<<Homeowners get to live in better neighborhoods, send their kids to better schools, they have a stake in the community, build up wealth to pass on to their children.>>
Benefits of home ownership notwithstanding, there are also benefits to maintaining higher savings and a more liquid "balance sheet"....especially as we enter a recessionary environment. Regarding your specific points:
1) Everyone has a stake in the community, whether they own, rent, or live in Luc's cardboard box. You might even make a case that the homeless person has the LARGEST stake in a stable community, as they are more likely to be victimized by "instability", ie, crime, than others. The homeless are certainly more aware of the quality and availability of public facilities and resources than the average homeowner.
2) Agree that homeowners get to live in better neighborhoods, but there may be an opportunity cost. Iif they are stretched financially and can't afford private or parochial schooling as a result, they may not necessarily send their kids to better schools. Or they may live in a community where access to good public schools does not depend on "neighborhood of residence", ie, magnet schools
3) If they are unable to keep the home because they've become overextended, there is no wealth to be passed on. Indeed, they may well lose the little equity they've built up.
At the risk of sounding hard-hearted, the housing bubble will be as detrimental to society as the stock bubble was by the time it completes its implosion. There are vast differences in term of underwriting risk between the VA programs our parents benefitted from and the "no-money down" FNM loans of today. As a result, the VA loans paid for themselves, more or less, but the FNM debt burden will be carried by our generation of taxpayer/bagholders the rest of our lives.
Regards
Patron |
