Home ownership isn't just part of the American Dream - it is the very essence of its strong foundation.
In
1957, Disneyland unveiled its new "House of the Future" attraction. The
entirely synthetic dwelling had no natural materials used in its
construction - even the ceiling and furniture pieces were plastic. One
of the home's big attractions was the "Atoms for Living" kitchen
exhibit, which featured a then-revolutionary microwave oven. Another
attraction was the large (non-operational) television mounted on a
wall. The House of the Future lasted nine years. Urban legend has it
that the wrecking ball merely bounced off the side of the all-plastic
house when it was eventually torn down in 1966.
In many ways,
features from the House of the Future have become commonplace. Wall
mounted flat-screen televisions became a reality in the past decade,
and microwaves are as commonplace in today's homes as the on-the-go
meals most frequently cooked in them. Even if the houses of the present
aren't made of plastic, much of what is inside of them probably is.
Despite these differences, owning a home, be it from plastic parts or
prairie sod wrenched from the ground, is considered an American
birthright.
This week, editor Stefanie Briggs will explore how
generations of your neighbors view the importance of housing in
reaching their American Dream.
Ron Klein, 71, thought the cornfields of Burnsville would be a great place to let his four young children loose in 1968.
His wife, Vera, 68, says one of the main things in reaching their American Dream was to own a home.
"Having
a home gives you a sense of belonging, it's a meeting place," Ron says.
"Ownership is a big thing. When you rent a place, it doesn't seem or
feel like a home. A house becomes a home when it becomes your
responsibility. It becomes your home when it's filled with memories,
and not just things."
The Kleins say they couldn't quite afford
their $24,750 three-bedroom rambler in 1968, 10 years after they were
married. The couple raised four children in the home: three boys living
downstairs and a daughter who had her own room upstairs. Today, all
their children and 10 grandchildren live within 20 miles of the home
they've owned for 40 years - a home they never took out a second
mortgage on.
"We're lucky enough to have a house built like how
we wanted," Klein says. "We weren't wise on finances at first, so we
took our family's advice. Sliding interest rates and mortgage issues
are problems today. People need to remember there's no free lunch."
Both
have noticed many changes to the Burnsville area that was mostly open
land when they moved there from a rented apartment in Minneapolis. The
expansion of Interstate 35W brought traffic and noise to their quiet
neighborhood, but also more businesses and amenities.
"Buildings
have definitely gotten bigger over the years, which just reflects the
changes in people's income, wants and needs in our society's economy,"
Vera says.
An interesting problem arose during Patrick and Nora
Williamson's house search. When Patrick liked a home, his wife, Nora,
didn't. When Nora liked a home, Patrick didn't. This went on for 15
months, until the 24-year-old couple finally came across a
three-bedroom home in Burnsville, last year.
"It wasn't the
first house I liked, but I just knew this was the place," Nora says. "I
took pictures of it the second time we came out here and started
talking about how we could situate the front room."
It wasn't
until she got Patrick thinking about what could be done in it that the
two made an offer. They were one of four parties interested in the
house. The Williamsons weren't the first offer, and almost didn't get
the first home of their dreams.
"We had been excited about it
and were disappointed when we didn't think we'd get it," Nora says.
"But the other people didn't get approved, and the bank was willing to
work with us next."
They closed the deal in February and have
finally finished unpacking. The real motivator for the two to find a
perfect home was to house their growing family. With daughter Nyima, 2,
needing a place to play, and another daughter due in the fall, a home
of their own was an important step in their lives. Moving in the
wintertime, the couple didn't know who their neighbors were, or if
there would be many children. They soon found out there are 30 children
under the age of 7 within a few blocks of them.
"We wanted to
provide a home," Patrick says. "I had a pre-determined notion of that's
what you do to provide for your family. This is our dream home for now,
for this point in our life."
"Our home may be nothing
spectacular, but it's ours," Nora says. "As long as it's not falling
apart we can take care of it, even if it's unexpected things it's not a
big deal."
"I'm just so relieved that the check for the mortgage I write out isn't going to waste like writing a rent check," Patrick says.
If
the foundation of a home is family, then the Kadirs have built theirs
together - literally. As part of a down payment for their Burnsville
house, Abdul and Quresha Kadir helped build the home of their dreams
with their seven children.
