[quote=dd123] . . . People here work to pay off mortgage not to live/enjoy making double income family a necessity[/quote]
dd123, a couple of things come to mind here . . .
If the above scenario IS your reality, WHY is that? Are you a “bubble-era” purchaser? Have you taken out too large of a mortgage and/or put too little down?? My P&I is currently about $1200 mo for a med-large 4 bdrm SFR. I can’t even rent a 2 bdrm apt for that in my area (or a 1 bdrm *newer* unit).
In my mind, it’s very simple. If you are living above your means or you need every cent both owner-spouses can earn in order to live month to month, you probably purchased or rented too-expensive of a property and/or a property too highly taxed (or saddled with too high of fees), barring any other consumer-debt issues.
For a middle to lower income couple or family to live comfortably here, they will invariably have to make tradeoffs …. usually in housing choices. If they are unwilling to do that, then they will feel a financial pinch every month until such time as they decide to reset their priorities or leave SD County for a cheaper locale. The only other solution is to find ways to make more money. Often, just $600-$800 more net per month can make the difference between staying here and living more “comfortably” versus leaving.
Another thing is, why would a “recent transplant” of, say, the last 10 years expect to be a one-earner household and also be able to select the housing of their choice in the area of their choice in a place such as SD County? This is not the 1950’s. Why does this expectation even exist?? And why would you think that both spouses who have signed a mortgage note together in “TX or the Carolinas” wouldn’t each work FT?? I can assure you that many, MANY dual-income families exist in those states.
This is why I have stated here before that incoming domestic buyers whose HH annual incomes are under $150K and have little set aside for a downpayment must be carefully screened and make preliminary trip(s) here BEFORE deciding to accept employment here. More often than not, their housing expectations must be drilled down far below what they are “accustomed to” or have previously “felt comfortable” living in. If this cannot be accomplished successfully, an agent/broker will just end up wasting theirs (and the potential buyer’s) time.
Not trying to “trump up” the value of living in SD County, here, because it is entirely subjective. Just trying to be REAL … face REALITY in the HERE and NOW….Remember, it’s a free country :=]
