How do middle class citizens afford to buy a house here? (Bellevue: rated, commute)

[trundle]

the rule of thumb is that you can afford to spend ONE person's weekly takehome check on housing. NOT with overtime and not with any part of the spouse's income going towards that goal. To spend more is to have nothing for emergencies, savings/fun, etc,, and long term, that is very bad news. It's just a place to lay your head, people. If you can't in some way convert it into a money maker (ie, a shop therein or renting out rooms) then its cost must be minimized. Remember, that, depending upon interest, over a 30 year mortgage, you pay 1.5 to 2 MILLION dollars on a 1/2 mill $ home, and you also pay all the upkeep and even after it is "yours', you still pa 1-3% of value in property taxes. It most cases, the single family residence is the most stupid expenditure you could possibly have. If you go at it right about your housing, almost anyone can retire in the USA in 10 years and quite a few can do it in 6 years.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by trundle

the rule of thumb is that you can afford to spend ONE person's weekly takehome check on housing. NOT with overtime and not with any part of the spouse's income going towards that goal. To spend more is to have nothing for emergencies, savings/fun, etc,, and long term, that is very bad news. It's just a place to lay your head, people. If you can't in some way convert it into a money maker (ie, a shop therein or renting out rooms) then its cost must be minimized. Remember, that, depending upon interest, over a 30 year mortgage, you pay 1.5 to 2 MILLION dollars on a 1/2 mill $ home, and you also pay all the upkeep and even after it is "yours', you still pa 1-3% of value in property taxes. It most cases, the single family residence is the most stupid expenditure you could possibly have. If you go at it right about your housing, almost anyone can retire in the USA in 10 years and quite a few can do it in 6 years.

You neglected to factor in the tax deduction for mortgage interest and taxes that the renter doesn't get, in our case that's over $25,000. Equity has been a problem recently for many that bought at the peak but in our case, as one of millions, we bought for $190k and even after the bubble it's worth $550k. Then there are the non-monetary advantages such as being able to renovate/remodel/decorate to make the home the way you want it, not being subject to renewing the lease every few years at a higher rent, having the rental sold out from under you, if you have children, knowing that will remain in the area served by the good schools.

[mkarch]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

You neglected to factor in the tax deduction for mortgage interest and taxes that the renter doesn't get, in our case that's over $25,000. Equity has been a problem recently for many that bought at the peak but in our case, as one of millions, we bought for $190k and even after the bubble it's worth $550k. Then there are the non-monetary advantages such as being able to renovate/remodel/decorate to make the home the way you want it, not being subject to renewing the lease every few years at a higher rent, having the rental sold out from under you, if you have children, knowing that will remain in the area served by the good schools.

$25K deduction??? If you're married filing jointly that means your property taxes, interest and mortgage insurance are over $37K ($25K+standard deduction $12,200) You must have refinanced out quite a bit of equity at a bad rate to get it up that high on a house that's only worth $550K.

With today's low mortgage rates, the deduction really only benefits very high income individuals who finance expensive homes, and spendthrifts that 100% finance average priced ($500K) homes.

Since I bought a house fairly close to the bottom, with a conforming loan and 20% down, the total deduction I see in excess of the standard deduction is around $6K, which doesn't amount to much regardless of what tax bracket you're in.

[RotseCherut]

Originally Posted by wlw2009

This is BS, I hope you know that, right? I don't need to know what type of town Seattle "is", I already live here.

Whatever I write you disparage and makes you overly emotional and hostile towards me. Anybody, who says anything contrary of the greatness of Seattle results in you giving a heated lashing and unequivocal response.

Originally Posted by wlw2009

As mentioned, of course the future is unknown, but right now I will be able to work in Bellevue so if (big if) I still am working on the east side, I have no problem at all living somewhere like Snoqualmie, Fall city, North Bend, Preston, etc. I have no desire to live in the city of Seattle or the city of Bellevue.

