On Sun, 12 Feb 2006 09:13:10 -0500, Odinn
wrote:

I'm middle-class, and I can't afford a 250k house. Well, I can't afford
it and still be able to do all the OTHER things I like/want to do.
Everyone I know who has 250k house around here who is in my income
class, struggle to find the money to enjoy doing half the things I enjoy
doing. For me, 5 acres of land and a doublewide trailer, is perfectly
fine. I have a total of about $85,000 invested in the property, the
trailer, the shed/workshop, etc., refinanced a couple of months ago to
shorten my term and knock some points off, and to pay off a few other
bills, and now only have 10 years left to pay instead of 17 and pay
about the same per month as I did before.

Heck, around here you can't own a postage stamp-sized lot that costs
under $250k. Average-sized homes go for over $500k and in some local
areas, for over $750k.

When we bought our house, it was worth less than $250k. Now, our
neighbor, with a smaller house and less land, recently sold his for
close to a million.