Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
  • Post
  • Reply
cornface
Dec 28, 2006

by Lowtax

tiananman posted:

Well, the contract says she'll remove the stuff.

Now you are left weighing the cost and time of suing her vs the cost and time of removing her garbage.

(Or decorating around it)

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Pweller
Jan 25, 2006

Whatever whateva.

tiananman posted:

Well, the contract says she'll remove the stuff.

But you waived the deadline for her to do so and accepted possession. Did you set a new deadline in writing?

e: pretty sure you got taken advantage of by accepting her hawaii is far from vermont story (not your problem), take it as a lesson for next time since there's probably not going to be much recourse for you at this point.

Pweller fucked around with this message at 17:56 on Nov 1, 2012

Slappy Pappy
Oct 15, 2003

Mighty, mighty eagle soaring free
Defender of our homes and liberty
Bravery, humility, and honesty...
Mighty, mighty eagle, rescue me!
Dinosaur Gum
She may not be a jerk (especially if she's in Hawaii - those people are nice to a fault). Why not just tell her enough is enough and you're going to get a quote from a contractor to remove the stuff and send her the bill. Maybe she'll just pay.

tiananman
Feb 6, 2005
Non-Headkins Splatoma

Spamtron7000 posted:

She may not be a jerk (especially if she's in Hawaii - those people are nice to a fault). Why not just tell her enough is enough and you're going to get a quote from a contractor to remove the stuff and send her the bill. Maybe she'll just pay.

My other thought was to just dump it at the realtors.

edit: And she is kind of a jerk. She's jerked us around on other stuff, and I've talked to some of the contractors she had work on the house. She stiffed one of them after agreeing to pay him. He had to get payment from the realtor - and he did because they didn't want their reputation sullied on account of the seller.

tiananman fucked around with this message at 21:37 on Nov 1, 2012

I Love You!
Dec 6, 2002

tiananman posted:

My other thought was to just dump it at the realtors.

edit: And she is kind of a jerk. She's jerked us around on other stuff, and I've talked to some of the contractors she had work on the house. She stiffed one of them after agreeing to pay him. He had to get payment from the realtor - and he did because they didn't want their reputation sullied on account of the seller.

Oftentimes dealing with the Realtor is a lot easier than dealing with the seller, especially when the seller is being unreasonable. Agents do have limited power but a lot of times they will understand the value of just taking care of a problem because it isn't worth the effort or reputation hit to fight it.

Realjones
May 16, 2004

tiananman posted:

Well, the contract says she'll remove the stuff.

Since you waived the deadline the official deadline would have become when you closed the contract, yes? If you really wanted the stuff moved you should have done a walk through before closing and demand it be removed and be willing to delay closing to get it removed.

It's like if a house had a broken sink and you asked it to be repaired and it wasn't, but you closed anyway...well it's your broken sink now. You can't go back and demand the seller fix it once you've closed.

I'd say it's your problem now and the easiest thing to do is just get rid of it and move on. Perhaps a neighbor with trash service would let you put the stuff out on the road? I do like the comedy option of dropping it off at the realtor's house.

tiananman
Feb 6, 2005
Non-Headkins Splatoma

Realjones posted:

Since you waived the deadline the official deadline would have become when you closed the contract, yes? If you really wanted the stuff moved you should have done a walk through before closing and demand it be removed and be willing to delay closing to get it removed.

It's like if a house had a broken sink and you asked it to be repaired and it wasn't, but you closed anyway...well it's your broken sink now. You can't go back and demand the seller fix it once you've closed.

I'd say it's your problem now and the easiest thing to do is just get rid of it and move on. Perhaps a neighbor with trash service would let you put the stuff out on the road? I do like the comedy option of dropping it off at the realtor's house.

Our realtor finally got a hold of the seller, who bizarrely asked for either an itemized list of what's left, or a photograph.

I don't know why it matters if she has any intention of removing this stuff, but our realtor thinks we should send her the list/photo and see what happens next.

And the contract states she would remove the stuff after closing. We had a 10 day clause but took it out to accommodate the seller. It's pretty clear in the contract, but as has been mentioned, I'm not sure what our recourse would be and how much it would cost to fight this lady.

