Generation Rent: How Our American Dream Is Different from Our Parents'

[marmar]

from GOOD:



Generation Rent: How Our American Dream Is Different from Our Parents'

Nona Willis Aronowitz
Associate Editor

June 17, 2011


One of the most depressing news stories I've read in the last few years is one asserting that the Millennial generation will be the first to be worse off than their parents. This factors in salaries, health costs, and social security, but also our prospects (or lack thereof) of ever Owning A Home, that classic American declaration of independence. Recent numbers are sketching out a harsh reality: that our hopes of owning property may be unrealistic, and that we will become a generation of renters in the next few decades. Here are a few ways Generation Rent differs from their parents:

Renter cities aren't just coastal anymore. New York and San Francisco are famous for being towns full of renters, but that sensibility is expanding rapidly in the aftermath of the recession. More than 500 mid-to-large American cities, including Birmingham, Miami, and Phoenix, have seen an increase in the number of rental homes, and that number isn't likely to go down anytime soon.

....(snip)....

So what do we do? We loosen our grip on the nuclear family that lives in a huge house all by themselves, for one. Pooling resources and buying multiple-family homes, or simply living with friends for longer than we're used to, is already becoming more common in big cities, where the housing market was prohibitively expensive even without a recession.

We should also draw our attention toward the affordable housing movement, which puts pressure on local governments to expand rent-controlled and rent-stabilized apartments, as well as supporting the traditional concept of co-ops—nonprofit complexes that require very small equity payments. When there is some assurance that your rent won't all of a sudden go through the roof when you're 70, making a huge property investment doesn't seem so vital. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.good.is/post/generation-rent-how-our-american-dream-is-different-from-our-parents/

[Cleita]

1. Did you mean rant, not rent?

You have time to make a correction.

Recommend, otherwise.

[kick-ass-bob]

2. Nope - that is the title of the article. :)

recced

[Cleita]

12. Thanks. I was wondering. n/t

[Occulus]

8. What exactly did you mean by that? n/t

[Cleita]

11. I didn't mean anything. It was a question, which was

answered, that the article actually meant rent.

[n2doc]

3. Yep. We will all be debt slaves to foreigners

They will own the rentals we will be living in. They will own the companies where we work. It's already happening, lots of real estate being snapped up at crash prices.
Kind of like the old feudal system.

[jwirr]

4. I was born in 1941 and have never owned a home. I do remember

back then many people built houses while they lived in a garage or the basement of that house. You have only to drive around some of our small communities to know that they built much smaller homes back then. The problem with this is that I doubt that the banksters are going to be willing to finance any kind of building now.

We had renters associations going back in the 60s to help control owners but I don't know if these organizations exist anymore.

[SoCalDem]

5. There are several striking generational differences

I am now 62, and when I moved out of "the family home", I lived in a succession of pretty crappy places, and I was not alone.. My generation rented for quite a long time before buying that first home...and when we did, we put down 20% , and bought the house we could afford...not the house we wanted.

Realtors would not even show us houses we could not afford.

My sons are 30-somethings and the first houses 2 of them bought were significantly NOT entry-level houses like we bought in our era.


Rents have also escalated to a point where home ownership , coupled with ridiculous "get-into-a-house-easy" schemes, made buying a house seem like a better "deal" for too many young people who might suddenly find themselves unemployed or having to move quickly.

When home buying (that first house especially) was during one's mid to late 30s, a career was well in progress, and most of the childbearing was complete, so people used to be able to buy a house they could stay in for the duration of raising those kids. I fear that many young people these days get talked into buying a house too early, and then find our that when they start a family, that house is poorly located or too small, so they start the practice of moving with each kid, and ratcheting up their debt.

Appraisals are very inaccurate, and often not based on reality.

[physioex]

6. Renting does have its advantages.....

It's really an illusion to think that "you own a house". Think about the huge property taxes you pay based on the county you reside not to mention maintenance and insurance. Around the area I live, there are several houses whose property taxes are higher than the rent for a nice single bedroom apartment. You also give up mobility and are subject to the constraints of the local market.

I am not against ownership, just one has to be aware of the advantages and disadvantages before making the decision.

[Brigid]

7. Exactly.

Home ownership, depending on your situation, may not be right for you. A while back, someone posted a thread where Suze Orman, in a nutshell, said that. For some reason, that poster got a lot of flak. I don't know why; it doesn't sound so hard to understand to me.

[TwilightGardener]

10. I remember that post. And here's what bothers me about it--the monied class

seems to be suddenly telling us we don't need to own real estate, don't need to own land--save your money and rent! We'll take care of those pesky property taxes and maintenance issues for you! But owning land and/or a home was traditionally the only way to get ahead for the lower classes. It's usually the biggest component of an estate when someone of modest means dies. It's some security in old age, if the home is paid off. It can be what pays for the nursing home, if need be. It's the only wealth many of us will ever build. What does it say that wealthy people generally don't rent, if renting is so fucking awesome? Just seems to be one more way for the rich to get ever richer, if they buy up houses and land cheap and then rent it back to us. Just one more way of lowering our expectations in life, in addition to wages, benefits, government services, etc. One more way of disenfranchising the middle and working classes.

[starroute]

9. The biggest problem with renting is they can kick you out

Not so much with apartments -- but we rented two houses before we bought, and both times we eventually got kicked out because the landlord decided they could do some improvements and double the rent for the next tenant. It seems that landlords really don't like tenants who stay around more than ten years -- turnover every 3-5 years is better for their bottom line. So if you're looking for stability, and to keep your kids in the same school district as they're growing up, renting has its disadvantages.

[FreeJoe]

14. Long term renters

I live in an area with very slowly appreciating home prices. I have a few friends that buy properties as investments to rent. They LOVE long term renters. If someone pays their bills and doesn't trash the house, they'll bend over backwards to keep them. Maybe different markets are different.

My favorite renter story was from a friend that rented a house to a British couple for 5 years. When they moved out, he found that they had added a nice in-ground pool.

[FreeJoe]

13. I think you are too pessimistic

I've been hearing the assertion that the youth of today will not live as well as their parents since I was a kid in the 70s. I and the overwhelming majority of my friends from back then live much better than our parents did. I think that things will continue to get better in the long run.

When my wife and I were first married, we lived in a one bedroom apartment. We stayed in it for years and loved it. Renting a small place gave us a chance to live where we wanted and still save a lot of money. When we decided to have kids, we moved out to burbs and bought a house. Both renting and owning were great choices for us in our different circumstances. I would have hated to own a house back then and I would hate to be renting now.

It actually seems like a great time to buy a house. Homes are more affordable than they have been in a long time. Prices are down. Interest rates are down.

[NNN0LHI]

15. I didn't buy my first house until I was in my mid 30's

Had a lot of friends who bought earlier in life. They lost most of them to repossession during the 1980's.

Owning isn't for anyone living on the edge as I was for the first 15 years living on my own. Too many lay offs.

Don

[wuushew]

16. kick

:kick: