Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Geesh!! It seems like people who are buying homes these days are buying in hopes of profit. Homes never use to rise in value like they have the past 7-8 years. People use to buy homes to live in and make it just that a "home".
That is so true. Why can't people just find a home they like, move in and be happy? Everybody wants their equity to go up up & up even if they are not moving any time soon. It's taken the fun out of being a homeowner. It's always about the money.
I bought my first house because it completed my greatest wish! Due to a transfer two years later I had to sell it, and I made bank on that house unintentionally. That led me to put 22% down on my next house which seemed cheap to me at the time (Las Vegas versus the San Francisco East Bay). I had zero clue Las Vegas would become the fastest appreciation city in the country by 2004. I had been fortunate enough to buy a home that overlooked the entire Las Vegas valley and Strip, had a fenced off pool, large yards with palms and great landscaping, covered patio area, 5 bed/3bath/3 car garage, two story with dramatic architecture, and it was in a nice neighborhood. I bought it not because I needed so much, but because it was so relatively inexpensive at the time (2000) and I thought, why the heck not! I'm glad I did! The only time the housing bubble became relevant for me was when I wanted to move out of Las Vegas and I saw that with my desired move to Missouri, the sale of that house would allow me to buy my next home with bubble appreciation cash and be mortgage free. So...I did! I agree, a house is first and foremost a home, at least in my mind. I bought my current home with cash with every intention of staying and even if the value were to decline, I feel I bought it with funny money that only existed because of other people's willingness to take out stupidly high mortgages and pay prices I'd never pay! So I don't have any 'real' money that I actually worked for invested in this house. My home is a gift from the housing bubble and getting out of it in time is how I look at it. Here is my paradise (I spent the morning and afternoon yesterday with my neighbor trimming the low-hanging branches of the trees to streamline the view and allow more light to the lawns. This pic is from May I think ):
I love being a homeowner. I didn't mind owing a mortgage on the first two either. There was no other way for me to have purchased them without borrowing the money. I think for some people renting is better for a whole bunch of reasons having to do with goals, financial circumstances, and life plans where staying put is maybe not an option. For me I need to be able to dig my hands into the soil and feel like I'm master of my domain. It's a feeling of peace and security I've only had owning a home. Now that this one is owned free and clear, I don't feel really any differently than I did with the other two, but I appreciate having no mortgage payments for sure! Above all, it's a home, not an investment.
MoMark...Your house is adorable!! Love love love your drive!! Anyway , I posted this topic because it seems like people dont want to move anywhere unless the homes are going to make them a nice profit. It didn't use to be that way years ago. You bought a home to live in...it wasnt considered a get rich quick investment ya know. The last few years have just been crazy .
My home will be paid off in 7 years and I can't wait. To think my home will be paid off at the age of 44 is just amazing to me. If I stayed in Cali? No way.
I think it's great that people have been able to make money on real estate... and have their dreams come true but it just seems that people are starting to think it's the norm!
MoMark...Your house is adorable!! Love love love your drive!! Anyway , I posted this topic because it seems like people dont want to move anywhere unless the homes are going to make them a nice profit. It didn't use to be that way years ago. You bought a home to live in...it wasnt considered a get rich quick investment ya know. The last few years have just been crazy .
My home will be paid off in 7 years and I can't wait. To think my home will be paid off at the age of 44 is just amazing to me. If I stayed in Cali? No way.
I think it's great that people have been able to make money on real estate... and have their dreams come true but it just seems that people are starting to think it's the norm!
Exactly shannon! And I'll be 44 in two months! You're actually doing the work though to pay off your house. I just got freakin' lucky and took advantage of unexpected opportunity. Seven years is not long, and even in my house in Las Vegas, I had a 30 yr fixed with no pre-payment penalties and I often paid extra against the principle just to do what you're doing, pay it off faster. I didn't know I was going to sell it. I didn't know my future, but I acted in the moment with a goal to paying it off. I think your effort is wise and sound!
You don't always have to buy a house. You can actually get one FREE .
So what is the catch?? Actually there is not one. Sort of your basic house, just to live in, nothing fancy. Your basic 3 bedroom, 1 bath needing a little TLC. But if you reject all this bull about multiplying your wealth with no risk and using debt, you can do it too.
I only bought one house with a mortgage. Bought it for like $13.7K, just to live in, never had a house payment over like $125. Paid it off in 8 years when it became evident that my employment future was getting shaky. I always looked at the World, how much does it cost to live each month? Keeping that number extremely low meant I could endure just about any difficult situation anyone could ever throw my way. No grief, no stress, I always had the old shack over my head. I actually could live and pay all the bills including taxes on the house for like under $400 a month. Could save money on unemployment, did it twice. I never paid a huge amount of my earning to some bank as interest. My house payment was always far less than the going rent at the time for far less shelter. Once I got a few years into it, I had basically zero risk. Always bought new cars, cash, had the money to do it. Bought everything cash, zero debt except for the house. Lots of money to actually live, could save / invest a good percentage with zero strain.
Never really put much money in that house, did some basic fix it, little paint and wall paper. Really watched the pennies, never sure if I ever could sell it for a profit. Owned that house for like 34 years. Finally it happened real estate market went crazy. MA went even more crazy, turning into a pure zoo. Time to take the money and run, tried to time a market peak.
