What living above our means has wrought...

When baby-boomers were building up their houses and gleefully borrowing from their home equity, did anybody stop and think who was going to afford their over-sized monstrosity?  Many of these same people did not set aside a dime for their children's education, but they still expected the youth of tomorrow to able to afford their suburban albatross.  We are all connected, and the housing mess has highlighted things we before took for granted.  This article discusses the economic eco-system that we inhabit, and the long-lost notion of mortgages and mobility.  If there is no-one now to buy your home, and the young and old alike are suffering.  Obviously things were not suppose to be this way, but the flushest generation in history--the baby-boomers, put most of their eggs in the mortgage basket, and have left us to pay for their unsustainable ways.

Housing Problems and Solutions

The trends in how our generation will live is uncertain.  The housing bubble has popped, but it is very difficult to scrape together a down payment for one of these "bargains," not to mention that job security is almost nonexistent. My husband and I are experiencing this problem first-hand, and there really is no easy answer.  Sure, we have the income to save $1000 a month for a down-payment (on top of a rent of $750), but will our jobs be secure enough to take on a 15 or 30 year loan commitment?  The second question is whether the market in the Midwest United States really is at rock-bottom.  It has always been relatively inexpensive to live in the Midwest, but owning a home is still a daunting prospect for your average twenty-something year old.  Interest rates are not at "historic lows," but interest rates are not as important as a low selling price.  I only say this as future taxes are based on house appraisals, in addition to the time it will take you to pay off your ball-and-chain.  Is renting forever a realistic prospect, or is there some middle-way in this whole maelstrom of housing misinformation.