We've sincerely stopped being jealous of all the homeowners in our age range (35 and under) because Lord knows there's little happiness in kitchen remodeling, leaking roofs, termites, association fees, and general upkeep that comes along with owning a sliver of land in Panorama City. But should we ever want to buy into this misery (which we desperately want to do), Franklin Avenue reminds us that the market has passed us by.
There's a whole generation of us younger folk -- call us Gen X, Gen Y, whatever -- who missed the gravy train simply because we weren't ready financially to buy a house until the last year or two.At that point, for those of us who were still able to buy a house, it was for a smaller home with a much larger pricetag. In most of the country, a "half a million dollar home" means something. Here, that's a shack in the Valley.
And just to beat into us what we already know, the Sunday edition of the Daily News tells us that should we wish to own a home in the area any time soon we best be ready to sell our liver, get a second job, and drive for hours.
One in five new homeowners in the state spends more than half of gross income on a home loan. Half of new homeowners spend more than the federally recommended limit of 30 percent of their income on the mortgage."If you're willing to spend a lot on housing, if you're willing to move inland, and use this flexible financing method, you can find a home."
· Bitterness is a New Homeowner [Franklin Avenue]
· Struggling for the dream [Daily News]