Thursday, April 28, 2011

Single Parents Need Housing Assistance

Sociology lecturer and author Maggie Walters suggests that single parents should be eligible for assistance just as low income earners receiving rental assistance.

“There’s an awful lot of non-resident parents in housing stress. Separating, when you have children especially, causes hardship and housing hardship for everyone, and it ripples on for years.

“Both parents have poor housing outcomes in comparison to those who don’t separate, or who have not separated yet,” Walters concludes.

In a recent body of research work, Ms. Walters and her co-author analysed 4000 households with parents of children under the age of 18 in 2005, including more than 1000 separated parents.

Interestingly, the study showed a great disparity in home ownership retention. The separated parents maintained a home mortgage in 47-48% of the cases. But for parents who stayed together, that same figure hovered around 81%--a big jump indeed.

“Most people have such big mortgages now that when they separate there seems to be a pattern that both parties are thrown out of home ownership, because even if she gets to keep the equity in the house she won’t be able to afford to pay for the mortgage herself, so the house is sold,” she comments.

To remedy the situation, Ms. Walters suggests that separating parents should be able to get financial assistance to help them maintain home ownership, or to re-enter the market if they are in danger of falling out of home ownership.

If you have a question about real estate, or would like assistance in locating a property, feel free to phone me, Noel Thompson Principal Professionals Logan Lifestyles at either Browns Plains 3800 4000, Marsden 3200 4495 or Springwood 3808 5544.

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