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Really bad advice, the way things are going and prices going up on everything including rents and homes it's best to buy in your 20s and be done paying in your 50s or sooner if you can make extra payments.
Best single financial decision of my life was to buy a home at age 22 in the SF Bay Area...
Of course it was the least expensive single family home on the MLS... a 1910 cottage of 600 square feet on a 25x100 lot facing condemnation...
But, it was mine much to the dismay of just about everyone that knew me...
The equity in that home has served me well and was the springboard to bigger and better.
Still remember the look on my folks faces when I told them I had just made an offer on a house and the next day when I told them I was in contract... priceless!
On my second tenant since I moved out and in today's crazy Bay Area market it might be pushing 400k... although it was down to 60k back in 2009-12
Where in the SF Bay Area would a home be AS LOW AS 400k? Modesto? LOL
One of my kids bought at 22 - after a couple of years, got refinanced into a 15 year fixed - has built tons of equity - had a roommate - suggested he take the roommate's part and that went toward the mortgage....
good call.
Owning a home has been a good thing for him. Bought in late 2013.
Most everyone who bought in 2013 who still owns the house has done well.
Daughter and SIL, early 30's, built a new house in 2015 for $365k and just sold it for $470k due to job relocation. That worked out to be a good investment for them. Conversely, I bought a house in 2017 four miles from their house for $283k. It cost $295k when it was built in 2004, so it has lost value. I have used my house as a cautionary tale to them to be very careful with their choices because they can't depend on the return they realized on their first house. So much is dependent on timing and location. It is difficult to make blanket statements. We are in Tennessee.
Sour grapes by an OP who can't afford to buy a house. No shame in not being in that position as renting can make sense for a lot of reasons. But typical forum BS. If it's not right for one person it's a bad idea for everyone.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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It's been a very wise investment here, with the average value doubling from 2014-2018. I know several 20s-30s people that bought homes in the $400-500k range just 7-8 years ago that are now worth over a million. Meanwhile their mortgage has remained the same while their pay has increased.
Oh, how I wish I'd bought a condo or a small house in my 20s! Twenty-five years of paying rent, while property prices crept up and up.
I just had no clue, and my dad, who grew up in the Great Depression/WW2, believed that a house was what you bought later on, when you had a stable job and about to get married and raise children. He kept telling me to hold off buying. Had I not listened to him, I'd have a much greater net worth today.
In a few years when my kid is in her 20s and on her own, I'm going to encourage her to buy something, and we'll help her as much as we can with the down payment. Who knows what the future will bring? But all things being equal, it's much better to be living in your own property, than to be renting.
Last edited by blisterpeanuts; 03-27-2019 at 08:12 AM..
Sour grapes by an OP who can't afford to buy a house. No shame in not being in that position as renting can make sense for a lot of reasons. But typical forum BS. If it's not right for one person it's a bad idea for everyone.
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