Having moved to Minneapolis in 1999
when they were in their late 40s, today Abdul, 55, and Quresha, 50, are
living their own American Dream, which didn't come easy. After first
living in a cramped two-bedroom apartment in Minneapolis, the family
sought a larger home. Without much money or credit history, it wasn't
happening. They looked for help to jumpstart their dreams of owning a
home. With a loan from Dakota County and discovering that there was
land designated by the city of Burnsville for Habitat for Humanity
homes, the Kadirs worked from frame to roof to basement, and moved into
their five-bedroom home in December 2002.
"I say paying our
mortgage just puts money from the right pocket into the left, because
unlike renting, we are now paying ourselves," Kadir says. "Prices of
houses will change. This home is already 30 percent more valuable then
when we moved in."
Coming from the civil wars of Somalia, the
couple had once owned a home and small bookshop. America was always
described to them as the land of opportunity. But the American Dream
seemed unattainable when it came to purchasing a home without using
resources.
"Being a refugee trying to buy a home, but not
qualifying for a home and having no inheritance, you to start at a
lower bracket," Kadir says. "The American Dream looks like a
far-fetched idea at that time, but fortunately in the United States
there's a way to go up if you have the patience and discipline to
strive to attain and tap into resources. The challenge is how to do
that."
All the couples agree that having a home has created a
firm foundation for their futures. To find or build a home you need
resources - such as people like Decklynn Theisen, who has worked in
real estate for more than 30 years in the south metro area. Finding or
selling someone's home is about trust; one thing, she says, that has
not changed amid the fluctuations in housing.
Having helped
thousands of people find their home, Theisen has worked her way up in
the real estate world from an agent at small business in Eagan to sales
manager at Remax in Lakeville today. She has seen markets go from one
extreme to the other, tears shed over finding a dream home or losing it
and how it all fits into achieving the American Dream.
"Housing
establishes community," Theisen says. "Buying a home establishes roots.
It gives people the chance to see a future for their family. It
influences how their kids will grow up, their education and the adults
they become."
Some people buy a home in a certain school
district and many refinance their home to get their children through
college, she says. Owning a home establishes a sense of pride, makes
people become responsible for something, helps them to participate in
their community and creates relationships with those around them,
Theisen says. Today it's a buyers market. The Council of Residential
Specialists (CRS) Minneapolis Association of REALTORS predicted nearly
40,000 properties would sell coming into 2008. In a spring newsletter,
the state's current CRS chapter president wrote now at mid-point in the
year the proposed prediction edges closer to that mark.
"The
supply of homes for sale in relation to the number of sold properties
equates to a nine-month supply of homes on the market," wrote Scott
Smith, state CRS chapter president. "The average market time is nearly
four months. Nearly one in five properties on the market is a
foreclosure or short sale."
Theisen has seen growth in population in the south metro area, including increased home sizes, acreage and architecture.
"There
were mostly ramblers at first that were similar in square footage and
floor plans," she says. "Now, it's more prairie-style homes."
Demographic
changes have created a new forefront for agents in the area, more and
more are becoming bilingual. Theisen says there are more Hispanic
buyers south of the river today than in the past.
"In last 10
years, you're seeing more agents and title cost lenders with bilingual
abilities or having interpreters," Theisen says. "Buying a home is
especially important for those who speak English as a second language
because it establishes roots and a community for them."
Homebuyers today are in a unique situation in Theisen's eyes, even though it may not seem that way.
"Over
the past 30 years financing assistance and education are more
available," she says. "If people are responsible with finances more
would be able to get into a home."
Theisen says today's rates
are lower than ever before and more people are realizing the financial
opportunity and importance of buying a home.
"It's a wise
financial decision and people have learned more about values," she
says. "Many are getting parental help often either by advice,
financially or otherwise."
The credit crunch is what's hitting
some people hard today, she says. Building a home is left up to big,
national corporations more than small, independent builders.
Inspections are a must, with 97 percent of purchasers expecting it to
be done.
"Buyers want it to be a turn-key ready home now. They
just want to turn the key in the door and move in," she says.
"Fixer-uppers are harder to sell. Often sellers need help with how much
to sell their home for, especially if they haven't been out in the
market for a while."
The new job of a stager, a person hired by
a seller to stage a house for viewing, is a major change in housing.
Agents offer a stager to the seller who suggests furniture placements,
color, décor and needed changes to help sell a home. No longer are
agents, buyers and sellers meeting in person, she says. Gone are the
days of the realtor or real estate agent going through each financial
step with a customer. Today anyone can produce a financial marker that
may or may not be safe.
