Every time I say this I'm shouted down as an exception. Of Course, I have been forced to live the entirety of my average life so I'm inclined to disagree, but maybe I'm wrong. I just wanted to get that out there. I own where I live. After graduating college I also had to pay my debts, my rent, and my other monthly fees. I did this for five years. After five years, I realized that the money I put towards rent was disappearing into a black hole. I also realized that the people who owned where I lived were just using my payments to pay a mortgage. I could do that myself. When I told my friends I was shopping for a house they imagined the homes of their childhoods - four bedroom suburban plots. I was thinking something a bit more lateral. I went from one 1,400 foot townhouse to another. Because I made a lateral move, I had proof that I could make the payments. I also convinced my roommate to make the move with me, assuring him he'd have a much cooler landlord. Since it was a townhouse, I wouldn't have to worry about fixing up the exterior of the house. I did a little math to make sure my roommate's rent price took repairs into account and now instead of all of my money going into a black hole, most of it goes into a property. Because I paid my bills for 5 years and the cost of the townhouse was only ~$110,000, I wasn't required to put any down payment. I acted as my own agent, which was terrifying, but ended up saving me money up front. If you are paying rent and especially if you are living alone it is very possible to own your own house."I can't afford a down payment on a house because I'm tied up paying student loans and car payments and my rent."
I completely agree with you about rent disappearing down a black hole, you're not really acquiring anything out of it. In my case, yes, I have a lot of loans, but there's no point in me buying a house right now because of item 2 on my list of "general things young adults encounter in today's world", however, in the next few years (kleinbl00) it is very much a possibility. A mortgage on a place in some places would be cheaper than what I'm paying for a 1BR apartment right now. However, I have no idea where you can find a 1,400 sq ft. townhouse for $110,000. That seems low, but I'm no real estate mogul.
Raleigh, NC. Larger in population than Miami. I thought the same thing too, at first. And the places that were in my budget were a far cry from what I was dreaming of, but once I got over that there were actually a lot of options. As to your second bullet point - there's a college in my town. I got a townhouse in an area that's accessible by students, but more appealing to grad students (quieter, less access to party areas). The theory was that if I landed a good job out of state I could rent the place out for a bit to try and cover my costs. I hadn't tried anything like this (buying or renting) before and it scared the shit out of me, but it was by far the coolest thing I've ever bought.I have no idea where you can find a 1,400 sq ft. townhouse for $110,000.