High Interest Rates - High Rents - Now There Is a Solution for That
Housing prices too high?
Mortgage rates making you sweat?
Landlord just sent another rent increase?
Apparently we've all been overthinking this housing problem. Efye
On 9/24/2026 11:54 AM, MummyChunk wrote:
High Interest Rates - High Rents - Now There Is a Solution for ThatHousing market has changed over the years. According to the Consumer
Housing prices too high?
Mortgage rates making you sweat?
Landlord just sent another rent increase?
Apparently we've all been overthinking this housing problem. Efye
Price Index, $1 in 1966 is about $2 today. So, a rough 10X over the
years. Why then, is the house I bought for $10,600 in 1966 now valued
at 20X that?
On 2026-09-24, Ed P <esp@snet.n> wrote:
On 9/24/2026 11:54 AM, MummyChunk wrote:
High Interest Rates - High Rents - Now There Is a Solution for ThatHousing market has changed over the years. According to the Consumer
Housing prices too high?
Mortgage rates making you sweat?
Landlord just sent another rent increase?
Apparently we've all been overthinking this housing problem. Efye
Price Index, $1 in 1966 is about $2 today. So, a rough 10X over the
years. Why then, is the house I bought for $10,600 in 1966 now valued
at 20X that?
Real estate is pure marketplace. People will pay what they think
a house is worth. An extra $5000 every time the house is sold
will add up over the decades.
On 9/24/2026 5:42 PM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
On 2026-09-24, Ed P <esp@snet.n> wrote:
On 9/24/2026 11:54 AM, MummyChunk wrote:
High Interest Rates - High Rents - Now There Is a Solution for ThatHousing market has changed over the years. According to the Consumer
Housing prices too high?
Mortgage rates making you sweat?
Landlord just sent another rent increase?
Apparently we've all been overthinking this housing problem. ?
Price Index, $1 in 1966 is about $2 today. So, a rough 10X over the
years. Why then, is the house I bought for $10,600 in 1966 now valued
at 20X that?
Real estate is pure marketplace. People will pay what they think
a house is worth. An extra $5000 every time the house is sold
will add up over the decades.
Times have changed, not always for the better.
I bought my first house when I was 20. I had no debt and was going to
night school for college. Today, at 20, they are full time in college
and have student loans to last for many years. Mortgage back in 1966
was $84 and I was making a bit over 100 a week. Rent in my area was
similar. Classic middle income lifestyle at the time.
Today, in this area, rent is $1500 and the job I had back then would not
pay that much weekly. I hear of too many kids graduating with degrees
in Interpretive Dance or 4th Century Greek sculpture and work at
Starbucks to pay off huge student loans.
The median age of first-time home buyers in America:
- 1991: 27
- 2010: 30
- 2020: 33
- 2022: 36
- 2024: 38
- 2025: 40
On 9/24/2026 11:54 AM, MummyChunk wrote:
High Interest Rates - High Rents - Now There Is a Solution for ThatHousing market has changed over the years. According to the Consumer
Housing prices too high?
Mortgage rates making you sweat?
Landlord just sent another rent increase?
Apparently we've all been overthinking this housing problem. Efye
Price Index, $1 in 1966 is about $2 today. So, a rough 10X over the
years. Why then, is the house I bought for $10,600 in 1966 now valued
at 20X that?
I bought a newer house in 1981. According to the CPI, it would sell for $229,000 today but is valued at $325,000. I sold it for a bit less 8
years ago.
Also, in 1981 I had one of the better interest rates, only 15%.
https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm
On Thu, 24 Sep 2026 19:20:53 -0400, Ed P <esp@snet.n> wrote:
On 9/24/2026 5:42 PM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
On 2026-09-24, Ed P <esp@snet.n> wrote:
On 9/24/2026 11:54 AM, MummyChunk wrote:
High Interest Rates - High Rents - Now There Is a Solution for ThatHousing market has changed over the years. According to the Consumer
Housing prices too high?
Mortgage rates making you sweat?
Landlord just sent another rent increase?
Apparently we've all been overthinking this housing problem. ?
Price Index, $1 in 1966 is about $2 today. So, a rough 10X over the
years. Why then, is the house I bought for $10,600 in 1966 now valued >>>> at 20X that?
