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You miss my point. I am saying that the OP has to be realistic and not expect to get everything he wants in his first home. $220,000 buys a pretty nice house in the towns you mention. He could even find a fairly nice house in an expensive town like Glastonbury. It won't be new, it won't have a lot of upgrades and amenities. But it will be liveable.
As for the monthly payment, with rentals going for around $1,200 these days, an $1,800 mortgage payment is not out of line.
Finally I disagree with you that thee "traditional model" is dead. Patience will win. Home equity will come in time. People today expect instant results and that is just not realistic IMHO. Jay
I didn't miss your point at all. I disagree with it.
220K will get you a 50 year old home in an so so neighborhood and town/city. That home will most likely have outdated electrical, plumbing etc and need some cash influx or constant repairs.
$1800 for a mortgage put's one gross salary requirement at about 80K per year. AND it's a 30 year mortgage so don't expect any equity to show up for 10 years at least.
I'm about break even on my home purchased in 2002 with a TON of upgrades (Paid out of pocket) and a 30 year mortgage. How much longer will I have to be "patient"?
So far I've paid about $125,000 in interest and have 10K off the principle. Yea, let me do that again. 30 year mortgages only make the bank rich.
That 220K house on a 15 year would cost $2100 per month. Not bad for a 50 year old home in need of just about everything in a so so town/city. The bottom line is CT requires a lot of bank, and there is not a lot of options for people starting off or wanting to live a more simple life and not have to knock down 100K per year.
A citizen of CT should not have to get an advanced degree or start a business just to afford a starter home. If that's the case (which it seems like it is becoming the case), then something is seriously wrong with our political/capitalist system.
Anyway, I already have a Master's Degree in Accounting and still have $10K in student loan debt. To go back to school for another degree would be detrimental and create more debt that will have to be paid off. And MBA holders are a bit too common these days.
I'm not sure that starting a business would be right for me either. First of all, I have no idea what I would do. Second, 90% of startup businesses fail. Third, owning your own business is extremely demanding, requiring excessive work hours. And fourth, it is very risky and provides little security and stability. And don't even suggest that I start my own accounting firm. Those jobs require at least 60 hours per week of work and intense client demands. Trust me...I've been there and didn't last too long.
With that said, I'm doing the best I can in my current corporate job. It's extremely stable predictable income and much less headache than owning a business and dealing with people. I am not a people person at all, so I'm not sure starting a business would be right for me.
Guess that's it then... You want to have/achieve a number of things, but you're not willing to change things in your life to get there...
However, I would like to correct a factual error you made:
(1) The only category of small business with a 90% failure rate is restaurants. Of course the percentage varies with the type of business, but some businesses have a lower than 35% failure rate (think small service businesses) and the rewards are great.
I have MORE free time now than when I was in an executive position at a medium sized company in Austin. I also have measurably less headaches and much greater headaches. Entrepreneurship isn't for everyone, but I bet even JViello would agree that being your own boss pays many intangible benefits that will increase your QOL.
With the income for my business I paid off my remaining student loan debt (about 8K) with a check in April...
Whether someone making $60K should be able to afford a starter home on a nice piece of property in Connecticut is certainly debatable. It's a high income, expensive state. It's the side-effects of that that likely make it desirable for you to live here.
There are plenty of very nice condo homes that are in your price range, but you reject those.
I don't think you want a solution. I think you just want to complain. However if you think it's our political / capitalist system that's to blame, I 'd advise you to get active and help change things. I find plenty of fault with our system, however I don't see a single guy earning a good income (more than my brother earns after 10 years of teaching public school) is the primary victim of our system...
Guess that's it then... You want to have/achieve a number of things, but you're not willing to change things in your life to get there...
However, I would like to correct a factual error you made:
(1) The only category of small business with a 90% failure rate is restaurants. Of course the percentage varies with the type of business, but some businesses have a lower than 35% failure rate (think small service businesses) and the rewards are great.
I have MORE free time now than when I was in an executive position at a medium sized company in Austin. I also have measurably less headaches and much greater headaches. Entrepreneurship isn't for everyone, but I bet even JViello would agree that being your own boss pays many intangible benefits that will increase your QOL.
With the income for my business I paid off my remaining student loan debt (about 8K) with a check in April...
Whether someone making $60K should be able to afford a starter home on a nice piece of property in Connecticut is certainly debatable. It's a high income, expensive state. It's the side-effects of that that likely make it desirable for you to live here.
There are plenty of very nice condo homes that are in your price range, but you reject those.
I don't think you want a solution. I think you just want to complain. However if you think it's our political / capitalist system that's to blame, I 'd advise you to get active and help change things. I find plenty of fault with our system, however I don't see a single guy earning a good income (more than my brother earns after 10 years of teaching public school) is the primary victim of our system...
Since you are being the conservative, I'll be the liberal.
