But they will have a nice home for their cats.
Posted on 03/29/2005 11:21:03 AM PST by qam1
Fewer single women are waiting for Prince Charming to sweep them off their feet before they buy their first home.
The Wall Street Journal reports single women are buying homes in record numbers.
"It's like a dream,” said MiMi. “You are just not really there yet. It takes a few weeks to settle in, and say, ‘OK, this is my house!’”
MiMi, 29, isn't wasting anytime securing her future. She recently bought her first home.
Mimi is a part of a growing segment of single women, armed with buying power, that are unwilling to wait around for Mr. Right before investing in a house.
“If you keep waiting around and you keep renting, you're throwing away thousands of dollars each year that could be going towards equity,” MiMi continued. “So I wanted to make sure I was building something rather than throwing money into someone else's pockets."
The National Retail Association reports in 2003 single women bought one in five homes. That's close to two million homes.
The share of homes bought by single women has increased about 33 percent over the past decade, making single women the fastest growing segment of the home buying population.
"When I was a little girl we used to sing, ‘First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes whoever your friend is with a baby carriage.” I don't think kids are singing that song anymore,” said Triangle Realtor Linda Craft.
Craft says over the past ten years she's seen more and more single women wanting to buy a home. She says part of the reason is more women are thinking like business professionals nowadays.
“And the business professional says, ‘I don't want to waste money on rent, I want to own my own home. I want to start having a leveraged investment that is going to grow and protect my future,'" she explained.
Craft doesn't see the trend slowing down anytime soon. “I’ve been in business 20 years. I think 20 years from now, and I will still be in business, we will see more and more women, who are not only buying real estate, but own the majority of real estate."
Meantime, MiMi is enjoying her newfound independence, but is still open to meeting her knight in shining armor when the time is right. “Absolutely! You just have to take your time and do the responsible thing. The responsible thing is to watch out after your retirement and, like I said, investing in homes. Realty is one of the best ways to have a retirement or fixed income in the end."
Mortgage giant Fannie Mae expects single women to head 28 percent of all households by the end of the decade.
thanks dubya, that's is a good deal unless your property increased more than $250,000 in value which most folks probably not, though my dad is a builder and some of the same people are living in the same houses they bought from him in 1960 for $5,000 dollars and you know their house has appreciated at least $250,000 over 55 years......
Gee does this reek of genuine sexism....
"Interesting how the article never discusses single men."
Maybe because the subject indicates it's about women?
"I also wonder if these are some of those women who will NEVER be married."
What is it that any smidgeon of independence by women is met by this kind of asinine comment - harruuumphh, she'll never be *married*. W/the obvious implication that having a man is what she needs - and being somehow independent means she can't get any men. (Meanwhile, of course, no man "needs" any woman, right? Oh, of course not!)
I'm sorry, that's asinine. Understated subtle sexism.
I don't know either. Who would clean it up?
Everybody knows that's a woman's job!
ducking
sorry I misread or assumed a typo, because I've heard those alleged stats for women who aren't married by a certain age are less likely to be ever married, though I suspect it's not that much different for men, anyone see the debut of the latest Bachelor, I don't like the show myself but I only watched because Jerry O Connell's brother Charlie is the Bachelor, and I have to say I find the guy far more interesting than the saps they usually get......and they've mixed up the rules to make it even bitchier LOL
Knight in shining armor? LOL. That may be MiMi's problem right there.
As a long ago divorced woman, I'm on my third home as a single person. Not waiting for, or looking for, anyone. I adore men, but am happily single with every intention of remaining so. From what I see amongst my friends of both genders, this isn't a new trend.
Man, isn't that the truth (Toronto condo owner).
that is what illegal immigrants are for, LOL, just hire Rosita or Maria
and don't they have these maid services in large urban areaas where you can get some babe who'll clean up your house while topless, there you go,
kill 2 birds with one stone, you single guys can save money not going to the strip joint and your house will be clean
I think the ladies can get buff dudes to come clean their houses too, LOL
But you are forgetting many women are content to be the "Other Woman" which skews the ratio of available women to men right back down.
it is sad to say, my mother and my aunt who've been married 45 and 50 years respectively were just saying about all the things they would do if their husbands weren't around, and us kids keep telling them - go do it anyway because my dad and my uncle are the kind that are going to be ornery and live until they are 100 years old..... my mom and my aunt notice how the widows in their group are the ones having lots of fun, travelling, doing this and that.......
now I know, many of you men aren't like that, you actually know how to enjoy your retirement and lucky women who've found men like that......sadly too though how many people put off travelling etc until retirement and one or both of the spouses gets sick shortly after retirement, that is so sad, makes you think,
But they will have a nice home for their cats.
Agency phone number please :)
true, that is another factor but then factor in the married women having affairs with single men, greedy bitches, LOL
My plan exactly.
My sister bought her first house while single and 22 years old. She's gonna get married someday but saw a deal and jumped on it.
That's $500,000 per couple. That's quite a large appreciation.
If you have to sell your house within the two years, but it's due to job change or other "emergency", then they pro-rate the amount you can write-off. We moved due to my husband's job change and had only lived in our place for a year. We still didn't have to pay any taxes on the appreciation.
LOL, that's why we bought a house. Couldn't get a dog without one...
LQ
I'm going to be looking for my first house in Vermont in May, own a condo here in NJ....too expensive and my man of 4 years does not want to get married (again and again and again) so I'm going up the coutry and starting a new life!!!!!!!!!
Well...with a mortgage you are at least building SOME equity...with rent-none.
I am a single man-and homeownership will (haven't bought yet) have the following benefits:
If I hate the bathroom, I can remodel it and it's my damn house so I can do as I please
I can plant or cut down a tree
I can remodel at my own whim
I can do whatever I want in the garage
I can plant a garden, or plant grass over the garden
I can have a dog, or a cat, or 10 of each if I choose
I am free to paint a mural of Ronald Reagan in the family room (not that I am talented enough to do so)
Of course, own or rent, once I get married, I can't do any of those things...
Also, if I marry my current GF, she owns a house already and has mandated that she's NOT selling...
and a large percentage of these women will fill their homes with CATS.
Both of my brothers sat around saying they didn't want to pay interest on a loan...I took the plunge. They wound up priced way out of the market, while their friends were able to use equity to leverage their way into nice homes. After only a year, I used my equity to get the heck out of California. The only reasons not to buy a house is if prices are already dropping fast, you've ruined your credit and need to fix it, or you are pretty sure you're going to move around a lot.
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