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I wish we still owned the 4 homes we owned in the Silicon Valley in the 50s and 60s, and had kept them as rentals as we moved up, as they and still standing in great in demand neighborhoods in Cupertino and Saratoga. Our total of under $100,000 investment, could be sold for about $6,000,000 today.
Life is expensive...buy the house if you want to. I felt like I had "roots" when I purchased mine as a single gal. Spent 9 years in it and them married and moved. Still miss that house. Been forever renovating the old farmhouse that we have lived in for 16 years. Could have "moved up" in housing for the $$ spent for country living". And...no....i seriously doubt that we will get the $$ out if it when/if we sell. The reno had to do with function.....sigh.... It will be bulldozed most likely.
I've been very fortunate in the real estate game but if I could give my past self any advice? Two story houses are the devil! I thought I would like a two story house because it would separate the spaces and keep clutter/toys from the living areas. Ha! It just meant I had to trudge up and down those stairs multiple times instead returning said toys, etc. I love one story living and should have kept to that.
New house I just bought - one story. At least I learned my lesson!
I've been very fortunate in the real estate game but if I could give my past self any advice? Two story houses are the devil! I thought I would like a two story house because it would separate the spaces and keep clutter/toys from the living areas. Ha! It just meant I had to trudge up and down those stairs multiple times instead returning said toys, etc. I love one story living and should have kept to that.
New house I just bought - one story. At least I learned my lesson!
Some places have very few one storey homes. My aunt bought one, she was looking because my grandfather was older and had trouble getting up the stairs. He passed away before they bought, but decided to buy a one storey with a semi finished basement (with 1/2 bath) since they were getting older themselves. It's a 2/1 which is rare as well as being a one storey since most homes in north New Jersey are 2 storeys and many have a basement which is at half level so you have to walk up 8 steps or so to get on the mail floor from the outside.
Now in south Florida, 2 storey homes are hard to find. The only one in my area is next door, but the whole home is not 2 storey, just part of it.
We were raised in the era in which real estate values always went up, you kept the same job for 40 years, and you could count on your income going up every year.
We barely made it through the real estate crash without losing too much.
I read that the typical "millionaires next door" buy a house within their means, then pay it off and stay in it forever.
If I had it to do over, I would still be living in the house we built in 1972, for $34k.
Buying within my means and putting down 20% on every home I've owned is one of the things that I've actually done right in my life and I am forever grateful for it. I owe about one year's salary (maybe a little bit less) on my current home and it's great feeling. Well, it would be greater if it was paid off, but at least I'm not house poor anyway.
I wouldn't have worried so much about an extra couple hundred dollars a month mortgage payment. And I would be less afraid to try my hand at some DIY and put in some sweat equity. DH and I made a pretty penny on our first house, but if we had been more open minded we could have bought another house for about $40K more, and that house would have sold for probably $1.5 million at the height of the market. That would have been a nice turnaround on a less than $400K investment.
1. Stay away from condos!!!!!
2. Don't buy a home unless you are married, have a family, and fully intend to settle down in an area for at least a decade. If you have kids, you should own a home since apartments are no place to raise kids.
3. Don't buy a home that is over 20 years old. The repair bills aren't worth it.
4. If you are single, keep renting cheap apartments, cook your own food, drive an old car, and stick what's left over in your 401k and IRA. Renting provides you with a lot of flexibility career-wise since you can easily move. A home is a ball and chain. That kind of goes with #2, wait until you are married and settled down before considering homeownership.
5. Never EVER listen to realtors who tell you that renting is "throwing money away" and that owning a home is an "investment." Stocks are investments. A home is just something you live in. You throw money away on realtor's commissions, HOA fees, maintenance costs, property taxes, insurance, etc. on a home and should you need to sell when the housing market stinks, you'll throw a ton of money away.
I have to say I disagree with you on most of this. I bought a condo when I was single and I loved living there. My monthly check was going toward something, not being completely wasted. Plus I was free to do what I wanted inside the place which you can't do if you rent. Then when I got married and bought a house I rented the place out. It paid itself off and became a source of a modest income. I recently sold the place at a tidy profit.
I also disagree about living in a cheap apartments. Cheap apartments are cheap for a reason and that usually means it is in bad condition and located in an unsafe area. That may be fine when you are young but as you get older and more successful, you need to start enjoying the fruits of your labor. As the saying goes "You can't take it with you". Of course a person must save for their future but they have to balance that with other goals as well.
Finally I would also add to your fifth bullet to NEVER listen to an investment person either. They usually have an ulterior motive, like getting as much from you as possible. I would also say take advice from an accountant with a grain of salt. They rarely see beyond the pennies in front of them and do not understand the inherent value of things beyond the bottom line or see things in the true long term.
If I could go back and give myself advice I would go back to when DW and I saw our dream home but did not buy it because we were unsure we could afford it. Looking back we could and to this day it is our biggest regret. We never saw another home like it even though we kept looking. You only live once so why not enjoy it. Jay
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