Half of Americans can’t afford their house, while 84% young people delay major life decisions due

originally posted by: MagicWand67
Many Americans can barely afford to pay their rent.

This picture below shows how many hours a person must work at minimum wage to earn enough money to pay rent in their state.

The bankers & military-industry complex has stolen America and most people of America just ; meh ....

For a world's superpower , this is not good .

a reply to: 23432

Not at all. History is certainly not on America's side right now.

There is still hope, but that fades everyday.

originally posted by: jrod
a reply to: 23432

Not at all. History is certainly not on America's side right now.

There is still hope, but that fades everyday.

Things have to get worse before they get better .

NATO has to defeat Communism ideologically first and upmost .
America must work the hardest . Ironically , less government is the solution imho.

I am sure there are enough Americans left to carry that extremely valueable human motto : government by the people , for the people.

a reply to: Euphem

Ah you see you have fallen into the 'I own my home' meme.....

Not meaning to offend but when you say you 'own' your home, until you've paid the mortgage in full, you don't, the bank does.

You own a massive debt on some bricks, wood and a plot of land.

Whilst you think you're getting richer because your house has risen in value this is just an illusion to make you feel good.

To realise those gains you need to sell up, but you still need somewhere to live don't you?

Unfortunately it won't only be your house that has risen in value so the cost for you to move to the next aspirational level increases putting you in even greater debt servitude.

It's a rigged game against the people, sure there are some winners but the majority lose and the real winners are the banks.

Research compound interest and discover just how much you end up paying for a house.....

a reply to: Marlborough Red

I understand how a mortgage works. Unless I somehow can't pay it I do own it. I get what you are saying, but what is the better option? Renting a town home similar to my house would cost more than twice what my mortgage payment is.

Should I rent a crappier place for the same amount of money and have to live in an apartment complex with a bunch of random people? No thanks. In 13 years when I fully own my home, where would I be if I were renting?

a reply to: Euphem
It was cheaper in my case to buy a home than to rent, also. I bought way below my means, and I'm happy with what I have. So many of the neighbors that were here when I moved in have lost their houses, though. They just simply couldn't afford it. It was that Freddie Mac/ Fanny Mae deal they went with. My street is a ghost town, now.
People are renting apartments at the same price as my house payment.

a reply to: Euphem

It was not until high school Algebra before I was shown how compound interest truly works. It works to rip you off.

Let's say you borrow $100,000 with a 5% interest rate to pay back over 20 years.. Conventional wisdom tell you 5% of $100,000 is $5,000. That is not how compounded interest works, interest compounds on the amount owed, the longer it takes to pay off the loan, the more it accumulates. Using a basic mortgage calculator I googled:

A $100,000 mortgage at 5% nets a $659.96 monthly payment over the next 240 months.

659.96 x 240 = $158,390.40, effectively a 58.39% interest rate.

At 30 years the payment is $536.82

536.82 x 360 = $193,255.20, effectively a 93% interest rate, almost twice as much as the original loan.

This figures to not account for insurance you are required to buy when you have a mortgage. It also does not account for property taxes the loan holder is required to pay, despite the fact the bank owns the home and has the title.

That said, it can be cheaper to take out a mortgage than it is to rent. Despite home ownership being an investment that often results in a red ROI, it is still better than 0 ROI. (return on investment) In other words getting 0.50 back on a dollar spent is better than nothing.