Why would they refuse a gift or personal loan for a Dow payment?
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The down payment is only part of ownership. Theyād still have to cover mortgage payments and taxes and insurance, plus maintenance. Those would add ~ $800-1,000/month. Future SIL, like me 35+ years ago, has conflicted feelings about accepting large gifts. (I cried when my in-laws gave me a gift way beyond what my parents could give.)
Now that the wedding is imminent, weāll give I Bonds or cash that they can use for retirement or other things.
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Interesting article in Fortune- some regions approaching overvaluation of housing market
āFundamental economics tells us that home price growth and income growth are interwoven. Neither can outrun the other for very long. That is whatās concerning about the pandemicās housing boom: Over the past year, home price growth (20.6%) is four times greater than income growth (4.8%).ā
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One thing that is true for all age groups: it helps to have a partner to share these housing expenses! Otherwise itās craigslist well into the 30ās.
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Recently there was a NYT story, āTheir Solution to the Housing Crisis? Living with Strangersā. I saw people online criticizing the article for making it seem like itās a new thing. Others pointed out itās just an example how the media would benefit from having more diversity within their ranks. People have often looked for roommates to share the burden of housing costs.
Rhetorical question: Donāt most new grads have a roommate or two? Iām sure there are examples to the contrary, but itās interesting to examine peopleās expectations.
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It depends on location and career. I know many recent grads without roommates.
When older S first graduated and moved to his new city, I was glad he had a roommate. He had someone to hang out with and wasnāt alone, especially during covid. It was good because he was a friend/frat brother/ previous roommate from school.
Now he lives with GF. They shopped around and found a really good deal in Arlington/Clarendon. They do share a 1BR/1 BA but they each only pay $850/month. And their household income is higher than H and mine with much better benefits (lower insurance premiums!). They are doing fine.
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D1 waited to buy because she wanted a place where they could for a while in 2020 they bought a 3 bedroom at Park Slope for close to 2 mill. Itās not the down payment or closing costs that made it difficult, but for the fact that the coop board required close to 2 years of liquid assets for housing. D1 has always been good at managing their finance. They put away all of their bonuses for 8+ years.
D2 is renting a very small apartment nearby for around 3500. It has washer/dryer and a large balcony. Itās going to be a little while before she buys, unless D1 wants to help out. 
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When the local facebook boards lament about minimum wage being nowhere close to the amount needed for an average cost apartment, I do remind them that it is not surprising the lowest wage folks would need to 1) have a roommates 2) live in the less than average cost places.
I do think weāll be seeing more ādensityā of rental housing, through roommates and/or micro apartments (which seem more practical in areas where the weather is usually nice). Iād love to see a local nonprofit find a way to match up older folks who need extras money and/or help in the house with young renters.
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The federal minimum wage is $7.25/hour.
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Canāt remember where or when I saw this, but somewhat recently I read an article about a service doing exactly that. Donāt recall the area where it was taking place, but Iām pretty sure cost of housing for young renters was the initial impetus. I remember thinking āwhat a great ideaā.
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I just looked up minimum wage in CO ā¦ $12.56 per hour. But per local FB posts some desperate employers seem to be offering $15-$18 (sometimes plus tips). Thatās good because rental costs that were already high pre-Covid have increased a lot in the past few years.
The NYT article that @88jm19 cited above has a section about this. It is organized by the New York Foundation for Senior Citizens.
@Colorado_mom This is the link to the NYFSCās homesharing program.
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Multiply $12.56 (or $15 or $18) by 35 (and many times employers try to keep employees part-time to avoid paying for what the city/state/whatever requires them to provide to full-time employees) and take away Social Security and Medicare tax etc, and see what they get. Plus (unlike me!) most people donāt get to walk to work. And we know what gas costs, on top of automobile ownership and upkeep, insurance, etc.
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Thanks for that info.
This is not the article or program I had read about, so it seems there are multiple programs of this type (most likely in the high COL locations). The one Iām thinking of may have been in CA, but Iām not sure.
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There are so many ways to make money now, Doordash, Uber, Lyft, Instacart, etcā¦ there is no limit on what you can do to earn money.
I am a psychotherapist at a community mental health clinic and I can tell you from the experiences of myyoung adult clients or their parents that itās a lot harder than it looks to cobble togther a reasonable income through working via these apps.
Hereās a NY Times feature written by a reporter who was a bicycle messenger in NYC. If you are stopped by the paywall, PM me and I will send you an unlocked version. Hair-raising!
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Sorry I donāt really read the NYTimes.
@DrGoogle123 - I highly recommend at least a trial subscription to NYT. Excellent journalism. One of the few outstanding newspapers out thereā¦ WSJ, NYT, WaPoā¦ you know, reading is good exercise for the brain.
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I used to subscribe to them, not anymore. This is all Iām going to say.