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At first, I thought this might be a misplaced post meant for the Relationships forum.
But, I suppose getting a house has a number of similarities. First of all, you'd need to get to know the house (e.g., inspections, due diligence) before deciding to get into a relationship. But, even as diligent as you can be, there will most likely be a number of problems (including money issues) that will come up which will need to be worked on. And if you decide those problems are simply too much to deal with, or you just need to move on, breakups can be a nightmare.
But...I wouldn't avoid getting into a relationship just because you're not sure if you're going to be around for 10 years. You need to be happy with yourself before you can be happy in a relationship...er, house.
I'm looking at fairly modest homes around 100K or less. Cheap enough to pay off in as little as a decade. Witnessing what happened during the recession, I'm frightened of over leveraging. Besides, the other investments tend to outperform real estate.
That's exactly what we did but we paid off the house six years after we moved in. Our goal was to fix it up in five years, sell it and move on to bigger and better. Some twenty five years later we are just putting the finishing touches on it. We bought other income properties along the way and did the same thing and kept them rented for some twenty years. The key is to know the market. We looked at close to one hundred properties before we bought our disaster house, and it was. Now it's beautiful and the thought of leaving it makes me sad. Ad far as other investments out performing real estate I have to disagree. It's all about buying right, not over building, and not paying tens of thousands of dollars to the legal loan sharks. Just do your home work. There's always buyers remorse, especially with a 2000 sq. foot disaster that needed every inch of it restored from the inside out. To see it now looking like it did in 1911 was worth the adventure. I'm in your shoes now looking for vacation properties that generate a good income. You'll be fine. Just take the plunge with your eyes wide open. Good luck.
If you think adding some TLC takes only 1hr like it HGTV make it appear, think again. Do you really want a second job fixing your house. If you are willing to take a second job, which most people aren't willing to do, you can create work for yourself buy literally building equity into your house. You can do it in less that 4 years. The cost to buy and sell a house short term is about 10%, if you like spending time in Lowe's or your local hardware store, and like doing things with your hands and buying power tools, then home improvement is right up your alley.
You aren't going to get rich of a $100,000 home, but paid off, it would be some nice supplemental income, who knows where social security will be in the future.
I do find it rewarding and a productive use of my time... sweat equity in every sense.
I've done 11 so far of which two were for siblings.
Tend to avoid the big box stores... found as an owner builder with a city business license buying at the wholesale houses more efficient for most things... I have accounts at the local pumbling, electrical, the cityt block ACE hardware and a floor covering dealer.
The thing is several of my friends do the same... two are teachers and they always have major projects scheduled for summer and holidays.
I'm looking at fairly modest homes around 100K or less. Cheap enough to pay off in as little as a decade. Witnessing what happened during the recession, I'm frightened of over leveraging. Besides, the other investments tend to outperform real estate.
Why are you considering buying instead of continuing to rent?
AnimalCrazy, sounds like you have my dream home. It sounds amazing and I'm so glad you restored an old beauty. The other day on one of my house shows, the new owner had the pocket doors removed! Crazy, crazy, imo. If you want a new house, buy one, don't ruin the character and charm of a beautiful old house.
OP, doubt and fear is normal, but I think you have more than most. Maybe you should watch the I Love Lucy episode where they bought their home in the country. If I thought I would be moving to a new city or state within a few years, I wouldn't buy. Good luck!
OMG, just went and looked at the pictures you have from Halloween Animalcrazy. Your home is Stunning! I'm green with envy, great job!
I don't think you're ready to buy. You haven't bought and already you're thinking of moving. You haven't bought but you can't see yourself living in one place for several years.
Rather than seeing a house as a home, you're looking at it as an investment. You haven't bought but already you're trying to time the market to see what return you can get on your investment. Make a note to yourself, you can't time the market. Real estate is not an absolute, it may go up, it may go down, it may stay the same.
I think first you have to decide whether you want to be a homeowner or an investor. If you want to be an investor, then you buy something that makes sense only in dollars and cents. You buy it and flip it. Since you're not planning on keeping it, there's no emotional commitment.
If you want to be a homeowner then you find a nice house . It will be in a place that you look and think to yourself " wow, I can't wait to live here". When it's the right house you won't even be thinking of moving. Moving would be something you did years down the road when you marry and kids come along and you maybe need a bigger house.
