Thread by @khadastrophic

Can I be really honest on this thing for a second? I was one of those fools who thought getting a good paying job, having excellent credit, & being debt-free was the key to buying a home.

It's generational wealth, actually.

No millennial has earned $200,000 for a down payment.

I mean, maybe there are like 3 who have. But this kind of spending on home-buying that I see where I am?? A lot of this is generational wealth. Parents who can lend a kid $200,000 or even $800,000 to buy a house in cash, and then get paid off by a mortgage later.

What is a way to eliminate this for historically oppressed groups that were actively prevented from developing this kind of wealth (through either theft or discrimination)?

Well, there could be loans with excellent mortgage rates and a small (5% or less) down payment, for one.

Yes, these loans exist, but are generally more burdensome and restrictive, and make it far less likely a person without family wealth can use them to gain access into the exact kinds of communities that purposefully excluded them in the first place.

I mean, yes, the obvious answer here is reparations (I'm ready). But since this country is like a deadbeat dad that doesn't want to pay what they owe, then easier access for historically marginalized groups that can show a clear record of discrimination seems like a no-brainer.

Black folks are stolen and displaced people, whose labor was stolen and used to build up the wealth OF FAMILIES WHO STILL HAVE IT. We were actively prevented from buying property, given home loans, or just had it stolen like in Tulsa.

Fannie Mae can give us a good mortgage.

Btw, the good loans that don't require a huge down payment is the only reason I was able to purchase a home when the housing market was still bad enough for mortgage companies to have that kind of flexibility.

Know what they call those mortgages now?

"Doctor loans"

(I also feel obligated to add that we bought a small house that was one of the cheapest on the market bc we could still barely come up with the down payment and closing costs. But if it has simply been based on our ability to pay and credit, we could've gotten a bigger place.

If we had been able to get a more expensive place, similar to white peers making the same amount but with generational wealth, we would have a house with considerably more. Now that we have kids, we're effectively priced out because of this insane market.)

*considerably more space*

l

I'm adding to this thread because I want to be clear that I suggested the EASIEST and MINIMAL reparational approach to making the housing market more accessible. The government could pay the down payments for descendants of American slaves. It could give us zero interest loans.

The govt could cover our closing costs. My suggestion above is simply based on offering historically marginalized groups (housing discrimination hasn't only affected Black folks) access to products that banks ALREADY GIVE to "doctor" clients (who are, you guessed it,

disproportionately white).

The most hilarious thing about the responses to this thread are people living in states largely subsidized by the wealthiest areas of the country expressing disbelief and dismissiveness about how much it costs to live and purchase homes here.