Nah because they can’t afford a down payment.
This. I was only able to get my first house after college because I did one of those “down payment side loans” and my folks gave me a couple grand as a kickstart.
Nowadays the only way I can afford a house that’s not smaller or on true shit condition is because I had 17 years worth of equity in my previous house and put a huuuge DP down.
… put a huuuge DP down.
Giggity.
It’s all a predatory vicious cycle.
First time homebuyers don’t need a down-payment in the US. But payments will be much higher so it’s usually out of reach regardless.
No, the bank will not give me a mortgage because I have no car nor anything of value, don’t have enough cash, and they don’t want to take a risk. So I’m stuck renting apartments the price of a house. Capitalism is a wonderful system!
I haven’t heard about this “3x payment per month.” Back in the 80’s, I had to come up with first & last and a security deposit equal to one month’s to get in, so 3x for the first payment, but that was only one time and it covered… the first and last months and we got the security deposit back when we moved out because we’re didn’t trash the place.
3x payment per month just sounds like they’re charging 3x the rent they’re advertising.
I think they mean a ‘debt servicing’ type thing, where you need an income of 3x the rent per month?
Oh. Yeah, that makes more sense.
It’s to keep the landlord from renting to housing-stressed tenants. Spending >30% of a household’s monthly income on rent is housing stress. 3x is just easier to say.
Here in Denmark it’s normal to pay 6 months rent before getting the key. (3 months rent plus deposit equivalent to another 3 months.)
However, the market here is very different.
1: I believe it’s very easy to get a bank loan for this. If they say no, it’s because you can’t afford the rent. (I could be wrong here.)
2: The contract isn’t locked for 12 months or so at a time. You can cancel the contract at any time, effective from the last day of next month. Also the contract doesn’t expire after 12 months, generally you live there as long as you pay for it.
3: Many other details that means that landlords aren’t the enemy, they provide a service for people who can’t or doesn’t want to own and maintain their own property.
That all sounds reasonable. Alas, such notions are not within my grasp. Still, good to know some pockets of humanity have adopted a semblance of “the needs of the many”.