Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It's simple, you won't ever see your downpayment again when prices drop. You can put down 30k and buy a 300k house, then in 3 yrs when you try to sell and only get 270k, you've lost your downpayment.
I know many people right now that have to sell due to a job relocation, etc, and they are going to lose their entire down payment from when they bought 2 yrs ago.
Buying is a bad idea right now unless you plan on living there for a min of 10 yrs.
It's simple, you won't ever see your downpayment again when prices drop. You can put down 30k and buy a 300k house, then in 3 yrs when you try to sell and only get 270k, you've lost your downpayment.
I know many people right now that have to sell due to a job relocation, etc, and they are going to lose their entire down payment from when they bought 2 yrs ago.
Buying is a bad idea right now unless you plan on living there for a min of 10 yrs.
I think that's a part of the problem. There's so much uncertainty in our jobs and the job market in general, why should we look into buying a home. If we get laid off in the next year or so, and then have to relocate, there's no point in buying a home. We'd never be able to sell the house. Especially with house prices continuing to drop and more coming onto the market.
So I've only read the last few, but my husband just accepted a new job in Charlotte and we're currently selling our home in Texas. Are you saying we shouldn't buy a home in Charlotte for 10 years? We should rent? I have two small children and can't imagine not owning a home for my family, but I don't want to lose thousands of dollars either. It just doesn't seem like you can get the same amount of house for rental as you can purchase after looking at the area. You're all depressing me.
So I've only read the last few, but my husband just accepted a new job in Charlotte and we're currently selling our home in Texas. Are you saying we shouldn't buy a home in Charlotte for 10 years? We should rent? I have two small children and can't imagine not owning a home for my family, but I don't want to lose thousands of dollars either. It just doesn't seem like you can get the same amount of house for rental as you can purchase after looking at the area. You're all depressing me.
Oh I dont think you shouldn't buy something for 10 years! I don't think we were implying that. But you can buy if you are looking to live there for the long term. I think you have to do what is best for you. If you purchase something now, it may lose value in the next year. I think it depends on your purchase price.
From what I have seen, it seems that certain purchase prices have not declined yet and might in the future. In other areas, they are declining and there are some GREAT deals out there.
It is a buyers market, and you should not be afraid to purchase a home here. Interest rates are great, there is a large selection of homes available and they are priced to sell. We rented while building our home here and I was miserable. Once we got into our new home i felt settled and more connected to our town. My children now have many friends in our neighborhood and a great social life. I know that renting serves it's purpose, but there is nothing like putting down roots. So, don't believe all the negative that you hear about the housing market. It is a great time to be a buyer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by juliema
So I've only read the last few, but my husband just accepted a new job in Charlotte and we're currently selling our home in Texas. Are you saying we shouldn't buy a home in Charlotte for 10 years? We should rent? I have two small children and can't imagine not owning a home for my family, but I don't want to lose thousands of dollars either. It just doesn't seem like you can get the same amount of house for rental as you can purchase after looking at the area. You're all depressing me.
If you plan to stay in Charlotte for more than 5 years, I would buy. My prediction is that rents will get expensive - in some cases higher than the mortgage on a comparable house (assuming you do the sensible thing of putting down at least 20%). This is happening in some areas of Charlotte already. With the worsening credit crunch, it is getting more difficult to secure mortgages even for people with good credit and a 20% downpayment. When you are ready to buy, there may be no money to borrow. If you are able to buy a place outright without a mortgage - so much better.
If you are planning to sell the house within a few years, then it may not be wise to buy now but if you are staying put for long time you are better off buying.
So what if you bought a house for 300K and its value went down, if you are not selling, it doesn't matter.
When your 401K goes down 30% you are not happy but most times it doesn't matter unless you plan to retire right away.
Listen up: if you can find a house that is at a great price (and there are plenty of them out there) - and you can qualify for a loan - you need to at least CONSIDER it. I am not talking about a $500,000 home. I am talking - something w/ as much space as an apartment and wh/ will cost you less than rent.
Why do I advise this? B/c loans are only going to get HARDER to get. For those w/ 20 % down and good credit - you will always be able to find a home and a decent loan.
For those w/ less to put down, if you can find a loan on a house that is underpriced, get it now or be prepared to wait years until you can save up that 20% downpayment.
Why? THINGS ARE GETTING READY TO CHANGE. It is going to get harder to get a loan.
But did you ever stop to think, what you ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY, would have thrown out the window, if you were renting for 12 years.
Do the math on that and give us a hypothetical #
I am pretty sure, breaking even is better then the amount you would have wasted paying someone Else's mortgage.
You also state you *Paid property taxes on home. Your home also acted as a tax shelter for you, and was written down, allowing you to re-gain monies!
Trust me (or don't) but America the Beautiful, is a country that encourages you to OWN a home.
Sorry it was not profitable for you, but 90% of Americans (until recently) that have owned a home, found it to be a great investment, and better yet, a home!
I went through this on another post, but I figured out if I had just put my downpayment into a savings account (not a money-market, stocks, IRA, or CD but a regular savings account) I would have walked away at the end of 11 1/2 years with about the same amount in cash as I did after the sale of my home.
So, essentially, I threw away 11 and a half years of mortgage payments. If I had rented, it wouldn't have been me paying for the new AC unit, or the other new AC unit, or the paint, or the carpet, or the wood floors, or the kitchen counters, or the stripping of the wallpaper, or the landscaping, or the new furnace, or the new water heater. My downpayment would have been earning its meager interest while someone else payed all of those expenses and I just happily wrote a rent check every month.
The funny thing is only 2,200 houses sold in August and Charlotte has a population of over 600,000 people. Thats not even 1%. The numbers also suggest that it would take almost 11 months to sell every house on the market, and thats assuming no other markets will become for sale.
So I've only read the last few, but my husband just accepted a new job in Charlotte and we're currently selling our home in Texas. Are you saying we shouldn't buy a home in Charlotte for 10 years? We should rent? I have two small children and can't imagine not owning a home for my family, but I don't want to lose thousands of dollars either. It just doesn't seem like you can get the same amount of house for rental as you can purchase after looking at the area. You're all depressing me.
Please don't panic, this is a great time to buy a home if you have the down payment and credit scores to obtain a good loan. There are some great deals to be had in this current buyers market And if you are careful to buy in a good, stable area you would not be very likely to lose money even after just 2/3 years - though staying put for 8 to 10 would ensure a much bigger return on your investment.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
dont believe everything you read
And if you are careful to buy in a good, stable area you would not be very likely to lose money even after just 2/3 years - though staying put for 8 to 10 would ensure a much bigger return on your investment.