Real estate is pure marketplace. People will pay what they think
a house is worth. An extra $5000 every time the house is sold
will add up over the decades.
Times have changed, not always for the better.
I bought my first house when I was 20. I had no debt and was going to
night school for college. Today, at 20, they are full time in college
and have student loans to last for many years. Mortgage back in 1966
was $84 and I was making a bit over 100 a week. Rent in my area was
similar. Classic middle income lifestyle at the time.
Today, in this area, rent is $1500 and the job I had back then would not
pay that much weekly. I hear of too many kids graduating with degrees
in Interpretive Dance or 4th Century Greek sculpture and work at
Starbucks to pay off huge student loans.
The median age of first-time home buyers in America:
- 1991: 27
- 2010: 30
- 2020: 33
- 2022: 36
- 2024: 38
- 2025: 40
I came home from Africa in 1975 $5000 in debt.I think I made almost
$8000 a year at the time. After 2 years sharing an aprtment with a
co-worker I got my first apartment - a one bedroom walkup - $300 a
month.So half my income went to rent. I bought a $10,000 truck - the
only brand new vehicle I have ever owned. (1976) This was 1977.In 1978
the rent was going up $15 a month to $315. I talked to a real estate
agent customer and asked what I could get that would carry for $315 to
$325 a month, In Waterloo. He said he though he had something for me -
I went to look at it that night. Brick 1 1/2 story, small attached
garage - nice deep lot, backing on railway tracks, decent condition
but needed some work - asking IIRC 53000 and I got it for 47 - last
day of seller's conditional offer on their "dream house". Sold my
truck for the $3500 I needed extra for the down payment and a '75
Pacer.
Move forward to 1981 - Got married - sold the house for $50000 and
moved ito my new wife's house. When we were expecting our first we
decided the house was not set up for having kids, so started looking
for a new place. Interest rates were 21%. Anything we say in our
$50000 range was either a dump or in a bad part of town and our agent encoured us to stretch ourselves a bit and look at houses in the
65-70000 range. Nice 2 story, large corner lot, near good school, 8
years old -Acking 73, reduced to 67, motivated seller, (again, getting
to the end of conditional purchace of new home) with assumable
mortgage at 6 3/4%. Offered 63900 and got it. Wife cashed out her
pension, borrowed $15000 from a friend and took over the existing
mortgage. Didn't spend a penny more than we had to for the next 5
years and paid it off. Worth about 700,000 on today's market.
My old apartment is now $3200 a month and if I was a young guy
l doing my old job I'd be making about $6600 a month.
Damn, that's 1/2 my wages for rent - Just like back in '77 when I was
25.
My fancy $10,000 truck (4wd SUV with a plough)would now be a 100000
truck. Gas for that truck was about $1.15 a gallon. Today it's $7.96
down the street ($1.77 a liter) - To be equivalent to everything else
it chould be closer to $11.00.
Now let's look at a few other things. My branf new 26 inch TV I got
on sale for $399. A digital multimeter was $69, a calculator was $30.
AN answering machine was over $300. In 1969 my starter tool set was
over $300
That translateds to close to $4000 for a 26" TV, over $600 for a multimeter, $300 for a simple calculator that could add, sumprant,
.mbultiply and devide and ate batteries for breakfast, and $3000 for a starter set of tools.
I can buy a 50 inch smart TV today for $300 on sale - or $500 any day
of the week. A decent digital (not analog) VOM is about $27 - or a
really decent one for$150. An equivalent calculator is less than $25
and I can buy an equivalent set of tools on sale at Canadian Tire
(mine were from sears) for under $300.
Yes, Kids today have it hard - But so did we.
High Interest Rates - High Rents - Now There Is a Solution for That
Housing prices too high?
Mortgage rates making you sweat?
Landlord just sent another rent increase?
Apparently we've all been overthinking this housing problem. Efye
Forget Zillow.
Forget the bank.
Forget bidding wars.
All you need is:
* One shovel
* A patch of woods
* Several trees
* A roll of plastic
* A small wood stove
* And absolutely no fear of confined spaces Efya
The guy in this video basically looks at the current housing market and
says:
"Fine. I'll just live underground." EfAir4cN+A
He starts by marking out a rectangle in the forest and digging what
appears to be a simple hole in the ground.
