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Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
41,936 posts, read 36,981,862 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Analyst
You have to be in the right market. I'm not sure where you live, but it's definitely cheaper to own certain properties here in Denver than to rent. As far as maintenance, I purchased some new kitchen appliances (with the help of my roommate's funds), but that was a choice, not a requirement. I may end up buying a new washer/dryer here soon, but again, it's more out of choice than necessity. Other than those things, all the money I've put into the place thus far has been nominal and mostly for superficial upgrades (i.e. a new curtain in the living room, blinds, a stand alone bar). As for outside maintenance, the HOA covers all of that.
The way I figure, I can pay some other owner $1700-$2000 for the same size 2BR/2BA unit I have now, or pay $1150/mo (mortgage, HOA, taxes, insurance) for something that is mine, something that I will own. I know that I will be here for some time at this point. But even if I decide to move in the next five years, I'm fairly confident that I'll either be able to sell the place fairly quickly or at least rent it out (there were actually renters in here prior to me buying it). People will always need a place to live at the end of the day.
Yeah, I guess its market dependent. If I bought a place like I rent, the mortgage alone (not including taxes, or HOA, etc) would be many many hundreds more a month (probably in the 700 range) than what I pay in rent. Investing that differences is fiscally prudent. For me buying will be about lifestyle choices, not fiscal choices.
Timing and luck is about the best you can hope for. ...
...we bought at the bottom of the market...
Different scenarios abound, ours was just a matter of luck actually.
Wise words!
Luck permeates all that we do. Peruse the Retirement or Investment forums, and assess the prospects of comparable people, with comparable careers and similar habits of thrift and forethought. Whoever started investing 40 years ago, is doing very well. However started 20 years ago, is doing quite poorly, especially after the harrowing stock market collapse of the past 6 weeks.
Assuredly, a shiftless and unimaginative person can't hope for Lady Luck to rescue him/her. Opportunities have to be taken, for one to benefit from them. Fatalism is no excuse for inaction! But at the same time, we must realize that equality of effort does not imply equality of outcome. Luck mediates our failure and success. If we make no effort to try, indeed we only have ourselves to blame. But if we try intently and nevertheless fail, conceivably the failure isn't all ours; luck (or lack thereof) extracted its bloodthirsty toll.
To return to this thread's theme, good intuition will eventually reveal whether a man (or a woman) has led a failed and marginalized life, from lack of effort or from unfortunate travails. But first impression's easily deceived. None of us is systematically impartial. We all have our prejudices. Who has standing to advertise advice, to always be open minded? I certainly do not. And yet, surely there's good reason to train oneself to not be so quick, to dismiss a roomer or a renter or an apparent dependent. If the selection is so great, then we can easily pass on mere possibilities, focusing on the certainties. May luck be on your side! But if our options are more limited and of more narrow scope, we would do well to reassess the spuriously obvious.
To those who profited from apt selection of the proper time, I offer hearty congratulations! May your luck not abandon you. To others - well, take solace, that perhaps it's not entirely your fault.
Yeah, I guess its market dependent. If I bought a place like I rent, the mortgage alone (not including taxes, or HOA, etc) would be many many hundreds more a month (probably in the 700 range) than what I pay in rent. Investing that differences is fiscally prudent. For me buying will be about lifestyle choices, not fiscal choices.
Sounds to me like you've made a wise choice for where you live. Owning vs renting isn't one size fits all. It's smart to consider everything including the maker you live on both buying and renting and your own goals.
Luck permeates all that we do. Peruse the Retirement or Investment forums, and assess the prospects of comparable people, with comparable careers and similar habits of thrift and forethought. Whoever started investing 40 years ago, is doing very well. However started 20 years ago, is doing quite poorly, especially after the harrowing stock market collapse of the past 6 weeks.
Assuredly, a shiftless and unimaginative person can't hope for Lady Luck to rescue him/her. Opportunities have to be taken, for one to benefit from them. Fatalism is no excuse for inaction! But at the same time, we must realize that equality of effort does not imply equality of outcome. Luck mediates our failure and success. If we make no effort to try, indeed we only have ourselves to blame. But if we try intently and nevertheless fail, conceivably the failure isn't all ours; luck (or lack thereof) extracted its bloodthirsty toll.
