Young adults “subsidized in the city”
In this Newsweek opinion piece, 25-year-old Melodie Serafino explores the question:
Adulthood means financial independence. So why do so many of my peers still live off their parents?
Her thoughts about subsidized rent, allowance, and other parental support for the 20-plus crowd are an interesting read, especially for families dealing with adult children living at home.
FHA reform bill may help your adult children buy a home
With housing costs way out of reach for many young adults, especially in the face of the current economic crisis, often the only way for adult children to get out of the parental home is with a significant “bail-out” from mom and dad.
Peter G. Miller, author of Common-Sense Mortgage, has a suggestion for a better way to help your adult kids buy a home:
As a parent you can always give a gift to a child to help them buy a home. But a “gift” is something that you don’t get back and doesn’t pay interest, not an option for a lot of families that are not among the rich and famous.
Under the new FHA package, however, there is a delightful option: You can give the children a loan and it will count as “cash” for FHA downpayment purposes.
This is likely to be a better idea for most parents than an outright gift. You can structure the loan as you like, maybe not requiring payments or interest for awhile, or maybe not requiring repayment after so many years. And you can forgive the debt in your estate, if you want.
You can read the rest of his article here.
New Spanish reality show to get adult children to leave home
Following on the heels of Australia’s “The Nest” reality show, Spanish television channel La Sexta is looking for families to participate in a new reality show where adult children who live at home are nudged out to live in a shared flat.
The show may be inspired by troubling new statistics from a recent survey in Spain:
- Up to a quarter of Spanish young adults (under 35) who have left home in the past two years have already boomeranged home or are planning to do so soon.
- Nearly 60 per cent of Spanish young adults aged 18 to 34 still live with their parents.
- More than 25% of Spanish kids stay at home into their 30s.
Source: TimesOnline