[quote=CA renter]Those “several years in college” most definitely affects what a person/couple should or would want to buy. If they have spent 6-10 years in college to become doctors, attorneys, etc., then they will probably not want to live in a dangerous barrio, nor should they be expected to do so.[/quote]
CAR, no one’s intimating here that ANY buyer should buy their personal residence in the “barrio” (wherever that is), unless, they, of course have relatives in the ‘hood. I was simply saying that there are enough RESALES on the market to satisfy the desires of buyers in every price range.
The “3 C’s of credit” are “character, capital (or collateral) and capacity.” Nowhere in the language of the “3 C’s” does it speak of educational level as being a criteria for credit acceptance.
I’m not going to speak for sdr, but I would bet you a bottle of cheap Merlot that if he finds a buyer for a property in your ‘hood who meets all three of these criteria to purchase, he’s not going to screen them for educational level.
Let’s take 92106 or 92037 for instance. These areas have among the highest lot prices in the county. If you took a survey door-to-door, what level of education do you think would you find, on average? If you noted how long each homeowner has resided in their homes, what do you think the average educational attainment would be for those who have lived in their homes >30 years?
I think you might be surprised to find a lot of 60-somethings with 40+ year old kids, high school dropouts, vocational school graduates, ex-union tradesmen, liberal arts graduates who never had a paying job, etc.
I maintain that it is only the young (<45 yrs old) that have often mortgaged themselves into oblivion in the form of taking out student loans to obtain these "degrees." Many persons who are now >50 either attended college much cheaper, got an associate degree, went to occupational school or none of the above. Why bother if you can earn $18-$30 hr at Teledyne Ryan and Rohr and your first house cost $30-$60K??
In the above zip codes, what do you think the average age of a homeowner is?
I’m not saying education isn’t valuable. It IS, for some people. Steve Jobs dropped out of college his first semester. Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard his third semester. Whether or not someone “spent several years in college” has NOTHING to do with their (1)intelligence; (2)earning capacity; and (3) ambition and drive.
Look at some of these RE brokers who have 30+ years of experience in the biz and own many properties themselves. I can tell you that some were once teenage moms/dads on welfare before they got their RE licenses and became wildly successful. The job of a RE or mortgage broker only requires periodic continuing education (community college level, usually correspondence) and years of experience. Their income potential is unlimited but many have never set foot into a college.
[quote=CA renter]Right, it’s not as profitable for builders to build nice, modest, single-story homes. This is why I’d much rather see the end of large-scale developments, and a return to people buying their own land and building their own houses on their own lots. But that’s just me… ;)[/quote]
CAR, in many states you can EASILY buy a 1-5 AC lot RIGHT IN TOWN, or even in the CITY and build your own house. These are states where the land is much cheaper than here. Many of my relatives have done this, over and over and over. They’re all semi-retired or retired now and are living in their “dream” homes (i.e. 2500+ sf, all brick, flr to ceiling brick FP, tray ceilings, Andersen wood windows, custom kitchens, 3-car garages, outbuilding for farm tools/supplies, dog run, barns, horse corrals, MBR suites, central A/C, baths and closets as big as a bdrm, etc).
Except for the first two (who were educators and received Bachelor’s degrees), ALL have a HS Diploma and vocational training or on the job training. Period. Several now have a net worth of $1.5M +. A couple have a net worth of +$3M. Their current ages are 59-76. None of them started out in sprawling brick ranches on acreages, but that’s where they all ended up.
There’s plenty of land still left in the southwestern states, CAR. You can do this too and never work for someone else another day in your life!
