't mind living far away from the city center; closer in a really old home in a bad part of town, or $200 in a 1950s home in a crappy part of town closer in. So to get a $200k 30yr mortgage at around 7%, you're looking at ~$1600/month (taxes & escrow included) -> $20k/yr -> income of around $60k/yr to qualify. I was making close to $35k waiting tables while going to school, and my wife got an entry level job in her industry as she started grad school making about the same. My parents chipped in a bunch to get us up to the $300k home in a nicer place on the nice side of the valley but 25minutes out from the city.

That same home is now selling for close to $600k. Now if you're looking at financing around $500k, you'll need to earn closer to $180k to afford the same house I lived in 15 years ago. Not exactly entry-level.

 

Oof, this inspired me to check up on my old house, and it's a very similar situation. I bought it in 2013 on a single teacher's salary ($40,000). Built in 1960, 1500 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 15 minutes from downtown KC in a just-okay school district, $140,000. We sold it in 2020 for $215,000, and Zillow is now estimating that it is worth $285,000. It has doubled in price in ten years. And if I was in the same position as a new-ish teacher, I'd be making a whopping $47,000...

 

We're Millennials! We're young in a lot of people's eyes. We'll be in our 50s and 80 year old pundits we'll be complaining about us buying avocado toast. Or killing Bob Evans.

Put this way, family is affluent. We all live in one of the nicest parts of Michigan, I live in the same town as Mallory McMorrow (And a good chunk of her district is wealthy). And I had a head start and will admit it.

A family friend ages ago bought a home in Detroit's Sherwood Forest neighborhood, arguably the nicest neighborhood in Detroit that isn't Downtown or Corktown. 2011, they bought it for $150-160k. Now? There's homes in that neighborhood starting around $400k to a million. I reckon it's worth around $600-700k and this is a 3 story home.

Sibling ages ago got a condo a few streets away from me for $70k in 2017. When it was sold this year, it was $150k. I think my dad near fainted when he learned of that. When I bought my current place, I was making around $65k*, dad significantly helped me out. Paid $69k for my place in 2019, it's worth around $125k I think.

Coincidentally, I did see an article about home prices rising in the metro Detroit area the fastest in the US. There is affordable spots in Detroit proper, but the problem is they're either in bad spots, the homes are falling apart, or it's vacant land. Though it's obvious I'm starting to see signs of growth.

That said, I would love a house in either the University District, the Palmers, or East English Village. Ages ago I almost bought a place in Corktown when I worked in Detroit proper. I know prices in that area now are insane. I actually just looked at the University District and there's a few spots that are affordable.

*: Right now, unemployed but there's a role I interviewed for that if I get will be a great opportunity.

 

Worth watching by the way.

Also, Biden is the best empathetic President around.

This is my single favorite clip that sums up this entire Presidency.

Yehuda Beinin understands what's at stake, and he made sure to speak directly to CNN watchers about the falsehoods they get get by the network and others. https://t.co/OkY4wfyQVN

— The Biden Accomplishments Guy (@What46HasDone) November 30, 2023

 

YEEESH
I shouldn't have checked in on my old place (rented with a few friends). Constructed in 1956. It sold in 2000 for 200K and by 2005 was 447K. Sold in Feb 2022 for $815K. The listing price was 735K, so it looked like a bidding war occurred.

Our current house was constructed in 1982 and sold for 109K. Changed hands a few times (162K in 2001 and 355K in 2012). It took a hell of a hit from 2008-2012 but still doubled in price in a decade. We bought for 529K and it is estimated at 598K. And we have made small changes. (shrug emoji)

Both houses are 3 bedroom/2 bath. The 1956 house has 1895 sq. feet in the Landmark/Alexandria Va. area and our current one is 1799 (lol ..no) sq. feet in Springfield. Neither are close to a MARC or Metro station by at least 6 or 7 miles, but the bus system is infinitely better in Alexandria. I highly doubt the wife and I would be able to afford anything if we entered the workforce this year. Not without a significant 0% loan from family and/or multiple side hustles.

 

The prices on my first home largely leveled off after I sold it. It was a 650sq ft co-op apartment built in 1923. I bought in 2000 for 104K and sold it in 2010 for 300K. Subsequent sales.
2014 340K
2019 349K

 

My parents bought a brownstone (skinny, only 2 windows wide) in a working class Italian-American neighborhood in Brooklyn in 1967 for $19,500. I looked on Zilliow and it has been split into 2 units and one of them was selling for ~$1 million.

 

I bought my house in Seattle in 2009 for $442k pretty close to the bottom of the crash and while we've dumped a bunch of money into the house, it's all stuff that doesn't add value (replaced the water pipes from the street and inside the house to pex from galvanized, replaced furnace from oil to gas, replaced siding and roofing, lined the clay sewer line, and insulated house). Depending on site you use, it is currently between $900k and $1m.