A few moments later " thanks to the magic of time-lapse " we've gone from >"somebody is burying treasure" to what can only be described as:
Forest Studio Apartment, Garden Level Edition. Efye
Next come the logs.
Lots and lots of logs.
They form the roof, an entrance gets built, waterproof sheeting goes over
the top, and then the whole thing gets covered back up with earth, moss
and vegetation.
At this point, your realtor would probably describe it as:
"A charming earth-integrated residence featuring excellent natural >insulation, maximum privacy and beautiful woodland surroundings."
Translation:
It's a hole in the woods. Efi#Efnu
But wait... he's not finished.
Inside, he adds gravel, wall coverings, a wooden floor and wood-paneled >walls.
Then suddenly there's a stove.
Then a bed.
Then a desk.
Then shelves.
By the end of the video, the place actually looks surprisingly cozy.
And look at the amenities:
* Wood-burning heat "
* Private bedroom EfcAN+A
* Hardwood... well, pretty much everything Ef-|
* Forest views Efi#
* Unlimited parking EfUu
* Very quiet neighbors EfE+N+A
* No HOA
* No elevator fees
* No upstairs neighbor practicing drums at midnight
* Absolutely no chance the Amazon driver is finding you "
And best of all...
No 30-year mortgage! Efye
Of course, there are a few minor details the video seems to skip over.
You know...
* Drainage
* Ventilation
* Structural support
* Emergency exits
* Building permits
* Carbon monoxide
* Waterproofing
* The small matter of several tons of wet earth sitting over your head
Efy4
Just little things.
So before anybody heads into the backyard with a shovel this weekend,
this is probably best enjoyed as an impressive survival-style build
rather than an actual home-repair tutorial.
A real underground structure would need serious thought given to soil >pressure, drainage, waterproofing, ventilation, fire safety, structural >engineering and local building codes.
But as a response to today's housing costs?
You have to admire the simplicity.
Bank:
"Your mortgage payment will be $3,200 a month."
Landlord:
"Your rent is going up another $400."
This guy:
"Hand me the shovel." EfyeEfyeEfye
EfAi'Efi#
So what do you think?
Could you spend a weekend living in this thing?
Or would you make it about ten minutes before deciding that high rent >suddenly doesn't seem quite so bad? Efya
View the attachments for this post at: >http://www.jlaforums.com/viewtopic.php?p=711422520#711422520
High Interest Rates - High Rents - Now There Is a Solution for That
Housing prices too high?
Mortgage rates making you sweat?
Landlord just sent another rent increase?
Apparently we've all been overthinking this housing problem. Efye
Forget Zillow.
Forget the bank.
Forget bidding wars.
All you need is:
* One shovel
* A patch of woods
* Several trees
* A roll of plastic
* A small wood stove
* And absolutely no fear of confined spaces Efya
The guy in this video basically looks at the current housing market and
says:
"Fine. I'll just live underground." EfAir4cN+A
He starts by marking out a rectangle in the forest and digging what
appears to be a simple hole in the ground.
A few moments later " thanks to the magic of time-lapse " we've gone from >"somebody is burying treasure" to what can only be described as:
Forest Studio Apartment, Garden Level Edition. Efye
Next come the logs.
Lots and lots of logs.
They form the roof, an entrance gets built, waterproof sheeting goes over
the top, and then the whole thing gets covered back up with earth, moss
and vegetation.
At this point, your realtor would probably describe it as:
"A charming earth-integrated residence featuring excellent natural >insulation, maximum privacy and beautiful woodland surroundings."
Translation:
It's a hole in the woods. Efi#Efnu
But wait... he's not finished.
Inside, he adds gravel, wall coverings, a wooden floor and wood-paneled >walls.
Then suddenly there's a stove.
Then a bed.
Then a desk.
Then shelves.
By the end of the video, the place actually looks surprisingly cozy.
And look at the amenities:
* Wood-burning heat "
* Private bedroom EfcAN+A
* Hardwood... well, pretty much everything Ef-|
* Forest views Efi#
* Unlimited parking EfUu
* Very quiet neighbors EfE+N+A
* No HOA
* No elevator fees
* No upstairs neighbor practicing drums at midnight
* Absolutely no chance the Amazon driver is finding you "
And best of all...
No 30-year mortgage! Efye
Of course, there are a few minor details the video seems to skip over.
You know...