Pweller
Jan 25, 2006

Whatever whateva.
She could remove the trash 18 years from now and still be within the bounds of the contractual obligation you currently have from the sounds of it. Just sayin.

Clown Meadows
Jul 13, 2003

YARRRR! Where be the gray matter up in this piece, son?
Is it possible to buy an investment property, rent it out and then travel abroad at the same time? I get the feeling I already know the answer but I'm just testing the waters and trying to identify the things I might not be considering. I have no debt, few expenses, a strong saving plan towards a deposit and parental financial backing but still think I should really be choosing one or the other. Any advice at all is much appreciated.

Konstantin
Jun 20, 2005
And the Lord said, "Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.
It's possible, but there are a huge number of investments you can make with that money that would be better than buying an investment property. Buying investment property on a small scale is one of the worst things you can do with your money that isn't an outright scam, for several reasons. First of all, it is a large amount of money in one asset. You are parking six figures on one house, in one neighborhood, and you are hoping that one tenant doesn't just stop paying rent or damage the property. One of the key concepts in investing is to diversify, and this is probably the least diverse investment you can make. Second, the risk is unlimited. You could easily end up losing much more than you initially invest in the house if something goes really bad, like getting a bad tenant that costs thousands in legal fees to evict and racks up five-figure damages. Third, the asset is illiquid. In an emergency, you can sell stock and get a check very quickly, selling a house can take months. Fourth, you have to actively manage the property or pay someone to do it for you. This cuts into any returns that you do get, and is a cost that most other investments don't have. Seriously, unless you are a real estate professional with serious local expertise and a few million laying around to buy a number of diverse properties, you shouldn't buy a house you don't plan to live in.

Elephanthead
Sep 11, 2008


Toilet Rascal

tiananman posted:

Our realtor finally got a hold of the seller, who bizarrely asked for either an itemized list of what's left, or a photograph.

I don't know why it matters if she has any intention of removing this stuff, but our realtor thinks we should send her the list/photo and see what happens next.

And the contract states she would remove the stuff after closing. We had a 10 day clause but took it out to accommodate the seller. It's pretty clear in the contract, but as has been mentioned, I'm not sure what our recourse would be and how much it would cost to fight this lady.

Do not send her a list. It will only work against you. Tell her to order a pod or mobile storage space and you will fill it for her. That solves your problem. She is responsible for it after that.

tiananman
Feb 6, 2005
Non-Headkins Splatoma

Elephanthead posted:

Do not send her a list. It will only work against you. Tell her to order a pod or mobile storage space and you will fill it for her. That solves your problem. She is responsible for it after that.

My wife and I re-checked the closing paperwork, and it did say that she had until October 15th to get all of the stuff out of here.

I thought we had taken that out, but it's in there.

I already sent her photos, and I have a feeling she's going to claim that some of this stuff isn't hers. We'll see.

Dogen
May 5, 2002

Bury my body down by the highwayside, so that my old evil spirit can get a Greyhound bus and ride
Final entry in sewage saga- the city side was not hooked up either because they built a storm drain on the curb and no one lived here while the seller was reno'ing and the storm drain got in the way of our sewage line. Solution? CAP THAT FUCKER OFF

Thanks, lazy city contractor!

On the other hand the city of austin employees have been unusually awesome and friendly in fixing this poo poo both times they've had to come out, and I haven't had to pay beyond the initial getting a plumber out when I thought it was a clog, so... success? They had to cut the curb and way into the street to get us back on the main, but the road's being repaved right now anyway.

Myrddin Emrys
Jul 3, 2003

Ho ho ho, Pac-man!
Well, good news / bad news time I guess. I had a market analysis done on my condo. If you guys recall from a few pages back, we bought in 2007, after a big drop in price. We were just out of college and everyone in the media and in person was saying "now's the time to buy, the market is showing signs of life!" blah blah blah. We bought at 125k with nothing down, which I realize now was a big mistake, but there's nothing I can do about that now.

So the place sold for 125k, we still owe 115k on it. We didn't pay off much because my girlfriend was in grad school until a couple months ago and just got her first "real" paycheck on Friday.

