This time of year is typically a time for people to count their blessings and focus on a measure of gratitude. For homeowners, one needs only to look at the property tax statement that arrived in the mail not long ago to see a dose of that gratitude played out. While it’s true that some who lived on fixed incomes and have their homes paid off might see a pain point in the arrival of that tax statement, a great number of others will see how the “real market value” of their homes jumped significantly from one year to the next. For some, this represents a massive increase in net worth, and/or the opportunity to use that extra value to remodel, sell that home and cash out or just to sit back and revel in the massive increase in the value of one’s biggest investment.
If you’re a homeowner, there’s almost no doubt that the past several years have seen you do quite well. By and large, among those who own homes in this region, there’s still something to be thankful for.
This same time of year, while you’re reveling in gratitude, it is also a good time to consider how that come-up on your part plays out in the wider world.
Right now, the shelters offering a warm place to stay for those pushed further into the margins are bursting at the seams. Affordable and low-income housing remains hard to find. People spend years on waitlists, waiting for a subsidized apartment to become available. All that, during a season that has been far colder than recent years.
Some will take this need and turn their attention to our local governments. “We’re paying more property taxes for the homes that have risen in value,” one might say—so there should be more to go around for those who need assistance, right?
And there is some truth in that. Local governments have a role to play in helping secure funding and locations for shelters, affordable complexes, and other forms of care for those who do not currently benefit from the overheated real estate market in this part of the world. But the need goes far beyond what local governments can muster. In truth, a handful of nonprofit service providers are shouldering most of the burden.
Those who have benefited from the current system should see the part they have to play in ensuring a healthy community for all.
Especially at this time of year, we should be attuned to the notion that some measure of personal redistribution of wealth can help our entire community. This means donating to one of the nonprofits doing the heavy lifting in feeding and housing those on the margins. Money is one path. Another path is through a donation of time, which is a luxury many do not have.
The workers and volunteers who are out there helping our houseless neighbors are tired. They’re overworked, and every day, more people come through their doors. Most times, shelters won’t turn away a person in need with nighttime temperatures like the ones we’ve seen in recent weeks. And still more arrive every day.
While asking, “why doesn’t the city or the county do more?” is a national pastime, it is also a national pastime to oppose government spending and tax increases. While the free market made your house double in value over a matter of years, this system only continues to work when people volunteer their largesse.
It falls on all of us who have benefited in our community to do our part and donate, volunteer or to otherwise contribute to helping those who need support. It is the reason for the season.
This article appears in Source Weekly December 22, 2022.
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Thank you.
It seems the doer’s always carry the load and remain a fairly consistent number while the number of “national pastime” participants grows rapidly each year. This seems to be directly proportional to the rise in property value. Sigh.
Donating funds is the easiest way for people who can’t or won’t (for a myriad of reasons) volunteer time. People can do this.
Merry Christmas
If anyone is thinking about refinancing to access the equity in your home right now, DON’T. With the interest rates at 7%, you are setting yourself up for financial ruin if—when—the market dips again. Especially if you’re close to the end of your mortgage terms; this can restart your clock at an exponentially higher rate and should anything happen to your home that isn’t covered by insurance, you could end up being one of the houseless yourself.
Instead, set aside what you can and donate to reputable assistance groups. Donate your time and energy if you don’t have enough liquidity. There a million ways to help that don’t endanger your future or that of your children (if you have any).
To the author: this opinion is grounded only in an emotional response to the houseless crisis and is foundationally unsound and irresponsible. To suggest that all homeowners are suddenly wealthy simply by virtue of accrued value shows either a fundamental lack of knowledge or a willful disregard of fact. Most regular people have their entire net worth wrapped up in their homes, because it’s the single safest investment a person can make in their future. Rather than making this asinine plea, you’d be better off petitioning for wealthy benefactors ready to make a tax write-off than for the middle class to endanger themselves.
DubyaC: Nowhere in this opinion piece does it suggest people “endanger themselves” and refinance in order to help ease the humanitarian crisis that is happening on our streets, and I’m underlining here that that message was not its intent in any way. The actual message, if not gleaned from the above words, was, ‘keep in mind that you’ve done well as a homeowner in recent years of crisis, and do what you can to help those who haven’t done well’ — which can mean a simple one hour of your time each week supporting those supporting others, or perhaps money, if you have it.