Why we did not "Wait and See"

[Bicycle Bill]

Joe--shows how much attention I pay to the trivial--I just assumed it was his grandson.

If we accept the official story, it's not entirely outside the realm of possibility.  Trump was 59 and would have been playing "punch-and-grow" with a 35-year-old Mel at the time Barron would have been conceived 11 years ago, and Viagra has been around even longer than that.
(there are also some unsubstantiated rumors floating around the web that Barron is the result of in vitro fertilization, but I'm not going to go there)

-"BB"-

[Big RR]

Well, small things can sometimes lead to a lot.

[RayThom]

Ray--Wouldn't that be grandparental units?

Listen to Joe, he knows everything.

To paraphrase Mel Profitt, "Da Joe's knows!"

[oldr_n_wsr]

the non-discrimination provisions that allow birth control and viagra to be covered equally,

Since when was viagra covered? Not in my plan. Is my health plan illegal?
If not then birth control should be covered exactly the same way, that is, not at all.
Throughout all my employments and the various plans, bc pills were never covered (at least when my wife had the need for them). Neither was my vasectomy which made the BC pills a non-factor. When did these "elective" prescriptions become mandatory? How about insurance covering condoms?

And I do not see a problem with having some minimum down payment for a house and if not, having to pay some type of insurance to cover hte higher possibility of a default.
One couldn't even get a mortgage without 20% down back in 1985 (I ended up puting 40 or 50% down) and interest rates were 12-3/4%. WE bought a "small-ish" house because it was what we could afford. Still live there now. It was a little cramped evenafter putting on the extension, but we made do.

You want a house? save up for it and only buy what you can afford. Don't over extend yourself as one car accident can mean forclosure. And don't buy a house merely for the future equity.

[datsunaholic]

Median household income in 1985 was a little over $22,000 a year, and the median home price was $85,000. So, it cost about 3.9x gross income.

Median household income in 2015 was around $54,000 and the median home price was around $300,000. So, 5.55x gross income.

Makes it a lot harder to save up the funds for a down payment when incomes haven't kept up with inflation, and housing prices have outpaced it. Plus in 1985 there were a lot more single-income households with 2 adults. Today there are more single-adult households, but most multi-adult households have multiple incomes.

True, the interest rate is a lot lower, but people are still paying a lot more in interest because the principal is so much higher, at least early in the loan.

[Econoline]

I see wes has been busy yesterday and this morning.

and yet still you fantasize about the worst of these.....

E-line said "...It would be nice if Pence replaced Trump, and then someone a bit more sane replaced Pence as VP--and *THEN* 'something happened' to Pence..."

"Something happening" covers a vast number of possibilities.  YOU'RE the one who brought up removal by assassination....

Exactly. Thank you, Bill. I haven't been online since I made my post; I think you're the only one who got my point (and wes definitely missed it by a mile).

[Big RR]

And the point of FHA loans, just like VA loans, is to encourage home ownership among the working classes who can't save up the big down payment and closing costs. FHA loans are pretty restricted as to the amount that can be borrowed, so I doubt the default rate is as high as with commercial loans. My guess is that the reduced premiums to encourage FHA borrowing was a pretty good risk. But we can't be helping those lower classes, can we--we need that money for tax breaks for the rich and corporate welfare.

[Guinevere]

Median household income in 1985 was a little over $22,000 a year, and the median home price was $85,000. So, it cost about 3.9x gross income.

Median household income in 2015 was around $54,000 and the median home price was around $300,000. So, 5.55x gross income.

Makes it a lot harder to save up the funds for a down payment when incomes haven't kept up with inflation, and housing prices have outpaced it. Plus in 1985 there were a lot more single-income households with 2 adults. Today there are more single-adult households, but most multi-adult households have multiple incomes.

True, the interest rate is a lot lower, but people are still paying a lot more in interest because the principal is so much higher, at least early in the loan.

My point was not that the payments were difficult to make, but that it was difficult to save up for the down payment particularly in a single income family, in an expensive housing market. With otherwise excellent credit, that should not be a barrier to homeownership. And yes it is an investment. Home ownership is the single greatest contributor to individual wealth in this country. It should be accessible to as many people as reasonably possible

[Guinevere]

And the point of FHA loans, just like VA loans, is to encourage home ownership among the working classes who can't save up the big down payment and closing costs. FHA loans are pretty restricted as to the amount that can be borrowed, so I doubt the default rate is as high as with commercial loans. My guess is that the reduced premiums to encourage FHA borrowing was a pretty good risk. But we can't be helping those lower classes, can we--we need that money for tax breaks for the rich and corporate welfare.

Exactly!

Cap on an FHA loan is about 670,000. That doesn't buy you a one bedroom condo in a lot of communities in eastern Massachusetts.

[Big RR]

And those caps differ based on location as I recall, as well as residence type (single vs multifamily, etc.). Add to it that the points are financed (actually included in the principle), and the amount that can be actually used to pay for the house is pretty limited. And the credit standards are not waived--you still need pretty clean credit and sufficient income to qualify.

[dales]

Cap on an FHA loan is about 670,000. That doesn't buy you a one bedroom condo in a lot of communities in eastern Massachusetts.

Not to mention a dog house is San Francisco.

[Long Run]

so I doubt the default rate is as high as with commercial loans.

You would be wrong.

[Guinevere]

3.2% drop in mortgage applications overall last week. 13% drop in FHA mortgage applications. Yep, the King Trumpanzee is just firing up the economy and making Americans healthier and wealthier.

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/01/trumps-f ... tions.html

[Econoline]

Getting back to the subject of the OP...

This pretty much says it all:

[rubato]

Median household income in 1985 was a little over $22,000 a year, and the median home price was $85,000. So, it cost about 3.9x gross income.

Median household income in 2015 was around $54,000 and the median home price was around $300,000. So, 5.55x gross income.

Makes it a lot harder to save up the funds for a down payment when incomes haven't kept up with inflation, and housing prices have outpaced it. Plus in 1985 there were a lot more single-income households with 2 adults. Today there are more single-adult households, but most multi-adult households have multiple incomes.

True, the interest rate is a lot lower, but people are still paying a lot more in interest because the principal is so much higher, at least early in the loan.

https://ycharts.com/indicators/sales_pr ... ting_homes

Median Home price, U.S.
Dec. 31, 2015 223200.0

yrs,
rubato

[ex-khobar Andy]

This conversation reminds me of my favourite Private Eye cover of all time - and I imagine many of you are unfamiliar with that wonderful organ. Nixon speech bubble 1968 - "No-one's gonna shoot me with Spiro T. Agnew next in line." Nearly fifty years later that line still makes me laugh.

[MajGenl.Meade]

This conversation reminds me of my favourite Private Eye cover of all time - and I imagine many of you are unfamiliar with that wonderful organ. Nixon speech bubble 1968 - "No-one's gonna shoot me with Spiro T. Agnew next in line." Nearly fifty years later that line still makes me laugh.

I remember buying that very issue at the news stand outside the Royal Courts of Justice on Fleet Street. November 22nd. Issue 181

[rubato]

What was the point of "Wait and see"? There was chance that the person he has very publicly been for 50 years was about to change?


yrs,
rubato

[Gob]

This conversation reminds me of my favourite Private Eye cover of all time - and I imagine many of you are unfamiliar with that wonderful organ.

I kept up my subscription to PE when I emigrated. (How else could I cancel it?)