"Every financial step is now turned over
to mortgage bankers and sometimes it's unscrupulous ones that do not
help people make a proper decision because they don't always have
buyers' best interests at heart," Theisen says. "We know as agents
what's reliable, what works. We know if we do well for people now, they
will come back to us again."
For the Kleins, Williamsons and Kadirs owning a home has been the launching pad for their futures.
Families like the Kadirs looked for local help to get their futures started.
The Dakota County Community Development (CDA) Agency is a local place to assist those in need of finding their launching pads.
"The
public investment the Dakota County CDA administers to homeownership
efforts is repaid many times over by the participation of homeowners in
our communities," said Mark Ulfers, CDA executive director. "Through
the Dakota County CDA's Homeownership Connection efforts, homebuyers
and homeowners can access programs and resources to help them
successfully achieve and maintain the American Dream."
Despite
difficulties each family has encountered, the dream of having one's own
home has held steadfast in the minds of so many for so long. The Kleins
say they have seen it continue for their children and grandchildren.
And
as the next generation of homebuyers seeks out a chance to establish
their roots, families like the Williamsons know achieving the American
Dream is possible, but also a unique process for every person.
An interesting problem arose during Patrick and Nora Williamson's house
search. When Patrick liked a home, his wife, Nora, didn't. When Nora
liked a home, Patrick didn't. This went on for 15 months, until the
24-year-old couple finally came across a three-bedroom home in
Burnsville, last year.
"It
wasn't the first house I liked, but I just knew this was the place,"
Nora says. "I took pictures of it the second time we came out here and
started talking about how we could situate the front room."
It
wasn't until she got Patrick thinking about what could be done in it
that the two made an offer. They were one of four parties interested in
the house. The Williamsons weren't the first offer, and almost didn't
get the first home of their dreams.
"We had been excited about
it and were disappointed when we didn't think we'd get it," Nora says.
"But the other people didn't get approved, and the bank was willing to
work with us next."
They closed the deal in February and have
finally finished unpacking. The real motivator for the two to find a
perfect home was to house their growing family. With daughter Nyima, 2,
needing a place to play, and another daughter due in the fall, a home
of their own was an important step in their lives. Moving in the
wintertime, the couple didn't know who their neighbors were, or if
there would be many children. They soon found out there are 30 children
under the age of 7 within a few blocks of them.
"We wanted to
provide a home," Patrick says. "I had a pre-determined notion of that's
what you do to provide for your family. This is our dream home for now,
for this point in our life."
"Our home may be nothing
spectacular, but it's ours," Nora says. "As long as it's not falling
apart we can take care of it, even if it's unexpected things it's not a
big deal."
"I'm just so relieved that the check for the mortgage I write out isn't going to waste like writing a rent check," Patrick says.
If
the foundation of a home is family, then the Kadirs have built theirs
together - literally. As part of a down payment for their Burnsville
house, Abdul and Quresha Kadir helped build the home of their dreams
with their seven children.
Having moved to Minneapolis in 1999
when they were in their late 40s, today Abdul, 55, and Quresha, 50, are
living their own American Dream, which didn't come easy. After first
living in a cramped two-bedroom apartment in Minneapolis, the family
sought a larger home. Without much money or credit history, it wasn't
happening. They looked for help to jumpstart their dreams of owning a
home. With a loan from Dakota County and discovering that there was
land designated by the city of Burnsville for Habitat for Humanity
homes, the Kadirs worked from frame to roof to basement, and moved into
their five-bedroom home in December 2002.
"I say paying our
mortgage just puts money from the right pocket into the left, because
unlike renting, we are now paying ourselves," Kadir says. "Prices of
houses will change. This home is already 30 percent more valuable then
when we moved in."
Coming from the civil wars of Somalia, the
couple had once owned a home and small bookshop. America was always
described to them as the land of opportunity. But the American Dream
seemed unattainable when it came to purchasing a home without using
resources.
"Being a refugee trying to buy a home, but not
qualifying for a home and having no inheritance, you to start at a
lower bracket," Kadir says. "The American Dream looks like a
far-fetched idea at that time, but fortunately in the United States
there's a way to go up if you have the patience and discipline to
strive to attain and tap into resources. The challenge is how to do
that."
All the couples agree that having a home has created a
firm foundation for their futures. To find or build a home you need
resources - such as people like Decklynn Theisen, who has worked in
real estate for more than 30 years in the south metro area. Finding or
selling someone's home is about trust; one thing, she says, that has
not changed amid the fluctuations in housing.