Anyway so our market analysis was almost a worst-case, showing that our place could be sold now for between 75k and 89k. There's no way I can have the cash-on-hand to pay off the difference, so it looks like we're either stuck in our place or we'll need to rent it out, which literally everyone we've talked to has said is the worst idea ever.

The good news? We qualify for a refinance even though we're so far underwater. It's an "express" refinance, so they aren't going to reappraise. The rate we had previously was 6.5% - high right now. At the time it was an "okay" rate and we had little credit history, so it was acceptable then. New rate was quoted as 3.69%. Big drop.

Still getting the final numbers but out monthly payment is dropping from ~$1200 all said and done to... well I got two numbers. The first is the high one of $975 per month, the other is low at around $815. The reason for the discrepancy is the mortgage guy had never done an "express" refinance and so he's still getting an underwriter to check it all out. I think his high quote is off, because he quoted me the 815 one and then said "oh wait I have your $1400 taxes as annual, not monthly!"... but if our taxes were $1400 monthly that wouldn't be covered by the $1200 we pay a month :)

So I think either he was right the first time or it's a quarterly payment.

Either way, our mortgage payment is going down by over $200 / month. Cost is $2200 in closing costs.

imandyyo
Mar 19, 2012
No update on the realtor who's trying to get out of out .5% back for selling the house so quickly. But, here's a good story about the new house. Had a friend help bring some boxes and a crib up for us. They have two kids who came along. The oldest is four. When I wasn't paying attention for a minute he took my son's plastic rocking horse and proceeded to belt sand his way across our hardwood floor in the great room. It's 12 feet long. Awesome.

Guacala
Jul 19, 2009

In the house we bought, it has a hot water boiler that runs on natural gas. There's one chimney which doesn't have direct vents to separate appliances. There was an old natural gas burner in the game room that we're replacing, but the salesman is now saying that b-vents aren't used anymore - either we have to find a source for a direct vent or put back the old furnace.

We've inquired to see if we could have our chimney lined for our boiler and stove, but it's not large enough according to the salesman. Anyone been in a similar situation?

Leperflesh
May 17, 2007

Building codes vary by state.

Advent Horizon
Jan 17, 2003

I’m back, and for that I am sorry


Went and looked at a house yesterday that we really like and has been on the market a year. Go figure, the listing agent came by just before we finished to show some other comuple the place. At least their offer would be contingent on selling their home and ours wouldn't (if they make an offer). Our realtor also said that apparently the house has had several showings result in second showings 'lately' but no offers as of yet.

I'm still holding out hope it has some horrible flaw that's visible in daylight, thus preventing us from spending nearly half a million dollars. Considering they've already had two engineering inspections (to certify the work done as completed), I doubt it's really that terrible :ohdear:

Guacala
Jul 19, 2009

Advent Horizon posted:

Considering they've already had two engineering inspections (to certify the work done as completed), I doubt it's really that terrible :ohdear:

Never trust a report an seller obtains. Buyers should always obtain their own independent work regarding inspections, either engineering or property. Obviously the fact they obtained two engineering inspections should raise concern. If you decide to buy, obtain your own inspections - you never know if the owners are in cahoots or fudge on the reports.

Advent Horizon
Jan 17, 2003

I’m back, and for that I am sorry


Of course we'd be getting our own.

The second one was purely to show that all the improvements needed from the first one (mostly changing to GFCI outlets and window hinge changes) were completed. The disclaimer is actually longer than the report.

Their energy numbers are also hilarious. It was done when the place was run as a B&B, so it shows a huge number for hot water compared to everything else. The water heater has since been changed to tankless and we won't have 10 people sleeping there so that number is probably nowhere near accurate.

FCKGW
May 21, 2006

Just did a refi and my total monthly payment went up. Apparently Wells Fargo had me underpaying my escrow by about $150/mo for the past year and this is the "corrected" price.

DO. NEVER. BUY.

Myrddin Emrys
Jul 3, 2003

Ho ho ho, Pac-man!

FCKGW posted:

Just did a refi and my total monthly payment went up. Apparently Wells Fargo had me underpaying my escrow by about $150/mo for the past year and this is the "corrected" price.

