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We have lived in many of the houses we have bought while we do repairs and remodels. Owning properties across different states its just easier to do that if you are in for a long remodel. My rule with residential is that i would never buy something i wouldn't be willing to live in myself, at least for a short term. But we often remodel, rent a place and sell when the market conditions allow significant profit rather than a straight up flip. Though we have done those.
My point is that we have lived in 800 square foot cottages to grand 9000 square foot mansions. And each and every one could be a "starter" home due to a number of factors like condition, location, size, etc. i feel the term is really pretty meaningless and strives to sell through subtle financial shaming.
I have heard realtors use the term "starter home" tactically to push their client to a higher dollar purchase. The term implies that it's all you can afford because you are just "starting out." Personally I find it a little insulting and manipulative. One man's starter is another man's castle.
That’s the clients fault for a) falling for it and b) not firing their agent.
I don’t think there’s anything to be ashamed of for buying less than you ultimately desire because your done with renting/shared walls/being told your dog is over the weight limit/wanting to paint the walls to your taste...and if you’re happy there, no need to move.
I discussed this with my 70 y/o sister recently. They bought their San Diego area "starter home" in the early 70s, when I bought my own starter in Mission Viejo, CA. She said they thought about "moving up" but instead raised their 3 kids in their 3/2 home. Most of the neighbors have done the same. I think they paid around $30,000 for it. Not every house in the neighborhood is upscaled, but most are. Having neighbors for over 40 years is amazing.
Then they realized they were just fine where they were, after the kids were gone. Added a master suite/bath and hot tub just outside. I think they parlayed their massive equity (probably worth $700,000 too) into rental properties. So, income in retirement.
Probably should have stayed in my 3/2 in Mission Viejo too. We added a family room (no kids). It's worth like $700,000 now.
Sheesh. Hindsight!
My aunt bought a house on the same block as my grandmother. My aunt eventually moved to NJ (like so many people in NYC) and my grandmother continued to live in her house. When she passed away, the house that she bought for practically nothing sold for over a million dollars and my aunt said, "If only I had a crystal ball!" To be fair, the house my grandmother grew up in was listed for 1.6 million in a neighborhood that was a dump 15 years ago. And it's kind of funny, we all grew up poor or low income so these houses are just insane now (and to be such a low income earner and to have this huge amount of equity for those people who were lucky to find themselves in such a situation)---you just never know.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CaseyB
I agree with you but young buyers now don't want to have to do a single thing on their own to improve the house. They want move-in condition. I had this same conversation with my daughter when she and her husband were house hunting.
Please don't generalize. I know plenty of people who would love to buy property where I live but it's just not affordable for many people now. My husband and I will make money off of the apartment we bought because I saw an apartment no one wanted to buy for a low price. However, I don't want to do anything anymore, because I am SO TIRED of trying to find contractors and I'm so tired of having sh*tty work done. So yeah, my next place will be move-in condition.
Who says it has to be something you move into as a first home and transition out of?
Is a 3 BR 1500 sq. ft. bungalow (with a basement) too small to stay in? Really?
Never understood the implied expectation for an eventual "upgrade."
Just always wondered......
It's human nature to aspire to improve ones surroundings and have nice things. Some however, don't.
1500-feet is a nice size home for a couple with few possessions.
No different than getting a bigger TV, or a nicer car. Don't understand the confusion.
My aunt bought a house on the same block as my grandmother. My aunt eventually moved to NJ (like so many people in NYC) and my grandmother continued to live in her house. When she passed away, the house that she bought for practically nothing sold for over a million dollars and my aunt said, "If only I had a crystal ball!" To be fair, the house my grandmother grew up in was listed for 1.6 million in a neighborhood that was a dump 15 years ago. And it's kind of funny, we all grew up poor or low income so these houses are just insane now (and to be such a low income earner and to have this huge amount of equity for those people who were lucky to find themselves in such a situation)---you just never know.
Please don't generalize. I know plenty of people who would love to buy property where I live but it's just not affordable for many people now. My husband and I will make money off of the apartment we bought because I saw an apartment no one wanted to buy for a low price. However, I don't want to do anything anymore, because I am SO TIRED of trying to find contractors and I'm so tired of having sh*tty work done. So yeah, my next place will be move-in condition.
