Student Loans
“Tight credit standards and student-loan debt has had a dampening effect on the entry-level buyer,” said Martin Connor, chief financial officer at luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers Inc. during a March 3 presentation.
The Alinens, who work with a credit counselor, moved to a less expensive house to escape their negative-equity and went through bankruptcy. They’re now struggling to keep their current place and have had their monthly mortgage payment modified, partly because Jason lost a job in 2012 and is now making less than he’d expected to earn. The $100 reduction isn’t enough to help much, he said.
Damage from a cracked pipe in their new home added more than $40,000 worth of repairs to their burden. For them, a return to the old pattern of wealth building and consumerism is far off, and Jason Alinen said it’s more likely the family will end up renting.
“We work full-time jobs, we see our kids for two hours a day,” he said. “It’s just not like these people a decade ago.”