I don't disagree with you but what I would say is not everyone is into the pressure cooker advanced career thing. Some folks really do just want to work 8-4:30 and live a humble but decent life. I can't blame them, and it's a shame options for those type of folks are so limited here. Never used to be that way.
I really don't want to work more than 40 hours per week, to be honest. It's not healthy to sit in an office for 8 hours a day. Humans were not meant to do this five days a week, all year round. I have other pursuits in my life (e.g., dating, exercise, leisure) that require plenty of free time. What good is it making six figures if you have to work 50+ hours per week? I just don't see how that is superior to the traditional 40-hour work week, unless it's a short-lived period of time (less than one year) for a large financial reward.
I really don't want to work more than 40 hours per week, to be honest. It's not healthy to sit in an office for 8 hours a day. Humans were not meant to do this five days a week, all year round. I have other pursuits in my life (e.g., dating, exercise, leisure) that require plenty of free time. What good is it making six figures if you have to work 50+ hours per week? I just don't see how that is superior to the traditional 40-hour work week, unless it's a short-lived period of time (less than one year) for a large financial reward.
It's a choice. Everybody is different.
I love what I do. I love the classes I get to teach, the people I meet, the travel and running my business. I get opportunities to speak in interesting places, try new restaurants, and play with all sorts of technological toys.
I even do the things I do professionally in my spare time-- I love to program, and learning new languages is a lot more interesting then watching tv.
I am very passionate about what I do. I have programmed computers since I was 12. Now, having the honor of running a business where I get to teach those skills to others-- and get paid for it...is a dream come true.
I still manage to spend time with my friends, family, etc. I still go to the gym 3-4 times a week.
Since you are being the conservative, I'll be the liberal.
Funny, my friend.
At the same time, this is one of those that I don't think can be broken down in to the silly liberal/conservative political dichotomy that we all get a little too caught up in.
The values of hard work and entrepreneurship cut across all political spectrums and belief systems. It's one of the things that make the US a great country to live in.
I didn't miss your point at all. I disagree with it.
220K will get you a 50 year old home in an so so neighborhood and town/city. That home will most likely have outdated electrical, plumbing etc and need some cash influx or constant repairs.
$1800 for a mortgage put's one gross salary requirement at about 80K per year. AND it's a 30 year mortgage so don't expect any equity to show up for 10 years at least.
I'm about break even on my home purchased in 2002 with a TON of upgrades (Paid out of pocket) and a 30 year mortgage. How much longer will I have to be "patient"?
So far I've paid about $125,000 in interest and have 10K off the principle. Yea, let me do that again. 30 year mortgages only make the bank rich.
That 220K house on a 15 year would cost $2100 per month. Not bad for a 50 year old home in need of just about everything in a so so town/city. The bottom line is CT requires a lot of bank, and there is not a lot of options for people starting off or wanting to live a more simple life and not have to knock down 100K per year.
So you think every first time homebuyer should be able to live in a newer upgraded home on a large lot in a desirable town without making any scarifices to their lifestyle when they move from their first small apartment. Not in the real world my friend and you know it.
I would like to live in a 4000 s.f. home in the finest neighborhood in town but I can't or at least won't sacrifice the rest of my life for it. Or maybe one of those $5 million dollar homes along the coast? Why not, I have been working hard all my life. Lets be real here Jay
Guess that's it then... You want to have/achieve a number of things, but you're not willing to change things in your life to get there...
However, I would like to correct a factual error you made:
(1) The only category of small business with a 90% failure rate is restaurants. Of course the percentage varies with the type of business, but some businesses have a lower than 35% failure rate (think small service businesses) and the rewards are great.
I have MORE free time now than when I was in an executive position at a medium sized company in Austin. I also have measurably less headaches and much greater headaches. Entrepreneurship isn't for everyone, but I bet even JViello would agree that being your own boss pays many intangible benefits that will increase your QOL.
With the income for my business I paid off my remaining student loan debt (about 8K) with a check in April...
Whether someone making $60K should be able to afford a starter home on a nice piece of property in Connecticut is certainly debatable. It's a high income, expensive state. It's the side-effects of that that likely make it desirable for you to live here.
There are plenty of very nice condo homes that are in your price range, but you reject those.
I don't think you want a solution. I think you just want to complain. However if you think it's our political / capitalist system that's to blame, I 'd advise you to get active and help change things. I find plenty of fault with our system, however I don't see a single guy earning a good income (more than my brother earns after 10 years of teaching public school) is the primary victim of our system...
Well this article here says that 90% of startups fail within 5 years.
And here's an article (that's not a commentary) indicating why that's a myth. And I didn't have to go to an obscure city in Wisconsin to find it. Small Business Failure Rate: 9 out of 10?
And here's an article (that's not a commentary) indicating why that's a myth. And I didn't have to go to an obscure city in Wisconsin to find it. Small Business Failure Rate: 9 out of 10?
Ok, so that article says that by year 5, about 55% of small businesses will have failed. Still not cool.
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Jay
