If you could go back in time, what advice would you give yourself regarding home ownership? (agent, investment)
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Location: Stuck on the East Coast, hoping to head West
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Standingroom0nly
My husband and I sold our house a few months ago and have taken up slow-travel full time with our two kids. We don't regret buying our house in the least (lived in for 7 years and loved the memories we made with our kids and family gatherings), but I would tell my former self that there is no end to a "house to-do list" and no such thing as finishing a house. We've (society) put our houses on a pedestal. Trying to hit these unattainable never-ending goals that are painful to reach, and once we reach them realize we didn't need all of that up-do and who-ha in the house to make the house look just-so to begin with. We are fed messages from HGTV, houzz.com, Home depot "More saving, more doing", Lowes "Never stop improving", IKEA, and every other home retail store out there trying to sell you a look or a dream of what it might feel like to live in a finished home. Guess what. It's a bunch of consumerist nonsense.
It's nice to do away with that house pressure, at least for now. We will likely buy again at some point in the future, but will enjoy the lack of a house-to-do list in the meantime and put our energy elsewhere. Hopefully more into family and friendships and spending time living life a little different than before.
Lori
timewink.com
I completely agree. I plan to take a break from home-ownership for a while and I don't know that I'll ever buy again.
I feel totally suckered into buying a house.
Forget about the money investment that goes into house, how about the time that you'll never get back?
My biggest piece of advice to myself would be: consider your lifestyle.
* Are you REALLY going to want to spend weekends and evenings after work mowing and gardening? (Nope)
* Do you REALLY need 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms? (Nope)
* Do you want to worry about the roof and the siding and the vines growing and taking over the yard? (Nope)
* In other words, do you REALLY want a house? (Turns out the answer was "no". Could that change someday? Maybe, but I would really need to think hard about why I felt the need.)
* Do you want to commute more than 30 minutes? (Nope. Actually, this one I have always adhered to, everywhere I've lived.)
* Where do you spend most of your leisure time? (Really think about this and be sure you choose a location that aligns with where you want to spend your time).
For me, the right answer actually was a condo. Having a house was more than I wanted to worry about. I thought I wanted it, but then it just overwhelmed me. I am single, not too handy (well, I can paint, or put up some shelves, but that is the extent of my DIY ability), and never had any interest in gardening. The third bedroom in my old house became a junk room. The third bath was used so rarely that I actually had to have a plumber in to fix the toilet as it broke due to lack of use. I would come home from work and then drive 30 minutes to where my social and sports activities were. If I didn't, I was just stuck in my house and isolated from where I wanted to be.
Moving to the condo was freedom for me. I don't care what's happening in the yard. The association paints and repairs and takes care of everything outside. I have been able to focus any home improvement money on the inside of the house. I can close the door and drive 5 minutes down the road to my fun activities. Owning allows me to have dogs and be able to decorate or renovate whatever I want. It works for me.
The only thing I wish I had paid attention to to was to not get overly focused on the finishes. When I bought my first house, it was the nicest house that I had seen and so I over looked some pretty big potential negatives. I also wish I had considered where the neighborhood might go versus where it is when you buy.
And, then my other piece of advice to myself is don't buy a house until you can put 20% down and don't use your house as a piggy bank. Because a house is not guaranteed to appreciate it.
Definitely, definitely this! Advice a lot of people seem to ignore these days too.
i would have bought the condo in nyc that i liked back in the 80's and sold blood to get it.....
because that 100K back then was a lot, but the same condos go for 2 million, or more today.
***************sigh*****************
yep, and I would have bought that brownstone in Bklyn that was going for a measly 5 grand. If we only had a crystal ball...
Beg, borrow or steal -whatever it takes- to buy three additional houses in our neighborhood for between $150-170k each in 1996, sit back and become a multi-millionaire by this time.
I'd qualify that with "stay away from new condo's from unproven condo builders".
I can only comment on Florida, but here the laws give condo builders incredible power until the association is turned over to the community. That turnover can be an ugly surprise. New condo's can be "con-doughs". And that new volunteer board of directors can be a nightmare.
But from what I've learned about association documents, reserve funds and public records, I'd actually consider buying another condo. After I wholesale my current one. In Florida CYBER CITIZENS FOR JUSTICE, INC. is a great resource to see what can go wrong.
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 disagree with some of these points:
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.
Why do you need to be married to buy a house? Some people don't like the idea of condos or apartments where you share floors or walls with other people. I like my privacy! What if I want some land, or a garage/workshop? I need to wait until I'm married or have kids for that?
3. Don't buy a home that is over 20 years old. The repair bills aren't worth it.
This simply isn't an option in some locations. An older house doesn't necessarily mean it's falling apart.
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.
I agree renting gives you more flexibility, but owning has advantages too. It's possible you can make a profit. Or you can rent out the house and eventually pay off the mortgage to make some money. There is a chance you can lose money on it. But the counter argument is that you don't build any equity with an apartment.
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.
A home may not be an investment like stocks are. But I don't think you're giving enough value to privacy and having a "home" (see my answer to no. 2). I'm much happier owning a house (and being single) than I was renting an apartment.
NEVER buy a house you aren't willing to be stuck in for 5-10 years. If you think the market's going to go up, that's great - but make damn sure the house, the location, the amenities, and the culture around you are something that you can commit to and at least be happy with even if the market goes down.
Flexibility is of tremendous value in life, and a house will take away a great deal of that flexibility, so make sure the guaranteed benefit(s) are worth it
What you want now is not what you will want in a decade.
+ take that money and go invest in a not quite a start up yet ran by Larry Page and Sergey Brin.
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