Home buying thread

TheCutlery said:

The one you stuck in your fucking yapper by thinking that housing prices in CA or NY have any fucking bearing at all anywhere else in the country, you dumb fuck. Yeah, I live in shittown USA, population 50,000.

Click to expand...

Huh? I was just surmising with your $245k "mansion" that you obviously didn"t live in a big city like LA, San Diego, San Francisco, New York, Chicago....turned out I was right didn"t it? Don"t know why you feel like I was comparing anybody to living in LA, other than the fact I knew you couldn"t buy a home like you did here at those prices, not even in Compton.

Still, ignore the fact you make over $100,000 a year in your town and somehow are scrapping by. You honestly should be King of the Hillbillies.

Chaotic said:

TLDR: Buy first home as an investment to flip in time, or with intention to stay there.

Click to expand...

How old are you? And when you say New York, do you mean NYC or the state? If the state, where in the state? I hope for your sake its state, because even $125,000 isn"t going to get you far in the city.

Also, how likely are you to remain in your current community? How is your current community? If you were to eventually get married, have kids, etc. would you stay in your current community?

If the answer to the last 3 questions are in the affirmative, then I would invest more long term, ie a house you would likely keep.

However, I feel your age plays a role in this, depending on your job situation. It sounds like you are younger (20s?), employed (ie not self-employed), so part of it is how likely you are to remain with your current company, and how likely you are to get laid off or transferred to another division which means moving.

If you are young, and moving up the corporate ladder, I would be less inclined to buy long-term, and more inclined to purchase a home as an investment property, only because you don"t know where your job might take you in the next 10 years.

If you are more established in your job and your community, getting older and more settled, then buy for the long term.

Sharmai said:

I"ll grant you that Indianapolis is small compared to LA but then so are most cities in the country. That said 245k buys you a pretty fan-fucking-tastic 4000sqft home in Indianapolis.

Click to expand...

Maybe some fucked up foreclosure plus living right on top of your other neighbor. Yeah great way to live. Fuck that might as well rent.

Eyashusa said:

Now this is a nice house:Theurer-Wrigley House in Lincoln Park Up for Sale - Chicago magazine - November 2011 - Chicago

There are like 50 pictures of the inside at that link.

Click to expand...

Beautiful home. A steal at $633/sq foot for a historic home. The problem with these homes though is often they have conservation clauses in the contracts, and upkeep and maintenance on these are a bitch. I was looking into buying one of the Frank Lloyd Wright "Mayan" homes here in LA a decade ago, but there was so many clauses about what I could or couldn"t do to the home I decided against it. Not to mention all the water damage from the concrete walls heh.

But still, whoever buys that home is getting a great looking piece of property, just hope they can tolerate the upkeep.

Where did he post pics of his ghetto house?

How old are you? And when you say New York, do you mean NYC or the state? If the state, where in the state? I hope for your sake its state, because even $125,000 isn"t going to get you far in the city.

I live on long island, which I believe is one of the most expensive suburban areas in the country. It"s about 45min east of the city.

Also, how likely are you to remain in your current community? How is your current community? If you were to eventually get married, have kids, etc. would you stay in your current community?

My current community as in town? I could care less. I want to be reasonably close to work is about it. Community fluctuate wildly. For example, west islip is one of the nicer communities @ 360k average home and 10k average property tax. 5 min west is brentwood @ 230k average home and 6k property tax. Point being; you can get whatever you want without going too far around here, from shitholes to million dollar mansions.

If the answer to the last 3 questions are in the affirmative, then I would invest more long term, ie a house you would likely keep.

However, I feel your age plays a role in this, depending on your job situation. It sounds like you are younger (20s?), employed (ie not self-employed), so part of it is how likely you are to remain with your current company, and how likely you are to get laid off or transferred to another division which means moving.

Just turned 28, very secure government job - unless i"m retarded I will retire with it. Lay off is not likely, I can be transferred at will though, but it"s simply 30 min in either direction. Not likely but a possibility, and one I will live with for the rest of my career.

If you are young, and moving up the corporate ladder, I would be less inclined to buy long-term, and more inclined to purchase a home as an investment property, only because you don"t know where your job might take you in the next 10 years.

If you are more established in your job and your community, getting older and more settled, then buy for the long term.


Seems ultimately you would favor an investment property given my situation. This is my inclination. When I think of moving twice (stuff like 2 125 gallon fish tanks) I die a little inside though.

Yeah, it"s looking good for you, everything but living on Long Island with 100k income.

You"re young, debt free, good job, mobile.....ahhh, I envy you, those were the days =)

Personally when I was in your situation, I tried to envision where I would be in 10 years. In my own situation, I wanted to be back to Los Angeles, so when I bought my home in San Diego, it was with the intention of moving within 10 years. In reality, I moved in 4. So if you don"t see yourself in the same neighborhood in 10 years, go for the short term.

You are in a good and bad situation currently with the housing market. The good news is that housing is as affordable as it"s probably ever going to be. The downside is that real estate (as a primary residence, not talking about rentals) is no longer a good investment vehicle; there is no doubt it will rebound eventually, but we are likely looking at years, if not a decade or more.

