Bri Erger
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Bri Erger is a real estate agent, and when her living situation fell through, she quickly realized she couldn’t afford to buy a home in Denver on her own. When she plugged the money she could spend into the Multiple Listing Service, what came up was less than ideal. “What I can afford in Denver is a parking space in downtown Denver or a one-bed, one-bath condo on the way outskirts of town, so it was super disappointing,” Erger recalls.
So she decided to once again look into co-buying, the term for unrelated, non-romantically involved people buying a home together. While it’s common for unmarried partners or parents and their children to go in on a house, it’s also done by groups of friends or acquaintances interested in owning property but who can’t afford it alone, or want the benefits of a support system, as Catie Cheshire reports in her account of Erger’s latest co-buying venture.
In their comments on the Westword Facebook post of the story, readers share their own opinion of the process and Denver’s real estate market in general. Says Chantel:
It’s shameful that four buyers are required in order for home ownership to be attainable.
Responds Joyce:
Gotta love how the lack of affordability has media turning near-poverty, in some cases, into something we’re supposed to feel good about. These folks are just fortunate a multi-family unit was available.
Adds Sarah:
It’s f*cking ridiculous that you have to go in as a group to buy a house here.
Notes Nathan:
So roommates with extra steps. Got it.
Responds Ryan:
Co-buying. How to screw your credit when a roommate bails.
Comments Darren:
Housing is a human right that must be protected from profiteering (along with health care, basic nutrition, education, transportation). Workers’ collectives produce housing; capitalist profiteers produce houselessness.
Responds Steven:
You’re funny.
Concludes Cole.
“Couple can’t afford buying a house cause the housing market sucks.” Or, “Private real-estate companies price out average Americans from home ownership.”
Fixed the title for you.
What do you think of co-buying? Denver’s housing market? Post a comment or share your thoughts at editorial@westword.com.