How are you coping with the housing crisis? Some of our friends have sold their homes and moved into rentals, some have taken in roommates, some have moved back home, while others have postponed moves and are coping with crowded circumstances by re-purposing rooms for double duty or to sleep children who, under different circumstances, might be expected to have their own rooms. This week's Los Angeles Times Home & Garden section examines these circumstances as well as offering a round up of storage furniture and bunk beds to help make the best of challenging space situations. Links, pics, and more, after the jump...
Adult children moving back home with parents: Between the subprime mortgage meltdown, the housing collapse and the unemployment rate, adult children, who expected that their college years would also mean the end of living with their parents, are finding themselves returning home. There are challenges but there are also benefits. The first step, as with any successful roommate situation is to establish some rules and boundaries.
More homeowners renting out rooms: If you've got the room, taking in a roommate can help ease the pressure on your pocketbook but it's not as easy as it sounds. With many homeowners jumping on this bandwagon, there are more rooms available for rent than there are renters who can rent them. And becoming a landlord comes with its own set of challenges.
Aging parents move in with their kids: "Granny Flats" and converted garages grow in popularity as the population ages and taking in aging parents becomes more common. Making the adjustment, whether it's adding handrails to a shower or recognizing that kids may have different parenting styles, is a process.
Keeping it under wraps: When space becomes tight, double duty furniture becomes more necessary. While overall furniture sales may be in a slump, this is one category that's booming. Here are some pieces, including a few we've blogged before, that might help you make the space you have more serviceable.
Doubling Up: Bunk Beds: Staying put may mean kids that might otherwise have their own room will have to share. Bunk beds are a traditional solution to a space-challenged home. The latest incarnation of these beds offers cool cubbies and configurations beyond the usual.
[cartoons: LA Times; LA Times; images: Steve Fontanin; LA Times; BoConcept; Argington]
The Icelandic currency has decreased drastically in value in the last weeks and months, making the only light point in this current situation that it's cheap for tourists here at the moment. I've considered moving in with my parents (with my husband and two kids) for a couple of weeks this summer and rent out my flat to visitors and that way gain one month's mortgage payment in one week! It will be crammed though at my parents!
view Harpa's profile
I would not consider sharing with parents or children unless it was absolutely necessary and for a fixed pre-arranged time. Moving to a smaller place or cheaper area would be my idea. BTW where did they find these awful drawings?
view hrhprincessfiona's profile
I would never ever move back to my parents. I would stay at friends, ugly small shared rooms or somewhere else, but at my parentsI would freak out for sure.
view nicolezh's profile
I work at a boarding school and moved into faculty housing. While living at my work isn't ideal, it fits the budget (2 br, 1 bath with hardwood floors that's cheaper than tiny studios in a new apartment complex in town).
view twitteringbirdie's profile
The fact is that only a small percentage of homes are actually in foreclosure, and these are people who bought way too much home in the first place. They couldn't afford it when they bought it, and their ARM adjusted, and now they are boo-hooing that there is a crisis. There is no housing crisis for the intelligent people who bought within their means, saved a proper downpayment, and made sure their credit was good enough for a fixed rate instead of an ARM. You talk like everyone is experiencing this, like we're in the midst of the Great Depression. Stop contributing to the panic. The reporting in the meida overall has become so SO irresponsible! And those pictures are horrible.
view amiencc's profile
And I think this is the second time I've told you to STOP CONTRIBUTING TO THE PANIC!!!
view amiencc's profile
My husband lost his job because of the really unnecessary panic. The investors who were behind his small company freaked out because of the news and because the stock market was falling and told the company to cut back. He had no warning and 1 in 5 people were out of job. Just like that. I wish they would have stop, breathed, and just realized that things weren't necessarily as bad everywhere as they thought.
view inkstainedwriter's profile
I agree COMPLETELY with the people who say "stop contributing to the panic." This year I lost my job due to a relocation and spent six months looking for another one (I was lucky to have severance and freelance work to tide me over). I sold my house, bought one half the size in a cheaper neighborhood (so, less $$ spent on taxes, utilities, maintenance, etc.), and eventually found another job. The people that bought my old house are putting $20,000 worth of solar panels on it. I have spent a significant amount on my new one, both in improvements as well as new stuff. (I sold a lot on Craigslist before the move.) Wherever possible I am buying LOCALLY or, if that's not possible, "Made in America."
Have my modest investments gone down this year? Yes. Will it be harder to pay for my kids' college in a few years? Definitely. But I refuse to contribute to the panic and believe that if we are responsible with our personal finances, in most cases we should be able to live the way we were before the news became so grim.
To anyone who is panicking over the recession--look at where you are vulnerable before you decide you need to bring your consumer lifestyle to a screeching halt. If you have a fairly secure job and manage your expenses, you can actually help the situation by going about your life as if everything is the same as it was...because it probably is. And no matter what, keep it in perspective and try to remember people who really have fallen on harder times and do what you can to help them.
(Sorry to sound preachy, but this is a really sensitive subject for me!)
view madsarah's profile
Man, those cartoons are ugly bordering on scary. Especially the unshaved redhead in his PJ's.
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view Griffin's profile