Showings dropping off in 2nd/3rd week. How can I improve showings in this market? (Plano: renters, mortgages)

[DWong]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

LOL!!! I agree. Some people are all talk. I'd love to know the REAL investments some of the "renting is the only way to go" have and the gains they have made in them.

Why not talk now . I'll use several of my family members as an example. Here are 4 examples and only 1 of these had a high earning 6 figure income while the other 3 were "blue collar".

1. My parents. Being a truck driver I'd safely say my dad was a TRUE blue collar worker. In his lifetime now has owned 3 homes. Has suffered setbacks due to layoffs but toughed it out, had always saved as a family so had savings to weather the rough times. Found a job locally so no uprooting the family to chase a better circumstance during those times - an advantage to living in an area that is diverse and always expanding. Now in their mid-60's they recently sold their PAID OFF home for a profit and bought a house with CASH that was about $100K MORE than the one they sold. In their mid-60's they are comfortable, no financial worries as they learned to watch what they spent and purchased quality over quantity as well. Fairly new cars - paid for. Savings - check. Retirement - check. 401K - check. Insurance - check. Planned ahead for nursing care - check. Hmm, not bad considering how they started out as a young teenage couple w/ not much to be said for college. I'd say they are MUCH better off than many of those MUCH younger than them. Basic expenses of homeowners insurance, utilities and property taxes. As a renter you would STILL be paying ALL of those to a landlord and not get to write it off your taxes. OUCH!

2. In-laws. Another "blue collar" family. Retired to their country property that was PAID OFF while still in their 60's! They had more and rougher setbacks than my folks due to health. Still able to rough it thru and did the same as mine by always being careful on how they spent every penny and SAVED during the good times. Living in what was their "2nd home" now full time w/ no expenses but ins, taxes and utilities. Savings, insurnace, retirement all saved for and taken care of as well as nursing care should it become needed.

3. Aunt & uncle. This is the high earner in the family for that generation. Been retired since their late 50's and they have not had a house payment since. Moved to Florida and paid cash for a house there. Sold it a few years later to move back to the Big D (it was nothing but "old people" according to them ). Bought a nice custom home on a golf course and paid cash. Savings and retirement all taken care of. Same scenario as those above in that they have planned right.

4. Inlaw aunt & uncle. Paid off their 1st house in 15 years (that was MANY MOONS ago). Only had 1 income coming in too thru the years. Paid cash for every car they ever bought (only kept them about 6 years). Moved to Texas at retirement and paid cash for a house on the lake. Only bills related to providing shelter are insurance, utilities and property insurance.

Gosh, I'm sorry but I'd MUCH rather know that at the age of 50ish I DO NOT have a rent or mortgage payment. I'll pay for that in my younger years while I'm earning money and it is going to be LESS to BUY a house then than it will be 10-15 years from now AFTER I retire. And trying to qualify on retirement ONLY! YIKES!! Good luck

Well all things being said, personal experience and basic economics say renting is far better. Your family was very good with money and worked very hard. Times have changed now, real estate is far different than it was in my parents generation. Back then they all owned homes, now its far more difficult.

[Lakewooder]

Renting rocks for me as I am a landlord - I have tenants building up my equity and a $25,000 write off...

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by DWong

Well all things being said, personal experience and basic economics say renting is far better. Your family was very good with money and worked very hard. Times have changed now, real estate is far different than it was in my parents generation. Back then they all owned homes, now its far more difficult.

Not really. They had a FAR ROUGHER start than most people nowadays. Sure houses were less then but so was their income. One can STILL save and watch their spending even in todays market and still be sitting mortgage free later in life. There are MANY in the same boat that are on the track to being mortgage free in their golden years. Then again........ these are the people that are more stable in their life and don't run around the country chasing the economy, wild dreams or trying to ride the waves. If one just sits back and takes the falls w/ the gains in the longterm they will be better off.

