Travis Lermusiaux, a 32-year-old artist and guitar luthier living in Boca Raton, Florida, has an unusual living situation. Like many Americans seeking a refuge from hefty housing and rent prices, Lermusiaux has taken the situation into his own hands. He now lives in a warehouse, which allows him to save 75 percent of his income while still pursuing his passions.
“Real estate is slim, and it isn’t cheap these days,” Lermusiaux told Newsweek. “I found this space from a friend and was very lucky.”
The trend is gaining momentum across the country as well, new reports indicate…
…Mortgage rates peaked at their highest in two decades last fall. This, combined with heightened home prices, made buying a home the most unaffordable in decades last fall. And rent prices often aren’t much better, either.
A new report from Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies found half of all tenants spent more than 30 percent of their income on rent and utilities…
…Even when Americans do opt for traditional homes, they might not be able to bypass the considerable number of repairs necessary to make a home livable, though, so warehouse living can still arrive as a preferable option.
“Most homes on the market right now are in desperate need of repairs or updates. Baby Boomers dominate the existing housing inventory and over half their homes were built in 1980 or earlier,” Jon Bostock, the CEO of home improvement company Leaf Home, told Newsweek. “It’s simply not an appealing market for a first-time homeowner.”
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