Elusive Financing

As a would-be first-time home buyer, I found the article, “Buying FHA” by William Mahoney (Aug. 27) to be misleading.

The first thing I noticed is that the people who were quoted in the article bought their homes two years ago for below the $101,250 FHA limit. Even a condo at that low a price is hard to find these days.

These young couples may have been able to buy these homes for $5,000 to $8,000 cash two years ago, but if a couple such as my husband and myself were to try to buy a condo at, say $128,000 instead of the $95,000, it would cost a great deal more in cash than the amounts quoted in the article.

With rents rising unchecked (in most areas, all that is required is a 30-day notice, and there is no limit on the amount rents can be raised), it is improbable that most young couples will be able to save the large amounts that are necessary to buy any property in Southern California.

If we moved to a cheaper apartment and sacrificed everything, we might be able to save $10,000 in a year or so. By then, the price of the average condo will have risen $20,000 to $30,000 (or more), and we still won’t have enough saved. As long as housing prices keep rising at the rate they have been, young people with average incomes will not be able to save the money necessary to buy.

Most young, two-income couples like us are in the 28% tax bracket. We are paying anywhere from one-third to one-half of our net income to ever-increasing rents, and our pay does not keep up with inflation. How are we supposed to save up the thousands of dollars necessary to purchase a home?

SHARON L. KENNEDY

Fullerton