* Drainage
* Ventilation
* Structural support
* Emergency exits
* Building permits
* Carbon monoxide
* Waterproofing
* The small matter of several tons of wet earth sitting over your head
Efy4
Just little things.
So before anybody heads into the backyard with a shovel this weekend,
this is probably best enjoyed as an impressive survival-style build
rather than an actual home-repair tutorial.
A real underground structure would need serious thought given to soil >pressure, drainage, waterproofing, ventilation, fire safety, structural >engineering and local building codes.
But as a response to today's housing costs?
You have to admire the simplicity.
Bank:
"Your mortgage payment will be $3,200 a month."
Landlord:
"Your rent is going up another $400."
This guy:
"Hand me the shovel." EfyeEfyeEfye
EfAi'Efi#
So what do you think?
Could you spend a weekend living in this thing?
Or would you make it about ten minutes before deciding that high rent >suddenly doesn't seem quite so bad? Efya
View the attachments for this post at: >http://www.jlaforums.com/viewtopic.php?p=711422520#711422520
On 9/24/2026 11:54 AM, MummyChunk wrote:
High Interest Rates - High Rents - Now There Is a Solution for ThatHousing market has changed over the years.-a According to the Consumer
Housing prices too high?
Mortgage rates making you sweat?
Landlord just sent another rent increase?
Apparently we've all been overthinking this housing problem. Efye
Price Index, $1 in 1966 is about $2 today.-a So, a rough 10X over the years.-a-a Why then, is the house I bought for $10,600 in 1966 now valued
at 20X that?
I bought a newer house in 1981.-a According to the CPI, it would sell for $229,000 today but is valued at $325,000.-a I sold it for a bit less 8
years ago.
Also, in 1981 I had one of the better interest rates, only 15%.
https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm
And in SO MANY CASES it is not the high cost of living, but the costJust saw an article about that. Living high to show everyone how
of living high!!!! Today's kids don't start life with boards and
bricks for book shelves, orange crates for dressers, old car seats for couches, and mismatched dishes and silverware to save up for a down
payment. Gotta have the latest cell phones and gaming consoles, Fancy coffees, and take-out or eat out several times a week. No beans and
rice and half price day-old bread and making banana bread because you
could get a basket of over-ripe bananas for 2 bucks ($0.25 back then).
I remember taking my kids out to a potato field after the harvesters
had gone through, picking up baskets full of the now trendy "tiny
taters", and getting windfall apples to make apple sauce.
On 9/24/2026 5:42 PM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
On 2026-09-24, Ed P <esp@snet.n> wrote:
On 9/24/2026 11:54 AM, MummyChunk wrote:
High Interest Rates - High Rents - Now There Is a Solution for ThatHousing market has changed over the years.-a According to the Consumer
Housing prices too high?
Mortgage rates making you sweat?
Landlord just sent another rent increase?
Apparently we've all been overthinking this housing problem. Efye
Price Index, $1 in 1966 is about $2 today.-a So, a rough 10X over the
years.-a-a Why then, is the house I bought for $10,600 in 1966 now valued >>> at 20X that?
Real estate is pure marketplace.-a People will pay what they think
a house is worth.-a An extra $5000 every time the house is sold
will add up over the decades.
Times have changed, not always for the better.
I bought my first house when I was 20.-a I had no debt and was going to night school for college.-a Today, at 20, they are full time in college
and have student loans to last for many years.-a Mortgage back in 1966
was $84 and I was making a bit over 100 a week. Rent in my area was
similar. Classic middle income lifestyle at the time.
Today, in this area, rent is $1500 and the job I had back then would not
pay that much weekly.-a I hear of too many kids graduating with degrees
in Interpretive Dance or 4th Century Greek sculpture and work at
Starbucks to pay off huge student loans.
The median age of first-time home buyers in America:
--a 1991: 27
--a 2010: 30
--a 2020: 33
--a 2022: 36
--a 2024: 38
--a 2025: 40
On 9/25/2026 8:51 AM, Clare Snyder wrote:--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
On Thu, 24 Sep 2026 19:20:53 -0400, Ed P <esp@snet.n> wrote:
On 9/24/2026 5:42 PM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
On 2026-09-24, Ed P <esp@snet.n> wrote:
On 9/24/2026 11:54 AM, MummyChunk wrote:
High Interest Rates - High Rents - Now There Is a Solution for That >>>>>>Housing market has changed over the years. According to the Consumer >>>>> Price Index, $1 in 1966 is about $2 today. So, a rough 10X over the >>>>> years. Why then, is the house I bought for $10,600 in 1966 now valued >>>>> at 20X that?