Your point? Snoqualmie, Fall City, North Bend.. Have you checked the rents in these places? These are not the nicest towns, yet the cost of living is high and the commute is quite far, especially to Seattle. I believe the original post was about Seattle, not Bellevue, but Bellevue obviously is quite expensive to live as well. I, originally wanted to live out in teh Snoqualmie area, but a Middle Class salary won't get you much more than a box even in the cheaper Suburbs, like you describe.

Originally Posted by wlw2009

I dont and wont be having kids, so schools do not matter either. Something like this would be even way MORE than I'd need:

No kids? How typical, not many people in Seattle want kids. And, it makes sense! It's hard enough for a 20-30 something year old to make a living, now how is he going to survive with a few extra mouths to feed.

Originally Posted by wlw2009

16430 266th Ave Se, Issaquah, WA, 98027 | (MLS # 359368) Homes.com

I guess my question is, are there any people on here with a combined income of $100,000k or less that are/were able to purchase at a 500,000-600,000 price point that have any tips/success stories to share?

Um... Half a million dollar homes are what you are calling affordable? Well, considering that maybe you come from a background where half a million dollar home is economical, then through your perspective, indeed, that is not a big deal. But for the majority of less-privileged Americans, that is an extraordinary amount of money and not attainable, even with a combined salary of 100k. Especially, if you consider all the property taxes, cost of raising kids (which you don't have to worry about) and other living expenses. If you live in Fall City you will be paying lot of money in gas to commute to your Bellevue job in rush hour.

Originally Posted by wlw2009

An idea:

Get a inexpensive place (condo, etc.) first (around 200k), pay it off in 15 years, and then rent it out to someone for a competitive price (let's say $1200 a month) and then use most of that 1200 to help pay a greater mortgage (so, 30-40% of my second mortgage will be paid by a renter per month). Does this make sense?

[/quote]
Oh yeah, that's real easy, just become a landlord. Do you realize how risky being a landlord can be? What if a tenant damages your place and bails. What if you cannot afford to own two differnet properties? What if the place stays vacant for a while , while you are still having to pay your high mortage rates, plus property taxes? This is quite a gamble and not a feasible investment for people who are barely making enough to survive and make their house payments or rent.

And, for the majority of people who rent, $1200/mo doesn't get you crap in the Seattle or Eastside. You are stuck living in some crappy apartment. You would be hard pressed to even be able to buy a property you could rent out for less than $2000/mo, as unless youc an afford to buy a large apartment complex, you would be stuck buying a luxury condo or house, which are not cheap anywhere in Seattle. Even housing in the ghetto neighborhoods is more than the upscale neighborhoods of most cities.

[Count David]

Originally Posted by trundle

It most cases, the single family residence is the most stupid expenditure you could possibly have. If you go at it right about your housing, almost anyone can retire in the USA in 10 years and quite a few can do it in 6 years.

Please explain.

[RunTheDistance476]

Rotsecherut,

I could write flowing paragraphs and respond to your typical negative Nancy posts and answers, but I think you've already made my point for me.

Thanks!

[RotseCherut]

Originally Posted by wlw2009

Rotsecherut,

I could write flowing paragraphs and respond to your typical negative Nancy posts and answers, but I think you've already made my point for me.

Thanks!

Didn't think you could refute my last post.. An old adage is that Truth silences its adversaries.

[RunTheDistance476]

Originally Posted by RotseCherut

Didn't think you could refute my last post.. An old adage is that Truth silences its adversaries.

...

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[limeyx]

Originally Posted by wlw2009

I guess my question is, are there any people on here with a combined income of $100,000k or less that are/were able to purchase at a 500,000-600,000 price point that have any tips/success stories to share?

Buy something less expensive, have less "mortgage payment" stress and be happy ?

We spent far less than that on our (very nice for us) home, and can easily make the payments ....

[gwix98]

Take a look at Everett.

A number of homes under $200K.
Yes, its not Bellevue, but personally its overrated.