I want to repeat here again that the climate in SD County has NEVER been conducive to operating a single-earner household of 3 or more persons while simultaneously a homeowner with a mortgage plus all the other expenses which go along with homeownership.

The exception is if one of the owners “inherits” their residence from parents/grandparents or the “sole breadwinner-borrower” makes $200-$250K per year, depending on size of mortgage taken out.

This has ALWAYS BEEN the case in SD County so it should come as no surprise to those families affected by QC’s layoff who elected to “put all their eggs in one basket” . . . in my mind, a very unwise move in this day and age.

Because of the prevailing mortgage interest rates of different eras, it DOESN’T MATTER how much the household’s mortgage balance is/was as the higher or MUCH higher interest rate and lower wages of each previous era resulted in the same declination of standard of living as experienced today in single-income 3+ person households.

So for those who live in areas with many paid-off homes, it should be some consolation to know that your neighbor who paid off their $45K to $150K mortgage years ago likely did so after a lot of blood, sweat and tears. It was no easier for a homeowner to attempt to pay off $97K at 9-14% than it is to attempt to pay off $417K at 3-4% today, especially when factoring in the lower salaries of previous decades.