The vice presidential candidate's real estate situation is raising eyebrows, but it's not unprecedented.

Minnesota governor and vice presidential hopeful Tim Walz seems to have embraced becoming "America's Dad." Some of the most shared Walz photos online feature him cuddling baby farm animals at the Minnesota state fair; there's a YouTube video featuring his daughter, Hope, as they bungle their way through a "public service announcement" for Minnesota's 2019 "hands-free" driving law; the Los Angeles Times even ran a story on his gearhead enthusiasm for car collection and repair. It's stuff your dad might do -- enjoy a day at the fair, goof around with his kids -- and it's doing some heavy lifting in a campaign that seeks to appeal to middle-class Americans. Perhaps what is more pertinent to many Americans' personal circumstances is that Walz's recent financial disclosures revealed that he and his family don't own any property. If the Harris-Walz ticket wins in November, that will set him apart from many past executive officeholders.

This isn't to say that Walz is like the many Americans who cannot afford to buy a home: Prior to becoming governor, Walz and his family owned a 3,200-square-foot, single-family house in Mankato, Minnesota. They sold that five years ago for less than the $315,000 asking price, according to Axios, and they moved into the Minnesota governor's 1912 Tudor Revival-style mansion. While the state was rehabbing the property, including its electrical and mechanical systems, Walz and his family lived in a University of Minnesota estate usually occupied by university presidents, according to CBS News.

But this situation isn't entirely unprecedented. According to NBC Chicago, former Vice President Mike Pence's 2021 financial disclosure statement revealed he owned few assets outside of his government pension and retirement fund; prior to spending four years living in the Vice President's home at the Naval Observatory, he occupied the Indiana governor's mansion. After losing the 2020 election, he rented a home in Virginia before moving back to Indiana.