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I was curious if anyone is wondering if they should buy a house or rent for a few years to see (1) if they have to relocate for a job, and (2) if owning a home is going to be an asset or a liability in the future. I try not to be swayed by the negative media and the negative threads about the future, but I guess I am since I am asking this question. Does anyone else wonder if they should buy a house now or rent for a while and hold onto their cash while waiting to see where the economy is heading?
well if the world ends in 2012--I want my new house darn it! Also we are staying in our community and not leaving. The only reason we sold our house was to build another bigger house in a better neighborhood with the features we wanted!
I do know a HANDFUL of people that have done this, some because they believed so strongly that prices WERE TOO BUBLICIOUS that when they needed to move they decided to rent, others because they are not certain their relocation will be long enough in duration to justify buying.
For the most part is working out OK. Of course the money that they got from selling is getting a very small return and is for the most part taxable. One or two have dipped into their "downpayment money" to fund current lifestyles (I think one has an ill parent and is also using the money to fund added trips home...) so their nest egg is shrinking.
One had a nut job type land lord, but I suppose you could have nut job neighbor when you buy so that is a wash.
None of the half a dozen or so folks I know in this situation are at the 'regret' stage. Yet. If taxes changes and mortgage deductions are a bigger deal they might jump in even if the pool has too little water in for their liking. When it comes up with the one or two folks that I see most often I have to say that speaking as someone who has made money on real estate there are worse things than to rent a place for less than it would cost to buy...
The only reason we sold our house was to build another bigger house in a better neighborhood with the features we wanted!
+1...we went from 2k sqft to 8k+ sqft
$$ in the markets (RE or even stock) is made when ppl are scared and you are willing to take some risk. We sold our house in NOVA (FFX County) in ONE DAY with multiple offers. Our primary motivation in selling earlier this year was to take advantage of the current depressed RE market and get our dream home, which we've done. We've lived in the area for many years and plan on living here for a LONG time. All the doom and gloom with regard to future prices is just background noise to me, and since we dont plan on selling for 20+ years, its not a concern. We live in our home and enjoy it. If you worry about what will happen to home prices tomorrow and the next day, etc, then you will go insane.
This area is a bit more resilient than others due to a variety of factors (govt presence for ex), so that is a plus. You could sit around and wait for bottom, but unless you have a crystal ball for what the future holds, then its anyones guess. It also revolves around your respective situation, basically how long will you be in the area, what price point, what area are you looking at, do you have a STEADY job, can you put $$$ down, etc. Nothing wrong with renting first, just do your due diligence before buying!
I don't know if I'm "excited" to buy again. I know I want too, but it's a mixed bag of feelings that the prospect inspires.
I'm worried about the market and how far prices will go down. Our area has already been hit hard, and it's hard to believe that it could get much worse. Still, it could. It's easy to say "we'll be hear for years so it won't matter." But there are no guarantees in life. We thought we would be in our last house for the long run, but that's not what happened at all.
I worry that it will just get harder and harder to break back into the home ownership market if we wait. Banks are getting pickier about lending and larger down payments are required to get your foot in the door. Who knows what interest rates will be like in a year or two?
Right now we could probably swing a home purchase early next year. We'll have paid off a lot of the debt we incurred from the relocation and the sale of our last home and have a decent but still smallish down payment.
Part of me thinks it would be foolish to buy so soon, another part of me can't wait to get the ball rolling. So who knows? We'll have a big decision to make when our lease comes up for renewal, sign up for another year and bide our time, or go monthly and get ready to jump back into ownership.
That said, I've checked the MLS almost daily since even before we put the last house on the market and I still get excited when I find a home that could work for us. We're talking nearly two years of "window shopping" now. I guess I'm a little excited about the prospect of buying again.
I am closing on my house in IN on 11/2. We are buying right away and as long as we feel like we are getting the house we want for the money we want to spend then we will be happy.
I really could not give a hoot what prices do in the future. I am never moving again, even if it means killing my husband and cutting his body into tiny little pieces and feeding them to the gators.
I am closing on my house in IN on 11/2. We are buying right away and as long as we feel like we are getting the house we want for the money we want to spend then we will be happy.
I really could not give a hoot what prices do in the future. I am never moving again, even if it means killing my husband and cutting his body into tiny little pieces and feeding them to the gators.
1) Both my my parent's families lost their respective homes to foreclosure, during the Great Depression. One of the families actually lived out of their car, for several years.
Both of my parents were risk adverse to home ownership and therefore rented for the rest of their lives, in the same city. Had they been able to overcome their fears, they would have owned one or more properties, outright. Instead, they had cancelled checks, in a box.
2) Spent time with a dear family friends, last weekend. They had recently achieved the status of having rented the same large apartment, for the past 25 years. One of them mentioned how being renters they were grateful they had not lost any money in the housing market.
There is no one size fits all, best response. Home values depend upon supply and demand which changes, over time.
Yes and no. I hem-hawed after we sold and looked into renting. My new house I only put down 5% and mortgage with taxes and insurance was still cheaper than renting. No brainer.
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