You could put your 40k in a lot of things that will make you more money in the next 10 years than a home. That being said, if you are currently in need of a home, that would be the more pressing need. Just make sure you aren"t putting your entire savings into the home, give yourself some reserve.

In the scenarios you gave, option A and B seemed both to be under 5 years. Realize housing prices are not likely to appreciate significantly in that time frame, which means when it comes time to sell, you will probably see little, to no return on your investment. In fact, after you factor in closing costs, interest, taxes, etc, you will likely be slightly behind, definitely so if prices remain stagnant. Building real equity in a home usually takes decades, your first few years you pay a ton in interest vs. principal, so unless the market gets hot (unlikely), you don"t gain from selling your home in under 5 years.

Dad decided to sell some stocks and buy a house in Arizona. 150k!!! Nice pool house is 6 years old I think. For the same house in Vancouver it would be well over 1 million.

Izuldan said:

Stuff

Click to expand...

I"m stuck here for at least the next 17 years (retirement) for better or worse.


That is an absolutely excellent point about option A and B in terms of housing prices not rebounding any if at all to make it worthwhile in <5 years. That makes things mildly simpler for me and it"s something obvious I didn"t much consider (I suppose i"m still in the stupid mindset of housing being a sure win asset)

I"m on my 4th book now for real estate. Two was for home buying (one being a first time home buyer, one being investment) One was for mortgage and associated loans / fees / scams etc, and the last one now is property management. I"m unsure as of yet if I want to buy a property for rental (A or B for example) if / when I move out.

Home comes first though, rather then investment - due precisely to the timing. That "s also why I want to attempt to use it as a vehicle for investment. The more I think about it though the more I might end up just putting away more and buy something nice, perhaps making a requirement the property having a detached garage or finished basement either of which I can convert into a rental unit for best of both worlds. I just can"t digest 10k+ in property tax or 1k+ in mortgage interest. Money to the furnace (I know it"s tax deductible but still)

What do you guys pay in property tax in other states?


Quick question I just thought of, it wasn"t covered in the book I read.
I make X amount a year. I receive 7 separate checks during the course of the year. These are quarterly differential checks 2 holiday checks and 1 uniform check. These total almost 13k gross. When tabulating gross income as a mortgage broker, then extra checks are added to my "normal" salary to come up with annual gross income correct? Since they are guaranteed compensation and not overtime etc.

Phoenix said:

How many 1%ers we have on this board to afford such a house?

Click to expand...

<---

Chaotic said:

What do you guys pay in property tax in other states?


Quick question I just thought of, it wasn"t covered in the book I read.
I make X amount a year. I receive 7 separate checks during the course of the year. These are quarterly differential checks 2 holiday checks and 1 uniform check. These total almost 13k gross. When tabulating gross income as a mortgage broker, then extra checks are added to my "normal" salary to come up with annual gross income correct? Since they are guaranteed compensation and not overtime etc.

Click to expand...

Property taxes in Los Angeles works out to be about 1% of the value of the home.

You are correct, you add in all your extra income, doesn"t matter what the source is, it could be dividend checks from stocks. Now, you aren"t required to do so, this is just if you want to maximize the size the loan you can get. If you can get the loan amount you desire without divulging all your income sources, I would do so.

As for your next step, I would say it depends on where you see yourself in 10 years, and how much you anticipate you will be making. If you see yourself in a good position (and who doesn"t, but you have to be realistic and honest with yourself on this one), then the best option for you would probably be to buy a home you are willing to live in, and then save money.

The idea would be that should you ever be in the market for another home.....you won"t sell your current home for the next one, you are going to keep it and convert it to a rental. Face it, if you are buying a home in the next few years, chances are it"s not going to appreciate significantly, which means it doesn"t make any sense to sell it. However, if you keep the home and convert it to a rental, then it"s a nice way to produce an income stream and increase your assets and wealth.

Remember, when most people move, they end up selling their old home to use it as a down payment for a new one. What I am advocating is if you have the means, don"t sell your old home, use it as a rental. This may mean living in your old home for a few more years to build up enough to purchase a new home without using your old home for leverage, but it also means in the future you will have a nice passive income stream.

If you choose this route, be sure the house you buy is in a nice suburban neighborhood, because the best renters are families. Try not to purchase near colleges or universities, you don"t want students. Also don"t get greedy; whatever extra income you generate from the rentals, use it to pay down your mortgage, not buy fancy cars. The idea is that before you retire, you will own the home outright, so any future revenue generated is pure income for you.

AladainAF said:

Where the wife and I want to move, though, it"s about 3.25%.

Click to expand...

/pucker

I"m considering a heloc or refinancing for a higher mortgage (yet lower rate, doesn"t matter my payment is a joke). And using the cash as a downpayment on a house to rent.

Anything i would get i would be able to cover both payments with my current salary. And i"m sure i could turn a profit on the rental worth the time.

Would you all do this kind of heavy credit extension? I feel like with the rates this low, knowing i could turn a profit, and being able to cover both regardless of rent situation why the fuck not?