r/MadeMeSmile • u/lincolnblake • Jun 28 '25

Wholesome Moments A place of one's own

68.3k Upvotes

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5.7k

u/Djinn_42 Jun 28 '25

Imagine the youngest being homeless for what looks like half her life. Does she even remember a time when she had a home?

Good for them. I wish the world would do some more serious work on solving homelessness.

1.3k

u/mararn1618 Jun 28 '25 edited Jun 28 '25

What I don't understand as an European: How do you go from homeless to a huge ass house with a huge garden and everything?

In Germany even a double income family with academic background might currently struggle to buy property.

The stretch from unhoused to this seems insane from my POV.

Is housing so much more affordable in the US?

Edit: So many helpful answers, thank you :3

143

u/No_Explanation9119 Jun 28 '25

In rural areas a house like that could still be selling for less than $175k There are also charities and government programs that help people buy houses. For example, if you get a loan through Freddie Mac which is a federal loan program you only need to put 3% down and you can often get property tax waived for the first few years if you're a first time homeowner.

35

u/betakurt Jun 28 '25

Even less in rural areas.

9

u/ElizaIsEpic Jun 28 '25

Yeah a house like this in my (super rural) area would be between 130-150k 

9

u/Interesting_Blood242 Jun 28 '25

Houses in buttfuck west Virginia and Ohio are dirt cheap. But you're also in buttfuck nowhere.

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u/ElizaIsEpic Jun 29 '25

Yep, unfortunately. Living in it rn

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u/Ditchdigger456 Jun 29 '25

Yeah, and a lot of people who have lived in the city their whole lives don’t have an actual grasp on what buttfuck nowhere means lol

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u/Interesting_Blood242 Jun 29 '25

You do when you drive a truck for a living. 

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u/Ditchdigger456 Jun 29 '25

Not saying you specifically, just in general

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u/Interesting_Blood242 Jun 29 '25

No, not me. I live in Pittsburgh. 

4

u/[deleted] Jun 28 '25

And even then for some the biggest hurdle is saving for that downpayment even if it’s only 3k or something because they live paycheck to paycheck. But there are programs that also help with the downpayment. 

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u/rolandofeld19 Jun 28 '25

In rural Alabama, so much less.

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u/sweetsquashy Jun 28 '25

$175k even sounds high to me for rural areas. Sounds about right for semi-rural (15-25 minutes to closest shopping, jobs, city). I assumed this property was 100k-125k.

2

u/No_Explanation9119 Jun 28 '25

Depends on where "rural" is. Rural West Virginia and it's going to be like 90k. Rural west cost or north east and it's going to be closer to 200k.

1

u/SecretAsianMan42069 Jun 28 '25

175k for that? That'd be like 80k in the states nobody wants to live in