MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Jenni Nelson has a master's degree and her dream job as a media research analyst. But when she moved to Minneapolis, she didn't have money for her own apartment. Nelson, who's in her early 30s, was to move in with her older sister.
"I had no options," Nelson said. "I wouldn't have imagined this is where I was going to be when I graduated 10 years ago."
Neither did many others before the recession, forced now to make big changes, some because of big mortgages.
"They can't sell it for what they paid for it," said J.J. Korman, a real estate broker who owns Terra Companies.
Millions of Americans are facing short sales, foreclosures and big financial losses, so they're forced to cut expenses and save money. And, for many, that starts with housing.
"I think we have people who took on a little bit more than they could chew," Korman said.
Korman says homeowners with high house payments have been forced to be creative. Some are taking in roommates. Others are renting their homes to help pay their bills. And Korman says he tells those who are buying to look at it as a long term, not short term, decision.
"Brace yourself," Korman said he tells his clients. "Prepare yourself for next five or maybe even ten years. Can you stay in the place that you're in right now? And that's a tough question for a lot of people."
So is the question of whether to live with friends and family. But nearly 1 in 4 Minnesotans say they're doing it, and just as many say they're struggling to pay for basic needs. And with state unemployment at seven percent, workers worry about finding jobs and keeping them.
"I worked part time at a bookstore for almost a year," Nelson said. "And I got lucky finding the position I have now. Really lucky."
And if that luck changes? Nelson says she may again be knocking on her sister's door.
"If something were to happen to me and I would lose my job," said Nelson, "I know I have something to fall back on."
2009 Minnesota Survey Brief: Struggling to Make Ends Meet
(Copyright 2009 by KARE. All Rights Reserved.)
