this post was submitted on 30 Jan 2024
125 points (79.1% liked)

News

23305 readers
3710 users here now

Welcome to the News community!

Rules:

1. Be civil


Attack the argument, not the person. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Good faith argumentation only. This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban. Do not respond to rule-breaking content; report it and move on.


2. All posts should contain a source (url) that is as reliable and unbiased as possible and must only contain one link.


Obvious right or left wing sources will be removed at the mods discretion. We have an actively updated blocklist, which you can see here: https://lemmy.world/post/2246130 if you feel like any website is missing, contact the mods. Supporting links can be added in comments or posted seperately but not to the post body.


3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.


Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.


4. Post titles should be the same as the article used as source.


Posts which titles don’t match the source won’t be removed, but the autoMod will notify you, and if your title misrepresents the original article, the post will be deleted. If the site changed their headline, the bot might still contact you, just ignore it, we won’t delete your post.


5. Only recent news is allowed.


Posts must be news from the most recent 30 days.


6. All posts must be news articles.


No opinion pieces, Listicles, editorials or celebrity gossip is allowed. All posts will be judged on a case-by-case basis.


7. No duplicate posts.


If a source you used was already posted by someone else, the autoMod will leave a message. Please remove your post if the autoMod is correct. If the post that matches your post is very old, we refer you to rule 5.


8. Misinformation is prohibited.


Misinformation / propaganda is strictly prohibited. Any comment or post containing or linking to misinformation will be removed. If you feel that your post has been removed in error, credible sources must be provided.


9. No link shorteners.


The auto mod will contact you if a link shortener is detected, please delete your post if they are right.


10. Don't copy entire article in your post body


For copyright reasons, you are not allowed to copy an entire article into your post body. This is an instance wide rule, that is strictly enforced in this community.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

After 33 years and four children, Baby Boomers Marta and Octavian Dragos say they feel trapped in what was once their dream home in El Cerrito, California.

Both over 70, the Dragos are empty nesters, and like many of their generation, they’re trying to figure out how to downsize from their 3,000-square-foot, five-bedroom home.

“We are here in a huge house with no family nearby, trying to make a wise decision, both financially and for our well-being,” said Dragos, a retired teacher.

But selling and downsizing isn’t easy, appealing or even financially advantageous for many homeowners like the Dragos family.

Many Boomers whose homes have surged in value now face massive capital gains tax bills when they sell. This is a kind of tax on the profit you make when selling an investment or an asset, like a home, that has increased in value.

Plus, smaller homes or apartments in the neighborhoods they’ve come to love are rare. And with current prices and mortgage rates so high, there is often a negligible cost difference between their current home and a smaller one.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] crusa187@lemmy.ml 163 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Aww these poor Boomers just made too much money on their homes and now they have to pay some taxes if they want to sell for huge profits. Boo fucking hoo.

[–] Asafum@feddit.nl 56 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

While also taking away starter homes.

What the fuck am I supposed to live in?

I'm sick and fucking tired of moving from rented basement, to rented attic, to basement, to garage... Etc... every 2 goddamn years I have to move. I'm almost 40, never going to be married, and stuck renting absolute overpriced shit. I'm so over it.

[–] Blooper@lemmy.world 7 points 9 months ago

Not that I don't emphasize with your struggle - I just want to point out that there are people stuck in those "starter homes" with 5 or more kids who could really benefit from a 5 bedroom upgrade because they're at a point in their lives where they can afford it and they need it. The housing crisis we're living through produces victims up and down the income ladder.

Also this whole problem can be traced back to our absurd zoning laws blanketing most of California and the US. Still the boomers' fault, but not for decisions they're making today. Most of them are screwed right along with the rest of us. :(

[–] QuaternionsRock@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago (2 children)

And with current prices and mortgage rates so high, there is often a negligible cost difference between their current home and a smaller one.

Is this accurate? I’m having a hard time believing it, but if it is true, then they need all cash to buy a smaller home. Downsizing shouldn’t be a money-losing proposition, otherwise there would be 0 interest in doing it.

[–] stoly@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

The argument is that these people will sell their really large house then pay the same amount they earn on a smaller condo. This is going to be very much context dependent and frankly I don't buy this as a problem for most people.

[–] AA5B@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago

As you get older, you may no longer find it worth keeping up a larger house. It’s not just repairs, but furnishing and decorating and cleaning and insurance and taxes