[MichiganMovesSouth]

Hi All!
My fiancé’s job might move him to Jackson - this is not set in stone. We are about to get married and after had planned to look for a house in Canton where we live now. However, we may hold off in fact he is going to start working out of the Jackson office. So, if he has to work out of Jackson we are considering 2 places to live - Chelsea or Holt/Mason.

We are both MSU alumni (Go Green!) so we love EL. However, I'd like to make a smart move and part of me thinks that living near Ann Arbor is smarter based on the bad economy - Ann Arbor seems a desirable place to live still.

What are your thoughts???

[magellan]

You're planning on getting married and your fiance' is starting a new job in a new city. Why would you be looking at buying a house? Especially now with the market the way it is? Save up your money and wait at least 5 years to buy a house would be my advice. Rent.

[MichiganMovesSouth]

Thanks for the reply - we live together now and have rented for 8 years - since graduating from High School. He's not starting a new job - he's been with his company for 3 years full time and before that 4 summers as an intern. They are just thinking about reorganizing his department which would move the IT guys to the main office in Jackson. We thought about moving out of state for the last year or two but have reconsidered because his job is going so well - why would we leave that? Not to mention I LOVE my job too! We both have good jobs that pay well so it doesn't make sense to walk away from that. We have been looking at houses in Canton for some time but are waiting until we get married b/c things are hectic now. If we think we will stay for 7-10 years or so - why rent?

[nessatar]

I am MSU alum as well and still live in the EL area. However, I do not enjoy it like I did when I was a younger student. If I were to move to another area, I would definitely go to Ann Arbor. I love the downtown, the farmers/artisan market, and the restaurants. I like the schools there as well, although that is probably not a consideration for you right now. If you do decide to stay in the EL/ Lansing area, do not buy right now. Housing prices are still going down every quarter according to our realtor. We are trying to sell our home right now, and it is not pretty!

[MichiganMovesSouth]

Thanks Nessatar! Schools are a consideration for us - we are thinking about kids in the next 2 years or so and with the economy the way it is we want to live in a good school district for our own kids someday or even for resale.

From what I hear - maybe we shouldn't buy a house at all - but we are not this young, fresh from college couple either. We have been out of school for 3 1/2 years and have been saving ever since. We have looked at houses ever since too and recently we even made an offer (3 other offers were made too so we did not get it). We are settled in our careers, have been saving money for retirement and have a hefty down payment saved. Is it a "dumb" decision to buy a house in a good area if you are going to stay put? Isn't this "the best time to buy"?

[magellan]

Originally Posted by MichiganMovesSouth

Thanks for the reply - we live together now and have rented for 8 years - since graduating from High School. He's not starting a new job - he's been with his company for 3 years full time and before that 4 summers as an intern. They are just thinking about reorganizing his department which would move the IT guys to the main office in Jackson. We thought about moving out of state for the last year or two but have reconsidered because his job is going so well - why would we leave that? Not to mention I LOVE my job too! We both have good jobs that pay well so it doesn't make sense to walk away from that. We have been looking at houses in Canton for some time but are waiting until we get married b/c things are hectic now. If we think we will stay for 7-10 years or so - why rent?

Because the market is still going down, and will be for a while. In Southeast Michigan, I'd let it shake out until 2011 or so. Even in Ann Arbor, they have had 0 net job growth in the last 10 years:

Bureau of Labor Statistics Data

Job growth drives the housing market. Renting gives you flexibility.

And based on your last post, why would you take all that money you've saved and throw it away on a house declining in value?

[jrmontag]

I've lived in A2, so I'd pick East Lansing. I don't think I could live in A2 again.

[nessatar]

Well, people who bought houses 10 years ago have seen their homes value drop below what they paid, so that isn't always enough time. Plus, things come up and you might need to move before then. That's our situation. We had no intention of selling our home so soon.

If I were to buy in this market, I would make sure I am not paying the full assessed value of the home. Or even better, I would by a multi-family unit so that I could rent it out later instead of selling it. Investment properties are (almost) always a good idea. Since you are young and childless, you might not mind having someone above or below you for a couple of years and focusing on college towns will guarantee you renters. Just my .02 of course.

[MichiganMovesSouth]

Thanks again nessatar -
You are right - things come up and we might have to sell sooner than planned. That does worry me but that can happen to anyone at anytime, right?

If we buy now chances are we will pay below market. Renting is costing us about 10k per year - out the window, never to be seen again. On the flip side that is a small price to pay for the freedom to pick up and move anywhere we want at virtually anytime.

My question to everyone is this - Is it really only smart to buy a house when the market is booming and you are going to pay top dollar? If that's the case, the whole country is in BIG trouble! (which goes without saying)

Does everyone really think that in 10 years a house worth 200k now will only be worth 130k? It's got to come back sometime and analysts are saying they are seeing signs of the bottom. I believe this - we house hunted all summer - lost a condo due to other offers, tried to see 5+ houses but they were all pending, and we had other parties walking through a handful of houses the same time we were - it sure felt like it was an ok market when everything we liked was sold or had a lot of interest.

PS - we did make an offer on a condo in hopes that if we had to move we could rent it out. We did not get it because of multiple offers. The downside to the condo was the $230/month association fee and HIGH taxes. Even if was paid off in ten years we would be paying about $600-$700 per month for taxes and association fees!

[Ann_Arbor]

Buying a home in Canton, in my opinion, is a horrible investment. That said, it is good that you're looking in East Lansing and Ann Arbor- I think property and home uniqueness/maturity in those two cities will be a better (or not as bad) investment.

Are you only considering Chelsea or Holt/Mason, or would you live in Ann Arbor or East Lansing proper?