Housing prices too high?
Mortgage rates making you sweat?
Landlord just sent another rent increase?
Apparently we've all been overthinking this housing problem. ?
Real estate is pure marketplace. People will pay what they think
a house is worth. An extra $5000 every time the house is sold
will add up over the decades.
Times have changed, not always for the better.
I bought my first house when I was 20. I had no debt and was going to
night school for college. Today, at 20, they are full time in college
and have student loans to last for many years. Mortgage back in 1966
was $84 and I was making a bit over 100 a week. Rent in my area was
similar. Classic middle income lifestyle at the time.
Today, in this area, rent is $1500 and the job I had back then would not >>> pay that much weekly. I hear of too many kids graduating with degrees
in Interpretive Dance or 4th Century Greek sculpture and work at
Starbucks to pay off huge student loans.
The median age of first-time home buyers in America:
- 1991: 27
- 2010: 30
- 2020: 33
- 2022: 36
- 2024: 38
- 2025: 40
I came home from Africa in 1975 $5000 in debt.I think I made almost
$8000 a year at the time. After 2 years sharing an aprtment with a
co-worker I got my first apartment - a one bedroom walkup - $300 a
month.So half my income went to rent. I bought a $10,000 truck - the
only brand new vehicle I have ever owned. (1976) This was 1977.In 1978
the rent was going up $15 a month to $315. I talked to a real estate
agent customer and asked what I could get that would carry for $315 to
$325 a month, In Waterloo. He said he though he had something for me -
I went to look at it that night. Brick 1 1/2 story, small attached
garage - nice deep lot, backing on railway tracks, decent condition
but needed some work - asking IIRC 53000 and I got it for 47 - last
day of seller's conditional offer on their "dream house". Sold my
truck for the $3500 I needed extra for the down payment and a '75
Pacer.
Move forward to 1981 - Got married - sold the house for $50000 and
moved ito my new wife's house. When we were expecting our first we
decided the house was not set up for having kids, so started looking
for a new place. Interest rates were 21%. Anything we say in our
$50000 range was either a dump or in a bad part of town and our agent
encoured us to stretch ourselves a bit and look at houses in the
65-70000 range. Nice 2 story, large corner lot, near good school, 8
years old -Acking 73, reduced to 67, motivated seller, (again, getting
to the end of conditional purchace of new home) with assumable
mortgage at 6 3/4%. Offered 63900 and got it. Wife cashed out her
pension, borrowed $15000 from a friend and took over the existing
mortgage. Didn't spend a penny more than we had to for the next 5
years and paid it off. Worth about 700,000 on today's market.
My old apartment is now $3200 a month and if I was a young guy
l doing my old job I'd be making about $6600 a month.
Damn, that's 1/2 my wages for rent - Just like back in '77 when I was
25.
My fancy $10,000 truck (4wd SUV with a plough)would now be a 100000
truck. Gas for that truck was about $1.15 a gallon. Today it's $7.96
down the street ($1.77 a liter) - To be equivalent to everything else
it chould be closer to $11.00.
Now let's look at a few other things. My branf new 26 inch TV I got
on sale for $399. A digital multimeter was $69, a calculator was $30.
AN answering machine was over $300. In 1969 my starter tool set was
over $300
That translateds to close to $4000 for a 26" TV, over $600 for a
multimeter, $300 for a simple calculator that could add, sumprant,
.mbultiply and devide and ate batteries for breakfast, and $3000 for a
starter set of tools.
I can buy a 50 inch smart TV today for $300 on sale - or $500 any day
of the week. A decent digital (not analog) VOM is about $27 - or a
really decent one for$150. An equivalent calculator is less than $25
and I can buy an equivalent set of tools on sale at Canadian Tire
(mine were from sears) for under $300.
Yes, Kids today have it hard - But so did we.
Very well said Clare . I have long believed that the only true metric
for value is "how many hours work to buy a pair of shoes ?" Or a loaf of >bread , or a blanket for your bed .
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