To return to this thread's theme, good intuition will eventually reveal whether a man (or a woman) has led a failed and marginalized life, from lack of effort or from unfortunate travails. But first impression's easily deceived. None of us is systematically impartial. We all have our prejudices. Who has standing to advertise advice, to always be open minded? I certainly do not. And yet, surely there's good reason to train oneself to not be so quick, to dismiss a roomer or a renter or an apparent dependent. If the selection is so great, then we can easily pass on mere possibilities, focusing on the certainties. May luck be on your side! But if our options are more limited and of more narrow scope, we would do well to reassess the spuriously obvious.
To those who profited from apt selection of the proper time, I offer hearty congratulations! May your luck not abandon you. To others - well, take solace, that perhaps it's not entirely your fault.
Luck plays a big role too! You are right. I had the luck to get an inheritance right when the market was low. By the way I don't know that it's good luck as I lost a family member. I rather have had her than her money. But with that turn in my life I was able to make another and buy a house. I think it was smart of me to buy when I did and where I did but I can't really take credit for being able to buy.
My boyfriend had bad luck with the divorce and ending up with the house that had tenants in it. So he had no home not because of anything he did wrong it was just how things worked out.
Luck plays a big role too! You are right. I had the luck to get an inheritance right when the market was low. By the way I don't know that it's good luck as I lost a family member. I rather have had her than her money. But with that turn in my life I was able to make another and buy a house. I think it was smart of me to buy when I did and where I did but I can't really take credit for being able to buy.
My boyfriend had bad luck with the divorce and ending up with the house that had tenants in it. So he had no home not because of anything he did wrong it was just how things worked out.
Luck does play a major role, I mean you can steer your ship in basically the right direction but sometimes things in life happen that are out of your control and you can wind up broke or in a bad place financially without you being irresponsible, a freak accident or illness, intense medical bills, not being able to work for a while, all of these types of tings can add to the total bottom line. We've been lucky, we bought cheap, our home value has skyrocketed, we've been frugal with money, we've got a little bit of an inheritance, I've made good money over the yrs and neither one of us are compulsive spenders, so it's a combo of work/luck, like most things in life.
I think for us buying a place when we did was probably the smartest things I've ever done, cause at the time it felt more like a hardship, so were lucky it turned out ok for us. We can sell our place in a few yrs and when we do, due to our location we have enough equity to walk away with some serious cash, we can move out of state to someplace a bit cheaper and buy something outright or at least put a huge down payment on and we can then move on to putting the mortgage payment we would have had into an investment vehicle such as the 401k or some else. The bottom line is is that you have to prepare for the future and I want to be able to retire when I want, even though retirement for me is going to probably mean working part time, just to avoid going stir crazy.
Plus, heck, who knows, maybe there's a sweet azz 911 in my future, we just never know do we????
Location: Moose Jaw, in between the Moose's butt and nose.
5,152 posts, read 8,530,947 times
Reputation: 2038
Quote:
Originally Posted by JasperJade
NO!
No one owes anyone a chance, much less when there is such a difference in day-to-day lifestyle.
Do some of you men really not understand a woman's desire for PRIVACY? Come on, now! Hell NO do we want your damn roommates up in our grill when we see you. We don't want your roommates barging in on us in the bathroom, hearing us have sex, seeing us with no make-up and no bra. We are not COMFORTABLE with that! Nor do we always want to be the ones hosting you, with you always eating our food and running up our utilities by being here all the time. Get over it already!
Jibbers Crabst!
Attitude I guess, has you.
BTW, if you're talking about me, the OP, I do have my own place, even if it is a trailer.
Location: Moose Jaw, in between the Moose's butt and nose.
5,152 posts, read 8,530,947 times
Reputation: 2038
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stockyman
I always got the impression people value privacy, especially when it comes to intimacy. There's a certain freedom one has having sex when there's less people living in the same place. But everyone is different and not everyone minds.
I hope the older adults with room mates are saving a lot for their retirement. Less than 30 working years in this thread.
True, but if really messes in your head with intimacy, dating someone that has a roommate, well, most adults can act like adults, either get the partner to negotiate nights where, he/she has the place alone or get a hotel room once a week.
It's kind of sad that in the most expensive cities in America, where, in most of them, salaries have not kept up with rising rents, that there's a hang up about this from older women.
I would rather not date someone living at home. There's a very slim chance I might overlook it, depending on his relationship with his parent(s).
My friend is dating a 39 year old guy who lives at home and says his mom is his best friend. For me, that would be a big NO.
Roommates past 35 is iffy, too. Three's a crowd, after all.
In the Bay Area, if you are a newcomer, having roomies is very common, even if you make $100k+ Rents are pretty ridiculous these days. If you make under $100k you definitely have roommates. The cost of living is beyond ridiculous.
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