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I agree that personal responsibility should be upheld and that grants would be unfair to those who’ve managed to own homes by being fiscally responsible by either saving or making good financial decisions.

The big issue is that these people with low-income shouldn’t have been able to buy homes in the first place. The dream to own a home is really powerful, and a lot of lenders took advantage of that to make those dreams a reality. Sometimes emotions get the best of people, and coupled with the hope that the property will go up in value, I don’t exactly blame those poor people for signing on the dotted line. Should they get bailed out? I don’t think so.

What we really need to focus on is to figure out how people with low-income can actually afford to buy a house/condo in San Diego. It’s up to the point in San Diego where in order to be considered middle class, you have to be making over $100K. That’s just sad.

[movielover]

cassiopeia –in response to your comment, I do plan to use the condo as a stepping stone to a bigger place, but I’m also realistic in knowing that I could potentially have to hold on to the place as well. I’ve already factored this into consideration that whatever I buy, I have to be able to say to myself that I can be happy living in it for at least 5 years, and maybe renting it out for another 5-10 years depending on the market.

That’s why I’m looking into areas that are considered desirable for whatever reason, and will be able to rent it out at a fairly high rate when it comes to that point.

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sdcellar — believe me I’m not willing to pay for anything overpriced. Hell, I didn’t get my car for $1000 below invoice without doing my research. I could buy a condo in UTC now if I wanted to but those condos are worth $250k for a 1br if that. I thought people who bought a condo in UTC for $499k for a 2br a couple of years back should’ve spent their money on a shrink.

I don’t intend to lower my standard of living. I’ve started looking, and my real estate agent is well aware of the fact that it’s only a want and not a need, and if I don’t find that steal, I am not going to be buying.

[movielover]

Thanks for everyone’s comments.

As mentioned earlier, I was thinking about buying because of the tax advantages, plus fear of rent going up around UTC. I was approved for $355k, but I know better, and realistically, I don’t want to buy anything unless it’s listed around 200-225. A comment was made that I should low ball by offering 15-20% of the lowest list price. That is exactly what I intend to do.

I’m approved through ACORN, a non-profit that helps first-time homebuyers. I can either get a 30yr fixed, or a 40 year fixed loan, but on the 40 yo, I only pay interest for the first 10 years, but the interest remains fixed. I’m a little weary about that, so I’m going for the 30 yr. I’m planning on having mortage, HOA and taxes to be roughly around 12-1400/mth. I rather pay that knowing that I’m owning rather than pay rent, which, as someone already mentioned, seems to be trending up. Mind you, my budget is based on the fact that I still claim 0 deduction and still manage to sock away money for emergency savings and IRA account (considering I don’t get any matching for 401k).

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