Forget all this making it pretty. I calculated I would have to spend ~100K if I hired help to make it perfect, probably would only recover maybe $60-70K of that amount, so I just asked around. Found this guy I knew who agreed to buy it AS IS. Zero nothing, like buying / selling a car. No inspections, no brokers, no expenses, he even agreed to pay all the closing costs. I would get a net check. Could have been out in a week, actually got out in about 80 days, took me a bit to find something to move too. Got $305K which would be more than I would have netted by a large amount if I had did it the normal way. A perfect price might have been ~$370K.
Turned out the guy actually lied about his intent, was really into this house flipping junk, he really was a front guy for another money bags. Like I cared, take the money and shrug. I found out later they resold in about six months for $358K, had to make pretty thin money. Thanks Guys....
So I buys this lil shack in Ohio for 24K using petty cash. Put the money in the bank and wait for the interest to pay off the house (Well actually pay me back). In a few months will have my first FREE house. Starting to wonder how many more FREE houses should I buy.
All this trash and methods that have been developed over this past market cycle has been a disaster for most people. Not only will it be difficult for them to ever own the lil jewel with anything like a decent percentage of their total lifetime earnings, but many may never own it outright and clear. The trick is to get the first one, very cheap and use that to buy the next FREE.
Way to much of what people is about getting a Trophy. A Trophy House, A Trophy Car, a Trophy This or That, some of my relatives are really into it, the bigger the better. The process is designed to potentially make their head the Trophy hanging on some bank or Broker' wall.
You can not beat the game unless you can actually own the house out right free and clear in some reasonable time frame.
After you own the first the second and third and on an on is so easy.
Forget all this trash about a Trophy House, how big it is and all the rest. Focus on getting one well within your ability to pay and own it out right and clear as soon as possible. You will have far less stress, the making money will come in time very naturally. Buy the house to live first, own it, let time take care of the rest. Trade up as your ability to actually own it increases. I totally reject this idea, it is more profitable to use debt to make money. If so, I want to know where I can buy the calculator that can spin those type numbers???
DH and I have always thought through our house purchases with the idea of future resale. That has served us well, but I have never been able to totally relax as far as decor or choices. Always thinking about what would show well for future potential buyers.
Soon this house will be up for sale, I really went out on a limb and painted the kitchen a soft yellow. The painters will be coming in next month to freshen the paint all over the house for our future showings and the new color will be a innovative shade of cream.
I declared to DH - with our next house, which Lord willing will be the last house, I'll decorate it for ME! If I want a purple bathroom (I don't think I will) I'll do it! If I want 700 pictures of the kids on the family room walls - up they'll go! If I want the kitchen wallpapered - I'll do that too. Our next house will be our home, first and foremost. I just don't want to think about what will show well anymore. It would be nice to decorate based on what makes me happy, or creates a warm atmosphere. It's time to relax.
Timely thread, SHANNON94! You must have been a mouse in the corner while DH and I have had these conversations! And MOMARK - what a lovely place you have.
hey Adream, thank you! I do feel darn lucky. I know what you mean about always keeping in mind future buyers when decorating your home! I was always careful myself not to do anything that would turn off a future buyer. Luckily for me, I like cream or antique white colored walls and actually prefer them. I keep my house clean and don't overstuff it with knickknacks and junk that would turn off a potential buyer. I also HATE most wallpapers and especially those ugly wallpaper border strips that people were putting under the ceilings around the perimeter of their rooms, kitchens, etc. UGH...have you ever noticed that most people hate the wallpaper choices of others? Wallpaper is not a good thing to hang in a house. I also hate those fake ivy and vine thingies that people drape over mirrors and cupboards, etc. Fake plants look so cheap! But my current house had really UGLY wallpaper in the dining room and I had to get rid of it. I stripped it, put in a chair-rail border, and then put a wheat pattern wallpaper in gold/yellow from the floor trim to the chair-rail. I had never done interior work before, and this was my first major redo.
Photo 1:Stripped and chair-rail installed (the chair-rail was really just a thick wooden molding that was evenly scored and I painted it high gloss white) The old lace curtains were still there..Dang those were ugly. Into the trash they went!
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r199/MoMark/26Feb.jpg (broken link)
Close up of the chair-rail and wallpaper I put in. This is after the room had been stripped of dark wallpaper with a roses theme..UGH! http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r199/MoMark/WallpaperDR.jpg (broken link)
Then after all that was done I had custom drapes made of cream damask. They're purely decorative, cannot be closed. The sheers I chose from a material with tiny metallic flecks in it. The drapes hang from bronze knobs set on both sides above the top window. I wanted to take advantage of height without covering the top window so light could come in.
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r199/MoMark/DiningRoomNewDrapes-1.jpg (broken link)
I changed out the chandelier, put in a Waterford I had shipped to me from Ireland and totally changed the overall look of the room. It was fun!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Gee, you're right
):
You're actually doing the work though to pay off your house. I just got freakin' lucky and took advantage of unexpected opportunity. Seven years is not long, and even in my house in Las Vegas, I had a 30 yr fixed with no pre-payment penalties and I often paid extra against the principle just to do what you're doing, pay it off faster. I didn't know I was going to sell it. I didn't know my future, but I acted in the moment with a goal to paying it off. I think your effort is wise and sound!
Well I am about to get my first FREE house