Having helped
thousands of people find their home, Theisen has worked her way up in
the real estate world from an agent at small business in Eagan to sales
manager at Remax in Lakeville today. She has seen markets go from one
extreme to the other, tears shed over finding a dream home or losing it
and how it all fits into achieving the American Dream.
"Housing
establishes community," Theisen says. "Buying a home establishes roots.
It gives people the chance to see a future for their family. It
influences how their kids will grow up, their education and the adults
they become."
Some people buy a home in a certain school
district and many refinance their home to get their children through
college, she says. Owning a home establishes a sense of pride, makes
people become responsible for something, helps them to participate in
their community and creates relationships with those around them,
Theisen says. Today it's a buyers market. The Council of Residential
Specialists (CRS) Minneapolis Association of REALTORS predicted nearly
40,000 properties would sell coming into 2008. In a spring newsletter,
the state's current CRS chapter president wrote now at mid-point in the
year the proposed prediction edges closer to that mark.
"The
supply of homes for sale in relation to the number of sold properties
equates to a nine-month supply of homes on the market," wrote Scott
Smith, state CRS chapter president. "The average market time is nearly
four months. Nearly one in five properties on the market is a
foreclosure or short sale."
Theisen has seen growth in population in the south metro area, including increased home sizes, acreage and architecture.
"There
were mostly ramblers at first that were similar in square footage and
floor plans," she says. "Now, it's more prairie-style homes."
Demographic
changes have created a new forefront for agents in the area, more and
more are becoming bilingual. Theisen says there are more Hispanic
buyers south of the river today than in the past.
"In last 10
years, you're seeing more agents and title cost lenders with bilingual
abilities or having interpreters," Theisen says. "Buying a home is
especially important for those who speak English as a second language
because it establishes roots and a community for them."
Homebuyers today are in a unique situation in Theisen's eyes, even though it may not seem that way.
"Over
the past 30 years financing assistance and education are more
available," she says. "If people are responsible with finances more
would be able to get into a home."
Theisen says today's rates
are lower than ever before and more people are realizing the financial
opportunity and importance of buying a home.
"It's a wise
financial decision and people have learned more about values," she
says. "Many are getting parental help often either by advice,
financially or otherwise."
The credit crunch is what's hitting
some people hard today, she says. Building a home is left up to big,
national corporations more than small, independent builders.
Inspections are a must, with 97 percent of purchasers expecting it to
be done.
"Buyers want it to be a turn-key ready home now. They
just want to turn the key in the door and move in," she says.
"Fixer-uppers are harder to sell. Often sellers need help with how much
to sell their home for, especially if they haven't been out in the
market for a while."
The new job of a stager, a person hired by
a seller to stage a house for viewing, is a major change in housing.
Agents offer a stager to the seller who suggests furniture placements,
color, décor and needed changes to help sell a home. No longer are
agents, buyers and sellers meeting in person, she says. Gone are the
days of the realtor or real estate agent going through each financial
step with a customer. Today anyone can produce a financial marker that
may or may not be safe.
"Every financial step is now turned over
to mortgage bankers and sometimes it's unscrupulous ones that do not
help people make a proper decision because they don't always have
buyers' best interests at heart," Theisen says. "We know as agents
what's reliable, what works. We know if we do well for people now, they
will come back to us again."
For the Kleins, Williamsons and Kadirs owning a home has been the launching pad for their futures.
Families like the Kadirs looked for local help to get their futures started.
The Dakota County Community Development (CDA) Agency is a local place to assist those in need of finding their launching pads.
"The
public investment the Dakota County CDA administers to homeownership
efforts is repaid many times over by the participation of homeowners in
our communities," said Mark Ulfers, CDA executive director. "Through
the Dakota County CDA's Homeownership Connection efforts, homebuyers
and homeowners can access programs and resources to help them
successfully achieve and maintain the American Dream."
Despite
difficulties each family has encountered, the dream of having one's own
home has held steadfast in the minds of so many for so long. The Kleins
say they have seen it continue for their children and grandchildren.
And
as the next generation of homebuyers seeks out a chance to establish
their roots, families like the Williamsons know achieving the American
Dream is possible, but also a unique process for every person.
For full article, visit
http://www.mnsun.com/articles/2008/07/02/news/cw03adhousing.txt
Lead Editor: Joseph Palmersheim
Managing Editor: Bonnie Boberg
Community Editors: Megan Anderson, Grant Boelter, Stefanie Briggs and Katie Mintz also contributed to this series.
Layout and Design: Jason Walker
Sun Newspapers
July 2, 2008
|