DO. NEVER. BUY.

Heh, I just did a refinance too and my payments are going down by over $200 / month. I had the opposite problem a little while back, too, my escrow payments were too high since my property tax went down and it wasn't updated properly, so I got a check from the escrow company or whomever for the remaining balance, and my payments went down.

daggerdragon
Jan 22, 2006

My titan engine can kick your titan engine's ass.

Myrddin Emrys posted:

Heh, I just did a refinance too and my payments are going down by over $200 / month. I had the opposite problem a little while back, too, my escrow payments were too high since my property tax went down and it wasn't updated properly, so I got a check from the escrow company or whomever for the remaining balance, and my payments went down.

I didn't get a refinance but I've been overpaying my escrow by about $10/mo. I've been keeping the total payment the same, only that $10 goes into the principle instead.

Every little bit counts.

Slappy Pappy
Oct 15, 2003

Mighty, mighty eagle soaring free
Defender of our homes and liberty
Bravery, humility, and honesty...
Mighty, mighty eagle, rescue me!
Dinosaur Gum

FCKGW posted:

Just did a refi and my total monthly payment went up. Apparently Wells Fargo had me underpaying my escrow by about $150/mo for the past year and this is the "corrected" price.

DO. NEVER. BUY.

My agent told me this actually happens a lot due to lenders miscalculating taxes. The good news is that either 1) you actually were underpaying before meaning you would have owed money for unpaid taxes each year; or 2) if your current payment is wrong, they should correct it after tax season. Either way, you'll get any overpayment back.

Myrddin Emrys
Jul 3, 2003

Ho ho ho, Pac-man!

daggerdragon posted:

I didn't get a refinance but I've been overpaying my escrow by about $10/mo. I've been keeping the total payment the same, only that $10 goes into the principle instead.

Every little bit counts.

Yeah, we did the same when they adjusted our property tax downwards. Paid the same amount, which was like $60 / month extra. Because why not?

tiananman
Feb 6, 2005
Non-Headkins Splatoma
Inspector from our homeowner's insurance company is coming tomorrow. We've had this policy in place since closing (October 5th).

Anyone know what I should be on the lookout for? Any big no-nos that I should take care of tonight (if possible)?

Is it normal to have the inspector come out after you've been on the policy for a month?

sheri
Dec 30, 2002

tiananman posted:

Inspector from our homeowner's insurance company is coming tomorrow. We've had this policy in place since closing (October 5th).

Anyone know what I should be on the lookout for? Any big no-nos that I should take care of tonight (if possible)?

Is it normal to have the inspector come out after you've been on the policy for a month?

Ours just came a week or two ago (and we closed 8/24).

He just asked a few questions for confirmation (do you have fireplaces, wood burning stoves, etc. If we did he would have had to have seen them). He then took a picture of our dog for their records and didn't even come inside the house-- took the measurements he needed outside and went on his way.

I wouldn't worry about it unless you have open flames next to giant puddles of gas or something.

tiananman
Feb 6, 2005
Non-Headkins Splatoma

sheri posted:

Ours just came a week or two ago (and we closed 8/24).

He just asked a few questions for confirmation (do you have fireplaces, wood burning stoves, etc. If we did he would have had to have seen them). He then took a picture of our dog for their records and didn't even come inside the house-- took the measurements he needed outside and went on his way.

I wouldn't worry about it unless you have open flames next to giant puddles of gas or something.

We have a fireplace and a wood stove... Hope it goes well.

Elephanthead
Sep 11, 2008


Toilet Rascal

tiananman posted:

We have a fireplace and a wood stove... Hope it goes well.

I had mine complain the trees were to close to the house. I told him I wouldn't cut down 50 year old oaks to mitigate his risk and moving them was cost prohibitive.

daggerdragon
Jan 22, 2006

My titan engine can kick your titan engine's ass.

Elephanthead posted:

I had mine complain the trees were to close to the house. I told him I wouldn't cut down 50 year old oaks to mitigate his risk and moving them was cost prohibitive.

