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I am curious to how many people are out there that don't want large, nice, expensive homes, but can afford them? I'm not necessarily talking mansions, but larger nice homes that just show that you have a lot of money. The ones you see in affluent suburbs and they wow you. What percentage of people that have money would you say are like that?
I would say "show you spent a lot of money."
My house is far below my means, and I'm now debt-free. The only reason I'd buy a more expensive house is to be closer to work. I couldn't care less about impressing the neighbors.
Although we still own a fairly large home in a major SW city that I bought as a foolish younger person, I bought an old Texas South Plains farm place on acreage about ten years ago. It is a place that no one wanted in an area of Texas that few Texans care to claim as a part of their state. Although it is possible to drive from here to "flyover country" in a few hours, you can only do that when the weather and a 4x4 allows it. Only the county tax collector thinks this place has any value and that is because only he/she and the postman are the only people besides me who care that it exists.
The important thing these days to me is that I am mortgage-free and have roofs to pass to my children and my grandchildren if they want or need them. For anyone who is impressed by this old farm, you should know I bought it for less cash than many people pay for a used vehicle and, like George Strait once said, "I've got some ocean front property in Arizona" I'll sell you for a dollar two ninety eight because I'd rather you move there than out here.
I bought this old run-down farm for the space and solitude in retirement it gives me but oddly I find I get more family visitors out here than when I lived in a lot more interesting places like New Orleans and D.C.
I am very unmaterialistic in purchasing things to impress others - I like my small cottage. I like my 2012 car (well, thinking about replacing it now, but I honestly love it).
Wow. You have a NEW car. Mine's a 2010.
To answer the OP, I think I would not want a big house even if I had a lot of money. I just don't need or like a lot of space. I live in a small, two-bedroom condo right now.
There are many homes around where we live that are huge...............and ghastly. I simply do NOT understand why Baby Boomers got enamored with McMansions at all. I would absolutely NEVER EVER buy any of these god awful monstrosities:
Yes, we get it, you have decent money. McMansions just scream that you have insecurity, because you care about how other people view your image. Congrats, you are a successful upper middle class person, but you are just a pretender when it comes to actually being RICH rich - your McManshion homes with cheap finishes aren't true mansions that the truly uber wealthy live in. Large homes are usually made out of cheap materials, have horrific architectural designs, and will end up being $2 million dollar knockdowns 30 years from now. A huge problem for Baby Boomers who bought massive homes is that they can be super difficult to sell, because A) they're horrible designed and ugly and B) younger home owners simply don't want them anymore.
No thanks, I'm fine with a moderate/average sized home that is 2000-3000 sq ft. When you starting getting over 5000-6000+ sq ft, it is an utter waste, and I'd never spend my money on an excessive money pit of a home that I don't need. Americans vastly, vaaaaaaaastly overestimate how much room they need to live. The rest of the entire world basically lives in much small spaces. Are people actually aware of how asinine their properties look when they build an expensive 5000+ sq ft home on a tiny plot of land and it costs $1.8 M?
I qualified for double the cost of my current home, but this suits me perfectly and I have no desire for a big house. My house is small and nice and I am quite comfortable here. No reason for me to buy more house, just because I can.
I agree with everybody else. I don't care what anybody else thinks of me or my house, car, or clothes. I use my money on things that matter to me, like dinners out, jewelry, lawn service, vacations, buying things for my grandkids, etc.
I am curious to how many people are out there that don't want large, nice, expensive homes, but can afford them? I'm not necessarily talking mansions, but larger nice homes that just show that you have a lot of money. The ones you see in affluent suburbs and they wow you. What percentage of people that have money would you say are like that?
I'm one of those people. I can afford a mortgage of 2400/month (twice of what I'm actually paying), but I'd prefer to save some of it and spend the rest on other things. I'm so delighted with my average 1700 sqft cape-cod in the country. It's a quaint little place. I'm just starting to do some housing projects with the extra money I have from not having the most expensive mortgage I can afford. It fits me well and it's also a wonderful thing to have (low mortgage in proportion to your income) for when the unexpected comes up (like it did for me and I actually was paying $2400/month in housing expenses for a time).
I'm retired and just don't need a large house. And I certainly don't care what other people think. My wife and I own a main home in Alaska and a winter home in Arizona. Both are ranch style and require minimal upkeep. Either one will be easily upkept when there is just one of us. This way the last one standing will have an option to keep one or the other and sell the extra one.
We have learned over the years that the"fancy" house is the one that attracts not only envy but burglars.
We have owned some truly impressive piles. Bought, restored, sold. But we currently live in a somewhat grand Victorian rowhouse. Grand because of architectural quirks and the original build of a nouveau riche merchant who wanted the world to know he had arrived. Expensive relatively and certainly so because of the city we are in. But not "big" by most standards. It's just an established neighborhood, next to a parks, seemingly normal until you look at comps.
Buying a big house is a social signal akin to a peacock mating display. It's supposed to say something about you. But the only people it speaks to are those impressed by showiness. I think most people arrive at a balance once they are financially comfortable. Some always have something to prove.
I am curious to how many people are out there that don't want large, nice, expensive homes, but can afford them? I'm not necessarily talking mansions, but larger nice homes that just show that you have a lot of money. The ones you see in affluent suburbs and they wow you. What percentage of people that have money would you say are like that?
Up until about 4 years ago, I had the "rose-colored" glasses on, looking to live the "American Dream" with home ownership, a wife, dog in the yard, kids running around, etc etc. While still single and without real estate, I had been seriously looking to purchase a modest 2-3 bedroom single-family home, and had submitted a few offers that happened to be turned down. All the other stuff would have been filled in with time. My job wasn't a dream job by any sort, but it paid well after several years of employment, was part of the state retirement plan, and I could have easily managed the entire cost of living (at the price I offered) + decent additional discretionary income even without a second income if the other stuff never panned out.
Luckily and thankfully (as I now call it), those offers were turned down...The job, while being borderline "manageable" at the time, quickly began to evolve into a "no-return" nightmare with what I considered to be (personally) unworkable changes going forward, and I had to get out...For both my mental health and my livelihood to remain intact. I eventually found another job on the other side of the state, starting at the bottom of its pay scale (but manageable to maintain at least a meager living with relatively low rent in a small apartment), is also part of the state retirement plan (previous work credit still accrued), and have been working my way up its pay scale as the years tick by.
I look back now without any "tinted" glasses on at that dream I once had, and it's sobering to imagine the nightmare I would have been living: Stuck paying for a mortgage and a family with a nightmare job I couldn't afford to leave. Instead, I wake up everyday feeling refreshed, calm, and with incredible outlook, knowing I have still one nearly priceless thing that only the rich can afford to buy: Portability.
And because of that, unless I strike it rich, I can never see myself putting myself into a position without it ever again...That includes real estate, a wife, kids, a dog (which still costs money if you want to go away on vacation ), even if I could easily afford all of them now. You just never know what life is going to throw at you and who you may want to spend it with (or be obligated to pay for), and you have to be able to have the ability to adjust accordingly...Not locked in to an inescapable untenable situation.
Last edited by Ft Laud Guy; 06-21-2019 at 04:45 AM..
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), even if I could easily afford all of them now. You just never know what life is going to throw at you and who you may want to spend it with (or be obligated to pay for), and you have to be able to have the ability to adjust accordingly...Not locked in to an inescapable untenable situation.
