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welp, I'm in my early 30's and just paid almost 500K for my house, 20% down, closing costs, renovations, and other ridiculousness. we sold our coop in queens at a loss, so we had to actually save this money while paying mortgage and maint. fee. we purchased here because we simply could not afford to purchase a house in Queens ( bayside, little neck) where hubby and I grew up.
we were going to rent , but these LL wanted 2K for rent and we had to pay all utilities! plus we have two babies, and LL didn't seem to like that LOL we figured , better off moving to Long Island, we won't pay city income tax anymore (killer!) we will pay $$ for property tax but At least we get to write it off, and the schools are better here ( or so I hope!)/ Plus rent goes up every year
it's so easy to say, just leave! but where will we go? Hubby works in the city, I was working on LI, it's not so easy. So I will stay and Beotch about my bills until I find a better solution. my biggest complaint is my heating oil bill but that's another thread
Last edited by newmommyq; 04-11-2011 at 10:04 PM..
renting is not a waste of money. buying has much higher costs associated with it including paying the bank 2- 3x what the house cost in interest alone. if your lucky you will get back 1 buck for every 3 or 4 your spending in taxes. . if you invest in other asset classes the difference as well as the money you would have used for a down payment you will be farther ahead financially.
if you want to buy a home dont buy it as if it was an investment, buy it for all the other reasons you may want a home.
i bought my home in 1987. i sold it a few years ago, i believe we paid around 169k at that time and sold for the mid 300 thousands. the same money in a mix of nothing special fidelity funds are worth over just shy of 2 million. thats enough to buy 2 homes today even after subtracting out all the rent you would have paid .
both renting or buying represent your cost of housing . they are expenses .. the costs of owning a home a lifetime easily eclipse any residual value a home has .
its all about investing elsewhere what you didnt spend on a home. since most renters dont have the discipline to do that they end up loosers as at least the homeowner ends up with a consolation prize at the end.
most folks move every 5 to 7 years as well and end up paying mostly all interest to the bank as well.
while investing and renting will provide you with the largest pile of money over a lifetime ,owning your home will leave you with less assets since your home appreciates at a fraction of other asset classes historically .
because of it potentially less income from those assets will be generated but cheaper housing costs as rents escalate is the benefit of owning a home long term. of course escalating real estate taxes have made even a paid off home difficult to support in retirement in many areas...
Even if you saved up 100K for a down payment on a 400 or 500K house, that still leaves you with a huge 300 or 400K mortgage with say 5% interest.
Starter home. We bought a $330k at 24 years old (dual income/savings from 3 years of full-time work after college). We got money back from that at 32 to buy a pricier home. Renting does not help this when all your money goes out the window each month. Sure there are benefits to renting, but that's not one of them. Anyway, that's how we do it. If you're single, no you don't have the same cash flow nor would I expect you to buy a suburban 3br home for yourself anyway. This "American Dream" is for families and I'll stick by that every time. I wouldn't do this by myself nor would I want to. Everything is for the kids right now.
The other thing is we all know it's costly here. So it really is up to you whether you think it's worth the effort.
The benefit of owning a home is that your mortgage will stay flat while your rent will constantly go up. It won't benefit you as much now, but sometimes it's not all about immediate gratification.
Not an accurate statement in the big picture. Your property tax bumps alone will be proportionate to the rental increases... not to mention insurance increases. Additionally, the upkeep and maintenance are exponential costs over time as mechanicals and other stuff (i.e. roof) reach their usable life.
Not an accurate statement in the big picture. Your property tax bumps alone will be proportionate to the rental increases... not to mention insurance increases. Additionally, the upkeep and maintenance are exponential costs over time as mechanicals and other stuff (i.e. roof) reach their usable life.
+100 - Ain't that the truth. Not only does the town municipality/school board feel it's just to raise your taxes 4%+ compounded annually, the insurance company just raised my home insurance 30% the last go round - leading me to have a very vocal conversation with the local agent who tried to smooth it over until I gave her a lesson in finance and investing, apparently, I wasn't the only one who gave her a piece of my mind. Add in the "talented" contractors (some are, some aren't, just sayin) who feel justified in charging their rate, plus marking up the job 100% to provide a buffer if they are unable to land another job - fastest way to lose a potential customer.
Bottom line - everyone wants to stick their hand in your pocket. Do what you can on your own unless you have excessive cashflow you don't mind throwing out the door. If you do, let me know when, I'll be there to catch it.
....so when you are an old man, you are not in a nursing home, or in someone's place renting who can kick you out at anytime.
...so that you can punch a hole in your wall if your wife is getting on your nerve..and you don't have to fix it.
...so that you can pee in your back yard when mowing the lawn if you dont feel like running in the house to go to the bathroom.
I love it when people weigh the option on buying a home or renting. Buying is ALWAYS better. Being your own boss is always better.
Once you start looking at it as a HOME instead of an INVESTMENT, you will live a healthy life; even if the mortgage is causing you to eat chicken noodle every night.
....so when you are an old man, you are not in a nursing home, or in someone's place renting who can kick you out at anytime.
...so that you can punch a hole in your wall if your wife is getting on your nerve..and you don't have to fix it.
...so that you can pee in your back yard when mowing the lawn if you dont feel like running in the house to go to the bathroom.
I love it when people weigh the option on buying a home or renting. Buying is ALWAYS better. Being your own boss is always better.
Once you start looking at it as a HOME instead of an INVESTMENT, you will live a healthy life; even if the mortgage is causing you to eat chicken noodle every night.
....so when you are an old man, you are not in a nursing home, or in someone's place renting who can kick you out at anytime.
...so that you can punch a hole in your wall if your wife is getting on your nerve..and you don't have to fix it.
...so that you can pee in your back yard when mowing the lawn if you dont feel like running in the house to go to the bathroom.
I love it when people weigh the option on buying a home or renting. Buying is ALWAYS better. Being your own boss is always better.
Once you start looking at it as a HOME instead of an INVESTMENT, you will live a healthy life; even if the mortgage is causing you to eat chicken noodle every night.
lol
You sir have nailed it. I guarantee you that the rent supporters on this thread will be singing a different tune when the economy gets better - and believe me it will. Peaks and Valleys my friends. The only problem is that when the economy is better, the house prices will be insane.
The benefit of owning a home is not YOUR benefit - but rather the benefit of the local school boards, politicians, public-sector unions and other such ticks on the #%%$ of society. You see - once you own a home - it's much more difficult to pick up and leave when you are tired of the supporting the aformentioned groups via your property taxes.
Now - stop being a independent, free-thinking young man - stop all this rental talk nonsense - go out and buy a damn house so you can join the rest of us living the Long Island dream!
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Not only does the town municipality/school board feel it's just to raise your taxes 4%+ compounded annually, the insurance company just raised my home insurance 30% the last go round - leading me to have a very vocal conversation with the local agent who tried to smooth it over until I gave her a lesson in finance and investing, apparently, I wasn't the only one who gave her a piece of my mind.
Add in the "talented" contractors
) who feel justified in charging their rate, plus marking up the job 100% to provide a buffer if they are unable to land another job - fastest way to lose a potential customer.