Sing it, sister!
Contractors are almost impossible to sue for any real return. They know it. And thus the ****ty or incomplete work marches on. When you find a good one, send them a ham at Christmas, a card on their birthday, invite them to your housewarming, etc. They are rare and worth their weight in gold.
Or do as three neighbors here have declared: “If you want it done right, you learn to do it yourself.” These guys now do their own concrete, carpentry, painting, cabinet-making, and who knows what else. Oh, and someone else had to rip out faulty plumbing in their bathroom and redo the whole thing herself.
But it varies. We had high-quality contractors overall at the previous house.
Who says it has to be something you move into as a first home and transition out of?
Is a 3 BR 1500 sq. ft. bungalow (with a basement) too small to stay in? Really?
Never understood the implied expectation for an eventual "upgrade."
Just always wondered......
I feel the same way. 2 bed, 2 bath. Determined that kids aren't in the cards for us, not heartbroken about it. We're set for life. And these homes can often yield the largest gains when an area "takes off". You just have to look at the economics of moving if you decide to leave your starter home.
It wouldn't make sense to sell and move to something even more expensive in the same area. But if you're wanting to move out of the city to a cheaper, rural area, then yes. Definitely.
I feel the same way. 2 bed, 2 bath. Determined that kids aren't in the cards for us, not heartbroken about it. We're set for life. And these homes can often yield the largest gains when an area "takes off". You just have to look at the economics of moving if you decide to leave your starter home.
It wouldn't make sense to sell and move to something even more expensive in the same area. But if you're wanting to move out of the city to a cheaper, rural area, then yes. Definitely.
Exactly!
Figure out what you really need and what makes you happy and if you are already mostly there consider yourself blessed!
There is not an assumption of an upgrade at some point in the future in the northeast. I am guessing this view is shaped by you living in New Mexico, Ohio, and Indiana, where cheap housing is likely plentiful and 2500+ sq ft homes are affordable to the middle class.
Some will upgrade, but I would say a majority of people I know stay put once they buy.
I would say that there is less of an "assumption of an upgrade" in the Northeast. I am originally from the Northeast. Not Ohio. Long Island.
The starter house I spoke of was on Eastern Long Island, in a place full of post WWII ranches and Cape Cods and converted summer houses. It was inaccessible to most places. The houses were kind of close together. The school system was an "afterthought". Since it was first built for people from Brooklyn who summered there, until the 1960s, there were no schools. The rare people who lived there year round were mainly fisherman, contractors, service workers, farm hands (potatoes and ducks) and later WWII veterans. Nostly, the latter group just stayed for a while and then moved back to civilization, so to speak.
It's best point was that it was close to a beautiful, Atlantic ocean beach.
In the late 1980s when we looked for our first house, in the NY metro area, there were only a few places where we could actually buy a house, not a condo, that were under $200,000. Because of high priced it was hard to gather the down payment needed to buy a house in a more desirable area.
My parents did the same thing, a generation before. They bough a house in a highly sought after North Shore community, with a loan from my grandmother. The house cost around $17,000 to build. It was a split level and I spent the first 10 years of my life there.
Split levels had gone out of fashion and it was a three bedroom house. One of the bedrooms was very tiny and they wanted a guest room for my grandmothers and a first floor laundry room. Especially when my mother unexpectedly became pregnant again.
They built a center hall colonial with five bedrooms in the same school district. It wasn't extravagant, but it was more timeless than trendy.
In my case, the house, while not charming, was really large enough. It was just in a somewhat questionable area, that did not appreciate the same way that most of Long Island did.
The house had 4 bedrooms and two full baths. It was 1600 square ft. Not big, but doable with only two kids.
Our was more about the location and the schools,than it was about the size of the house.
I know there are similar areas in Connecticut and Massachusetts, and I'm pretty sure there are in the rest of New England.
Also, I will agree that Northeasterners are less likely to "HGTV" their homes and are far more conservative when it comes to extravagant upgrades.
Our move was about location,
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