I guess I'm living in a parallel universe-college student qualifies for 350K home loan?

[w8liftinglady]

I admit I'm an HGTV addict-I love watching House Hunters-mainly to bitch about outrageous real estate prices..but tonight I saw an episode that even had Me surprised.A kid halfway through college with a part-time job wanted a condo in Ventura ,Ca for 350 K.His mom was helping him with the down payment.Are salaries that great in Ca. that a part-time employee can afford such a mortgage?What the hell am I doing wrong?

[Tikki]

1. That would be a pretty big down payment...

from Mom...and p/t job wage and maybe a bit of student loans to cover the mortgage and Condo Fees.

Remember...his utility costs will be very low and he can ride a bike or walk to College from his Condo.

Plus he may have some kind of inheritance or other money...think grandparents, aunts, uncles etc.


Tikki

[DJ13]

2. Many of those shows date back to the bubble years

I watch them sometimes and see young couples buying a house thats double what it sells for now, and I bet most have been foreclosed on in the last year or two.

Its sad how they were convinced they had nothing to lose by the real estate agents showing them the houses.

[atomic-fly]

3. I saw that one...

350k is not a lot to some people. It is to me, but some
families are loaded...they will probably help him pay for it.

[FrenchieCat]

4. His parents probably have money or he may have a nice nest-egg from

his parents saving for his college since he was small?
There are folks out there like that, you know.
If the parents/Mom co-signed the loan, then it can be done.

and relatively speaking 350K for a house in California is not that much at all,
depending on the area.

[Warpy]

5. I used to see that in Boston

Well off parents would buy the kid a condo and pay the monthly PITI and fees to keep the kid out of dorms or a rat and roach infested student apartment. When the kid graduated and found a job, the kid got the deed to the condo and started to pay his own expenses or sell it for a start in another city.

Likely that was what was at work here, wealthy parents cosigning the loan. It was also likely an old show.

What I don't get with all this house porn is how these twentysomethings with a couple of rug rats can afford the trophy houses. Are they all investment bankers or big time drug dealers or are they all hired actors, more attractive than the middle aged people who can actually afford to buy those houses?