Laura Graves and her husband, Samuel, each make six figures but are struggling to find a home in their budget in the Portland, Oregon, area.
Posted on 08/15/2024 9:26:33 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Laura Graves and her husband, Samuel, each make six figures but are struggling to find a home in their budget in the Portland, Oregon, area.
Laura Graves and her husband, Samuel, never thought they'd be raising their two children in an apartment, but they say the housing market has left them with little choice.
Over the past three years, the couple, who are both 36 and live in a suburb of Portland, Oregon, have been looking for a home. They want to keep their monthly mortgage payment between $3,000 and $3,500 — or about 30% of their monthly take-home income of about $11,000. Laura is a financial analyst, and Samuel is an electrician, and they each made six figures last year, totaling $250,000.
But rising home prices and mortgage rates in recent years have made this goal difficult to accomplish. Laura says most homes they're interested in would require a monthly mortgage payment of at least $5,000, or about half of their monthly income. So rather than splurging on a home outside their budget, they've decided to wait, pay $2,700 a month for a two-bedroom apartment and a storage unit, and cross their fingers that the market moves in their favor.
"We refuse to become 'house-poor' and, like many others, are choosing to sit it out until the housing market is reasonable again," Laura said. Someone is "house-poor" when they're struggling financially because their homeownership costs are too high.
Laura and Samuel are among a group of Americans with six-figure incomes who say they can't find a home they desire that's in their budget. In recent years, high home prices and elevated mortgage rates have propelled the cost of homeownership in the US to near-record-high unaffordability levels.
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
I think $50,000 or more for a nice car is out of whack as well. Everything is about 20% too high.
Biden supporters?
“Laura says most homes they’re interested in would require a monthly mortgage payment of at least $5,000”
I have been to Portland several times. I know a lot of other people in the lumber industry that live around that town. One of my former bosses lived in the highest elevation in the west hills. His house had a great view of the city and Mt Hood. I would live on the west hills or the south side. There is also an island in the Columbia River, but that is probably the most expensive area. Along with the west hills.
These are the areas where a modest house costs over $700K. You do not want to live in the areas in downtown Portland on the east side. There are way too many homeless drug addicts down there.
Don’t pawn off left coast libs on us!
If an electrician can’t make at least $2-3,000/month on side work, he’s doing something wrong.
The article says he makes six figures, so call it $10,000 per month.
Meanwhile people are abandoning Portland.
...and hand on the hip...boss girl grooming.
“… if they were to pull their heads out of their asses…”
A rather rare act for west coasters of that generation.
A local 4bd,2ba, no issues house just popped in my email for $85k
Have we all completely forgotten that that home mortgage payment is almost all deductible? They seem to be in a pretty high tax situation so the difference between $2.7k and $5k per month with the $5k being deductible might not be very much at all. My guess is they just can’t save a decent down payment.
I have done accounting/bookkeeping since 1957.
I am making an OPEN OFFER for this couple.
COME TO MY RESIDENCE-—I do not travel & I have livestock.
BRING YOUR LAST 4 YEARS OF INCOME & EVERY PENNY OF EXPENSES. EVERY PENNY.....
I WILL SHOW YOU HOW YOU CAN BUY A HOME:
(WARNING: I WOULD AVOID ANYTHING IN PORTLAND, OREGON)
I NEVER made more than $63,000 in my life.
Bought my first home in 1966-—making about $6 an hour-— perhaps less.
ReFIED it in 1989 & bought a foreclosure of 5 acres & a 2 year old 2553 SQ ft LOG home.
Moved into Log home in 1993, rented first house, then sold it to renters.
Cleaned up foreclosure & sold it in 2004 for enough profit to buy current property for CASH 5===acres/house/garage/etc.
THEIR “HAVE IT ALL NOW” LIFE STYLE IS BEHIND THEIR PROBLEM, I WILL BET.
BOTH OF THOSE CAREERS ARE PORTABLE
GET OUT OF PORTLAND IF YOU REALLY CARE ABOUT YOUR KIDS
TAKE OFF THE BLINDERS
ALL OF THEM NEW HOMES????
OR JUST HOMES???
GYMNASTICS CLASSES ARE CHEAPER THAN DRUG REHAB
12 brand new ones are being set up 1/2 miles from where I am. $350,000 each.
PROPERTY TAXES IN OREGON ARE HORRENDOUS, ALSO.
Hollywood, Madison Avenue and Wall Street have all convinced Americans of their view of beauty and success.
You get their view of success by making them richer.
There was a lot of love and happiness in a small house with one car.
SHE IS A “FINANCIAL ADVISOR” & SHE MISSED THAT????
Probably missed the whole "building equity" principle as well.
I hope they stay in Portland.
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