How close is too close? I've got a tree the back yard that's no less than 10 feet away from the corner of the house. My insurance agent didn't say bupkis about it.

tiananman
Feb 6, 2005
Non-Headkins Splatoma

daggerdragon posted:

How close is too close? I've got a tree the back yard that's no less than 10 feet away from the corner of the house. My insurance agent didn't say bupkis about it.

That's funny because we have literally dozens of 50'-90' trees within falling distance of our house and the inspector didn't say anything. They're all pine trees too, which are the kind that tend to fall the easiest. Moreoever, there ARE a bunch of fallen trees all over the place because a lot of the property gets kind of marshy when we get heavy rains and snow melt. I'm convinced that a tree WILL fall on our house if we don't take some kind of precaution. It's just a question of when.

Inspection went fine.

But we're STILL trying to get the seller's stuff out the house. Now, she's just ignoring us. Our realtor suggested just sending a bill to the seller's realtor. She said they'd rather write a check for a couple hundred bucks than deal with an unhappy buyer in the community. Especially since this realtor is trying to sell a house about 1/4 mile away from us.

gregarious Ted
Jun 6, 2005
Been looking for a similar thread all over the place!

Just had an offer accepted on my first place (apartment in Sydney). We haven't exchanged yet, doing all the due diligence before exchange and then waving the cooling off period. When I inspected, there were strata works going on (ripped up carpet in the hallways, some overhead lights) - and there was a sign on the noticeboard about a strata insurance claim, 113 of 140 claims had been accepted.

So I'm a bit concerned that there could be problems with the strata, so hopefully the strata report comes back ok.

Other than a TV, I'll be furnishing it from scratch. I've got an extra $10k for everything (it's a 1 bedder loft), will that be enough? I figure lounge + kitchen/dining $2k, bedroom $3k, paint/cleaning $500, various other poo poo $1k. I'd love a builtin floor to ceiling bookcase with rolling ladder thingy, but I don't know if I can afford it just yet...

Shifty Pony
Dec 28, 2004

Up ta somethin'


I'd like to know if I'm being realistic in thinking about starting the search for a house next Spring/Summer.

Late 20s, with the following:
Income: $95k
Fico Score: ~770
Cash Savings: $20k
Retirement: $85k
No debt (car paid off, no loans, CC paid in full monthly)


The neighborhood I'm interested in has houses in the range of $230-$280k with ~$4k annual property tax I'm worried that might be a bit much for my income.

Should I wait another year and dump as much cash as possible into savings for a large down payment, or plan on going with a FHA loan? With interest rates as low as they are financing at 3.X-4.X percent looks very attractive. As of now I am comfortably spending $1k on rent and sending $400+ per month into savings (Mint shows $1-3k per month net income, I'm not sure I trust it as it may be including me maxing out my Roth retirement account and sending 8% to my 401k).

slap me silly
Nov 1, 2009
Grimey Drawer
You could probably swing it, but you need to have a large cash buffer after the purchase. Also the inevitable repairs, furniture, and Home Depot expenses will be rather larger than you think if it's your first house. For what it's worth, I bought a house in that price range in similar circumstances and had ~$20k in cash remaining after closing.

Leperflesh
May 17, 2007

Shifty Pony posted:

I'd like to know if I'm being realistic in thinking about starting the search for a house next Spring/Summer.

My main concern would be your age, actually. In addition to analyzing your finances, you need to think carefully about your life plans. Why do you want to buy a house now? Are you married? Do you have kids? Career plans?

You do not want a situation where you buy and then want to move, need more room, or hate your school district 2 or 4 years later. Given the huge transactional costs of buying and (especially) selling, even assuming your property does not lose any value you can wind up losing a lot of money if you have to resell too soon.

I think in this thread we generally advise people not to buy if they're not ready to commit to staying in the home for at least 8 years. That's not a hard rule, but it's enough time to build equity and recover from a near-term but temporary drop in home value.

All that aside, I think you can maybe just afford your payments, but it's tight. You're going to be paying $1500 a month or so for your principal, interest, taxes, and insurance; and add in another hundred or two for mortgage interest if you do not put 20% down. You need to add more to cover maintenance and repairs, and the exact amount depends a lot on the age and condition of the home, plus your region/environment. Depending on where you live and the grade of insulation in your home you may need to factor in a lot for energy bills too.

