People in borrowed houses shouldn’t throw stones

As someone whose parents emerged from [an] underprivileged childhood — one inner city, the other rural — into the suburban middle class, I can appreciate the pride of having achieved economic prosperity, including home ownership.

However, their experiences and teachings also imparted a more valuable lesson: the acknowledgment that most of us are only a few lost paychecks away from the precipitous slide into dire, or at least less comfortable, financial circumstances. I would urge Mike Lewis ["Poor and Poorer," Aug. 18, Xpress] to reconsider his laments and encourage him to broaden his perspective.

Unless he and all his supposedly besieged neighbors truly own their homes, i.e. owe nothing on their mortgages, I advise him not to throw stones at those who, whether by choice or financial imperative, do not saddle themselves with inordinate debt in pursuit of an increasingly meaningless status symbol.

— Sarah Almodovar
Asheville

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Webmaster
Mountain Xpress Webmaster Follow me @MXWebTeam

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

10 thoughts on “People in borrowed houses shouldn’t throw stones

  1. little sister

    “I advise him not to throw stones at those who, whether by choice or financial imperative, do not saddle themselves with inordinate debt in pursuit of an increasingly meaningless status symbol.”

    Wow, a permanent home for one’s family is nothing more than a ‘meaningless status symbol’? Readers, let that sink in.

    Almodovar’s distinction between owning a home outright and a long-term obligation to a mortgage is false. In both cases the home owner pays the property taxes that underwrite the City’s and County’s contributions to ‘affordable housing,’ sidewalks, public transit and the other services the local governments provide to their citizenry.

  2. JWTJr

    “Wow, a permanent home for one’s family is nothing more than a ‘meaningless status symbol’? Readers, let that sink in.”

    Even Barney Frank is admitting now that everyone being a homeowner is a flawed plan.

  3. dhalgren

    What she (Sarah) is saying is that if you have a long term mortgage, you’re not much better off than a person who rents…if you don’t own it, you ain’t all that!

    “Even Barney Frank is admitting now that everyone being a homeowner is a flawed plan.”

    jr., your value judgements are a dead giveaway of your teabagger mentality. Barney Frank is an accomplished, intelligent, well educated man who’s name should not be on the lips of someone like you. In fact, your inferences are an insult to thinking people everywhere. Let that sink in!

  4. bobdurivage

    If a mortgage company can’t produce the deed, they have no proof of ownership. Most can’t because the mortgages are bundled with oodles of other high-risk paper. I heard a high-ranking economist say to stay in the house and pay no more than fair market intrest(if you can). Without a deed, the mortgager has no right to forclose.

  5. little sister

    dhalgren:

    Read again. No way to dispute the author referring to home ownership as a ‘meaningless status symbol.’

    It’s certainly her right to express her bitterness toward home owners but it still sounds rather narrow and stereotyped and not at all helpful in tackling Asheville’s land use problems.

  6. dhalgren

    “Wow, a permanent home for one’s family is nothing more than a ‘meaningless status symbol’?”

    Nothing is permanent, everything ends, and everyone dies. And by the way she’s not expressing bitterness towards homeowners, she’s merely pointing out that many of them are a few paychecks away from being out on the street and therefore just as vulnerable as any renter might be. Home ownership is a meaningful status symbol?! For many it is. When a house is not a home…

  7. Betty Cloer Wallace

    TIME magazine’s cover story this week (Sept. 6, 2010) is Rethinking Homeownership: Why owning a home may no longer make economic sense.

    “Home, Not-So-Sweet Home”: For decades, the government promoted homeownership as the cure for what ails us economically and socially. But does a nation of cul-de-sacs lead to the American Dream or to a paralyzed, debt-ridden labor force?

    “The Case Against Homeownership”: Buying a house is supposed to make us better citizens, better investors, and better off. But that American Dream may well be a fantasy.

  8. Piffy!

    If poor people are allowed to own their own homes, then how will the rich feel superior?

  9. Piffy!

    [b]“Wow, a permanent home for one’s family is nothing more than a ‘meaningless status symbol’?”[/b]

    A permanent home is not permanent when the bank will always own it.

  10. little sister

    hipster: “A permanent home is not permanent when the bank will always own it.”

    While ‘meaningless status symbol’ is the operative in this argument, you also might want to do some research on mortgages. They have terms. 15 years; 20 years; etc. When the mortgage is paid off, bank liens are removed from the deed and ownership is wholly transferred. The bank does not ‘always own it.’

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.