You're very right, what you have is beyond butterflies in the stomach from buying a first home. It is not this complicated. You've got more red lights than green lights and that's telling you that you're not ready to buy. Think it over some more. Decide whether you want to paint walls, put in a koi pond, buy patio furniture, etc. or whether you want to be an investor and get out of the house a.s.a.p. Don't buy until that is straight in your mind.
I know I nearly have a panic attack when it's time to sign the mortgage paperwork!
If it helps... I've lived in my current house a little less than 2 years, and while I don't regret buying this place (I love the house, it was the right choice for my lifestyle), I do occasionally get a twinge of "What if I'd bought that other place, instead?"
I've been toying around with the idea of buying a house for a couple years now. I finally broke down and went to the bank to get pre approved for a home loan. Every time I check out the listing though, I get this feeling of anxiety... Do I really want to spend the next decade in this area??? I donno. I thought buying a home was supposed to be a special time, something to look forward to, right?
It's hard to put out of mind the troubles in the economy as well. This is my first home I'm thinking of buying, and I'm just getting a lot of bad vibes. I keep saying that I could always rent it out, but maybe I'm just thinking too much...
Being a home owner is not for everyone. The "American Dream" of owning a home is a concept that has been touted by the real estate industry for a very long time and has, pretty much, convinced everybody that home ownership is the *only* way to go.
Because the housing market has "bottomed out", most people think that buying now is a good investment (buy low, sell high), but it isn't a good investment for everyone.
For one thing, maintenance on a home can be a real killer. We're not talking MAJOR maintenance like a new roof, but small, simple things add up fast - especially if you are not "handy" with repairs and such. Leaking faucets or pipes, a water heater that needs to be replaced, broken windows, HVAC issues, can all add up to THOUSANDS of dollars in repairs per year. Do you have any idea what a plumber charges per hour?
Additionally, there is insurance and taxes which in most places are not cheap. And there is the issue of yard maintenance as well. Not only purchasing lawn mowers, weed eaters, edgers, hoses, etc., but the commitment of TIME that maintaining a yard entails.
No one should feel bad about not wanting to be a home-owner. Like I said, it's not for everybody. There are lots and lots of people of every age bracket and social status that are perfectly happy renting an apartment (or condo or house) for their entire life.
If you are using it as an investment and trying to time the market, right now the market is valued above equilibrium based on wages so it is a lousy time to buy in most of the US. Low interest rates are noise, low interest rates correlate strongly with low sustainable appreciation, not all appreciation is sustainable and in my opinion and most of the economist that saw the last bubble coming we have a lot of unsustainable appreciation priced into the market right now. Both low mortgage rates and markets that cannot sustain housing value appreciation are caused by low inflation and wage growth, which has been true of the US economy for 15+ years through both boom times and recessions.
From an investment point of view the current market is a good one to lock in profits or cut your losses, if you already owned.
If you are using it as an investment and trying to time the market, right now the market is valued above equilibrium based on wages so it is a lousy time to buy in most of the US.
Sorry, but this is rather silly on so many levels. There is no one "the market" across the United States. There are opportunities just about everywhere...and there are pitfalls as well. Caveat emptor.
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You need to be happy with yourself before you can be happy in a relationship...er, house.
That's exactly what we did but we paid off the house six years after we moved in. Our goal was to fix it up in five years, sell it and move on to bigger and better. Some twenty five years later we are just putting the finishing touches on it. We bought other income properties along the way and did the same thing and kept them rented for some twenty years. The key is to know the market. We looked at close to one hundred properties before we bought our disaster house, and it was. Now it's beautiful and the thought of leaving it makes me sad. Ad far as other investments out performing real estate I have to disagree. It's all about buying right, not over building, and not paying tens of thousands of dollars to the legal loan sharks. Just do your home work. There's always buyers remorse, especially with a 2000 sq. foot disaster that needed every inch of it restored from the inside out. To see it now looking like it did in 1911 was worth the adventure. I'm in your shoes now looking for vacation properties that generate a good income. You'll be fine. Just take the plunge with your eyes wide open. Good luck.
It sounds amazing and I'm so glad you restored an old beauty. The other day on one of my house shows, the new owner had the pocket doors removed! 
Crazy, crazy, imo. If you want a new house, buy one, don't ruin the character and charm of a beautiful old house.