All told that's significantly above the $1400 a month you're currently accounting for in rent + what you're putting into savings. You ought to have better cash flow if you're really grossing $95k a year. Time to take a close look at your monthly expenses and figure out where all your money is going.

reflex
Aug 9, 2009

I'd rather laugh with the mudders than cry with the saints. The mudders are much more fun. Hoorah.

OP posted:

This idea that "renting is throwing away money" is a lie perpetrated by the real estate industry. Do some real research into buying a house if that's what you want to do; buying a house because "renting is throwing money away" is a great way of losing money in the short/long term.
Can I get some more perspective on this? My parents are really pressuring me to not even consider renting.

I'm 22, single. I live with my parents and they charge me $300 for rent + food. I've been comfortably saving $700/month for a house fund and I just got a better job so I will be able to comfortably save more. I'm on track for a $50,000 downpayment within 36 months. Without straining myself, I could easily hit $1300/month for rent + food if I moved out tomorrow (if I decide to never save for retirement ever). I have no debts.

I'm just trying to figure out what I'm doing.

My parents really want me to buy because a house/condo/apartment is an investment. When I'm old I can turn around and sell my house for $250,000 or whatever and bam retirement! My parents are telling me renting is another way to say I'm paying someone else's mortgage. The only thing I really agree with them on is I don't want a roommate.

But I don't want to commit to staying in this city right now. I don't have any well-I-guess-I-better-settle-down-now inclinations. The idea of living with my parents for another three years totally sucks.

The main problem I'm having is that I'm 22. When I hit 24 or 25, I might want to settle down here and have kids and having that downpayment money would be nice. But I'm 22 and am not doing fun things because it costs too much money and that prolongs my basement-living lifestyle. Want to go on a ski trip for $500 in December? Nah man, that's literally 1% of a prospective downpayment! (I am not a complete splerge lord and am currently saving $400/month for trips)

Basically I don't want to realize I didn't have as much fun as I could have had in my early twenties with no obligations because I was saving money for a house I didn't even buy. But then if I want a house and have no money, I'm screwed anyway.

Slappy Pappy
Oct 15, 2003

Mighty, mighty eagle soaring free
Defender of our homes and liberty
Bravery, humility, and honesty...
Mighty, mighty eagle, rescue me!
Dinosaur Gum
If you don't want to commit to staying in your city, absolutely 100% do not buy. You will regret it. You think you're doing well financially now and you are. If you decide to buy a house now and sell within the next 3-5 years there's a very good chance your money will all go away and you'll have to start over. Even if the market is stable, the cost to transition from one house to another is pretty substantial (assume 6-8% of the sale price).

Tell your parents that although they're technically right about your rent not going into equity, your main priority right now is risk aversion. Sure, the value of your money is not being maximized but the tradeoff is by continuing to rent there is 0% chance you'll financial troubles in the coming years. If you buy, you will suddenly become keenly aware of the fact that you cannot afford to lose your job. You will start watching the housing market with dread in your heart. And most importantly, you will be stuck paying for, and living in a home selected by a 22 year old without enough perspective to make this choice wisely. I'm sure you're mature for your age but I remember the places I chose to live when I was 22. I couldn't live that way now.

Shifty Pony
Dec 28, 2004

Up ta somethin'


Leperflesh posted:

My main concern would be your age, actually. In addition to analyzing your finances, you need to think carefully about your life plans. Why do you want to buy a house now? Are you married? Do you have kids? Career plans?

You do not want a situation where you buy and then want to move, need more room, or hate your school district 2 or 4 years later. Given the huge transactional costs of buying and (especially) selling, even assuming your property does not lose any value you can wind up losing a lot of money if you have to resell too soon.

I think in this thread we generally advise people not to buy if they're not ready to commit to staying in the home for at least 8 years. That's not a hard rule, but it's enough time to build equity and recover from a near-term but temporary drop in home value.