[DWong]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

Not really. They had a FAR ROUGHER start than most people nowadays. Sure houses were less then but so was their income. One can STILL save and watch their spending even in todays market and still be sitting mortgage free later in life. There are MANY in the same boat that are on the track to being mortgage free in their golden years. Then again........ these are the people that are more stable in their life and don't run around the country chasing the economy, wild dreams or trying to ride the waves. If one just sits back and takes the falls w/ the gains in the longterm they will be better off.

Put it this way, if I put $500 bucks a month into 401k for 35 years I can buy a place in my golden years cash and still have plenty to live off (ok not rich, but live comfortably).
Then not to mention all the $$ I'd save from all that comes w/ a mortgage... economist say the same thing....in TX (outside of the conviences), Renting>Buying

[Plano_Pal]

Originally Posted by Ballyhigh

Renting rocks...........

1. It's still much cheaper to rent than to own the same thing. Yearly rents are less than 3% of purchase price. Mortgage rates are 6.5%, so it costs more than twice as much to borrow money to buy a house than it does to rent the same kind of house. Worse, total owner costs including taxes, maintenance, and insurance are about 9%, which is three times the cost of renting. Buying a house is a very bad deal for the buyer. Put in the numbers for your own area here.

Thanks for sharing this. I tried putting numbers for the area I know about (Plano) and it does make sense to buy if you are here for next 3-4 YRS than renting it. When I entered numbers for markets in NE and West, it will make sense to purchase home if you live in there for next 30 YRS.

[DWong]

Originally Posted by Plano_Pal

Thanks for sharing this. I tried putting numbers for the area I know about (Plano) and it does make sense to buy if you are here for next 3-4 YRS than renting it. When I entered numbers for markets in NE and West, it will make sense to purchase home if you live in there for next 30 YRS.

I thought I was onto something here. You've sparked quite a thread here Plano_Pal

[Rakin]

Buying vs Renting is a useless argument which should be determined by your lifestyle. There are a lot of good things about buying that economically you can't justify on paper.

It's the same as "Do I have kids or not? " Kids don't make a lot of economic sense, they are a pain and way to much work but yet in the long run it's all worth while. (For most people)

The same argument on buying or leasing a car.

[DWong]

Originally Posted by Rakin

Buying vs Renting is a useless argument which should be determined by your lifestyle. There are a lot of good things about buying that economically you can't justify on paper.

It's the same as "Do I have kids or not? " Kids don't make a lot of economic sense, they are a pain and way to much work but yet in the long run it's all worth while. (For most people)

The same argument on buying or leasing a car.

I WOULDN'T SAY LIFESTYLE, BUT MAYBE LIFE EVENTS... OR LIFE CHOICES PER SE.

[unexpected]

Yea, DWong, you're right in the sense that it doesn't make sense in the short-term. I've done the all of the math, and it's really, really hard to beat saving all the money and investing it.

The primary catch is that you still have to build equity- that amount you're saving by renting, you have to invest. It's too easy to squander that away and ruin the formula.

The other option is to have a large down payment. If you get your down payment/ pay cash money for the house, you'll also end out ahead in the house.

[DWong]

Originally Posted by unexpected

Yea, DWong, you're right in the sense that it doesn't make sense in the short-term. I've done the all of the math, and it's really, really hard to beat saving all the money and investing it.

The primary catch is that you still have to build equity- that amount you're saving by renting, you have to invest. It's too easy to squander that away and ruin the formula.

The other option is to have a large down payment. If you get your down payment/ pay cash money for the house, you'll also end out ahead in the house.

VERY TRUE, IF YOU CAN SAVE 25% OR MORE AND PUT THAN $ DOWN, YOU ARE WELL AHEAAD OF THE BUYING GAME. THAT FACTORS IN, BUT TAXES HIT HARDER BC OF THE SNAILS PACE APPRECIATION THAT LAGS BEHIND INFLATION SOMETIMES.