To the editor: Guest contributor Carlos Fernando Avenancio-León asks who can afford to keep up the lifestyle of home ownership once this American dream has been realized (“For an affordable housing future, expanding access isn’t enough,” May 28). He states that owners are dragged down by the realities and unaddressed risks of insurance, taxes and repairs.
While the race and gender disparities discussed within this piece are alarming and obviously inequitable, it seems like the idea of Congress becoming involved in what this professor terms “sustaining homeownership” is misplacing responsibility and is unreasonable. On the very same day this op-ed ran in print, the Los Angeles Times also published an article stating that hundreds of UC faculty are calling on the UC system to reinstate the SATs due to woeful under-preparation of students entering college (“Citing ‘severe’ math deficits, UC faculty demand a return to SAT tests for STEM applicants,” May 27). Would it be reasonable for Congress to address this issue and somehow be responsible for students getting prepared for college?
Anyone who is an adult and at the stage where home ownership is possible should have at least lived somewhere, whether it be a parental home or an apartment rental, and understand there are going to be attendant costs to home ownership. Most people who own a car, have a child or own a pet know there are future costs involved. I don’t hear too many parents saying they are shocked and ill-prepared to find out their child needs clothes, doctor visits and school supplies.
This is not financial distress; this is reality. It seems a bit of a stretch to determine that policymakers are somehow needed to address and mitigate this inevitability of home ownership.
Michele Adashek, Los Angeles
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To the editor: I read, with interest, Avenancio-Leon’s item about how helping young people buy a home is one thing, but enabling them to keep that home is another altogether. I read the entire op-ed waiting for the part that would deal with those of us who have been homeowners for a very long time and, now living on a fixed income, are also struggling with the rising costs of maintenance, insurance and taxes.
According to recent reports, seniors are the fastest-growing demographic of newly homeless people. A little help with housing costs might keep many of us off the streets.
Marge Piane, Los Angeles
