Elevated mortgage and loan interest rates, exploding home insurance premiums and rising property taxes in many parts of the country, as well as higher costs for energy and eye-watering costs for home maintenance works have flipped the dream of owning a home into a nightmare for many Americans.
Amie’s concerns were echoed by many who said they now wanted to rid themselves of homes that had become too expensive to own and maintain, but felt mostly unable to do so: selling and moving somewhere cheaper, various people said, would force them onto higher interest mortgages; others said they had considered going back to renting, but had concluded this was not feasible either due to exponentially rising rents in many parts of the US.
Her aging row home needs various repairs, while other costs associated with home ownership rose continually too.
Various older people who had either paid their homes off already or were expecting to be mortgage-free soon said they would likely have to sell and relocate to areas with lower taxes for homeowners, among them 60-year-old Angela, a product manager from a southern Chicago suburb.
To finance owning his and his wife’s $300,000 home and saving for the future, the couple was foregoing medical and dental treatment of any kind and cutting back on expenses everywhere, he said, despite a pre-tax household income of more than $250,000.