Not married, no kids, very stable government job that I'm extremely happy with. I have several reasons for wanting to buy vs rent, some silly some practical. Firstly I've moved enough in the last few years to be pretty much wanting to be done with it. The last house I rented had an absolutely awful landlord (who would do things such as send out amendments to the lease via email and think they were binding and was stricter about lawn mowing than any HOA), but I don't care for being in an apartment and want to have a neighborhood again. I would like to get a dog, have a garden, and have space for my beer brewing. I would like to be able to customize my house by installing shelving, painting walls, running networking and surround lines, etc. I've helped (re)build houses and if it doesn't involve roofing, siding, or gas I can generally do it and do it to code although in some cases I recognize when it is better to pay a pro to do it (gently caress ceramic tile, seriously).

The schools in the area I'm looking at are good and the lots are sized to make additions very popular (although the houses in the range I would consider are 2/2 or 2/1.5).

If I could find a landlord like the ones I rented from in DC I'd be much more amenable to renting. However it seems like you can't be that picky around here, with 99% occupancy rates around the city and many "nice" houses being rented as vacation homes. I'd be looking at ~$1350-1500 in rent, before pet fees, with 5-8% annual increases if trends hold for the next few years. I certainly plan to stay in the city I am in now, I really do love this place and that's why I moved back here.

quote:

All that aside, I think you can maybe just afford your payments, but it's tight. You're going to be paying $1500 a month or so for your principal, interest, taxes, and insurance; and add in another hundred or two for mortgage interest if you do not put 20% down. You need to add more to cover maintenance and repairs, and the exact amount depends a lot on the age and condition of the home, plus your region/environment. Depending on where you live and the grade of insulation in your home you may need to factor in a lot for energy bills too.

All told that's significantly above the $1400 a month you're currently accounting for in rent + what you're putting into savings. You ought to have better cash flow if you're really grossing $95k a year. Time to take a close look at your monthly expenses and figure out where all your money is going.

I actually only was counting what I automatically divert to cash savings, most of what I save goes into retirement accounts. My actual savings picture looks like this:
401k - $580 per month
Roth 1 - $580 per month (this is not subject to the normal $5k limit)
Roth 2 - $410 per month (maxed)
Automatic cash savings - $400 per month
Plus transferring on average an additional $600 manually per month to cash savings.

So I hold about a 36% savings rate in spite of some major purchases over the last few months (bike, furniture, computer, trip home to see parents). Perhaps it would be better to seek out the mythical "good landlord" and be a money hamster?

skipdogg
Nov 29, 2004
Resident SRT-4 Expert

Yeah, don't get tied down to a house at your age. I could spend all day listing reasons it's a bad idea. It's a bad loving idea.

I own a home and I 'throw away' enormous amounts of money on housing every year. Very little of the total amount of my housing costs actually goes to paying down the principal balance of my loan. Interest, Insurance, Property Taxes, time and money on upkeep... all that is money 'thrown away'.

Your 22, go rent a little apartment in a downtown area and have some fun.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Pweller
Jan 25, 2006

Whatever whateva.
At 22 and single I'd say it really comes down to what kind of lifestyle you want for yourself. I know my life perspective changed pretty dramatically year to year in my twenties, feeling locked into longterm decisions is what will make you feel like you're missing out.

My plan at your age (never worked out, housing market shot right through the roof) was to buy a 2-3 bedroom house and pick up roommates to pay down my mortgage while I tore through the principal. There's extra complications with that scenario of course, but if you're deadset on not having roommates, I'd say hold off on the house.

It comes down to two choices in my mind,

1) If you get along well with your parents, continue socking away cash and seriously gently caress the haters (with nothing socked away). You can freely travel the world, you have a house full of appliances, etc. You can still go out and do whatever you want to every night.

2) Move into a cheapass apartment downtown/right in the neighbourhood you want to hang out in, while socking away cash for the eventual downpayment. Living in a prime location is a luxury you will likely give up entirely if you have kids or maybe even just coupling up. Plus you can always switch apartments if you get bored or the place sucks.

Maybe it's (actually) different in the states where everyone pisses away money to go to college in another state, and maybe they don't come back, but I'd guess there's tons of people your age living at home for a few more years yet. It's not some crazy thing to be worried about socially. Nobody cares.

Pweller fucked around with this message at 18:31 on Nov 12, 2012

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • Post
  • Reply