My father’s side of the family, the wealthy side of the family, made all their money in land. There was land gifted to them by some monarch or another when they first touched American soil back in the 1600s. Then there were various patches strewn about the west as the country expanded. My grandparents made their money investing in Bay Area real state long before it got crazy. Someone once told me that they bought their first house in Orinda for $5000 and eventually sold it for $500,000. They may just be family legend though.

Since I grew up with my dirt poor mother though, home ownership was something other people did. There was never going to be a time when Mom could have saved enough money for a down payment. We could barely pay the rent as it was. So the fact that my mom’s sister, and my favorite aunt, owns her own house is something I have always been proud of. It’s so foreign to me, the idea that you could paint walls whatever color or refinish kitchens to your liking without having a landlord breathing down your neck. Even the idea that NO ONE else in the world gets a key to your home without permission from you is foreign to me. And having credit passable enough to get a mortgage is inconcievable. You mean there are people in my family who actually make enough money to pay the bills every single month? Seriously?

When I get really stressed out and depressed. I draw houses. Actually I draw floor plans. And I’m pretty good. I always start out big, grand, with every amenity you can think of. And then I see how much of that grandness I can retain while shaving off square footage. This is what I get to do instead of owning a home.

So in this wreck of an economy, my little brother has been saving his money forever o buy a house. He makes very good money. He has good credit. He has a down payment, a stable job history, etc. I am almost as invested in him buying a house as I would be if it was my own house, just to know someone so close to me is capable of grabbing something so valuable and elusive. But Seattle is a tough market.

Bro makes an above average wage in just about any job market.