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Comment by throwaway5959 | Hacker News Reader

My wife and I are both successful professionals and we’re just now buying our first place in Southern California at almost 40. Meanwhile, a single guy I work with is buying a house at double the price we bought ours for at the age of 25. How? Mommy and daddy helped out with a downpayment. It just is what it is. We’re proud we did it on our own.

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If it makes you feel better, their parents will probably use that down payment as leverage for a LONG time.

"My house, my rules" and all that...

That's just consolation fiction in the same vein as "bullies are cowards".

I think the parent comment's take was better: It just is what it is. I'm happy with what I have, and I don't feel the need to imagine scenarios in which people better off than me are secretly unhappy.

I agree. My parents helped with my down payment and cosigned on my home and my partner's parents on theirs. Both were vehicles for them to pass on generational wealth and, more importantly, give an early start to our credit scores. There is no malice or control attached, just parents genuinely wanting the best for their kids.

Don't think so. I know many people here in the Netherlands who own a home at the age of 25 thanks to their parents, and their parents are generally actually nice people who just want to help their children out. It makes their kids happy and they like seeing their kids happy.

It goes beyond making their kids happy. If you see your family as an expending unit, helping your kids finance their education and buy a house is probably the most impactful thing you can do financially. Having a house early saves you a ton on rent and that’s even more important when you are young and have a low salary.

This is accurate, assuming you know you’re going to be there for the next 5-10 years.

It depends on the parent.

A single guy at 25 would have less expenses compared to a married couple at 40s. Especially if you have kids.

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