I must be getting old...

[Tulenyre]

...because I'm looking at apartments and I can't help but see everything wrong with them.. I seem to be getting really picky.

A friend mentioned that "your ready to buy, but your not ready to buy" .. I think I agree I'm in that wierd quasi state between buying and not buying... or.... I'm just getting old.

[Aananla]

You could look at the flaws you see in an apartment and know that you don't have to fix them.


Or, buy a house. But you're going to need power tools. ;)

[Raveneye]

You could buy a condo. It's just like living in an apartment, except you're paying the equivalent of a house payment. :wink:

[Sagar]

Or you could buy a house and pay the equivalent of a condo payment.

Wait,

You live in Northern Virginia.

Never mind.

(You could buy a house and pay the equivilent of a lottery disbursment... ) :eek!:

[Shiz]

There was an article in the NYT or the WSJ about rents as a percent of ownership costs. The theme was that rents are incredibly cheap in most areas where housing prices have been rocketing up, like 50% of ownership cheap. There really is no reason to rush into owning as a single person. I will be spending close to $60,000 on my house this year - just on maintenance like roofing, exterior staining, interior painting, etc. Ownership costs a helluva lot more than the mortgage payment net of tax benefit.

[Draknor]

Groan. Don't scare the soon-to-be-an-involuntary-homeowner.:o

[EricStratton]

There was an article in the NYT or the WSJ about rents as a percent of ownership costs. The theme was that rents are incredibly cheap in most areas where housing prices have been rocketing up, like 50% of ownership cheap. There really is no reason to rush into owning as a single person. I will be spending close to $60,000 on my house this year - just on maintenance like roofing, exterior staining, interior painting, etc. Ownership costs a helluva lot more than the mortgage payment net of tax benefit.
Depends on the house. I bought mine new and haven't had to put anything into it 'cept some blinds. I'm much happier owning then I was renting. The tax break rocks and I'm paying just as much now as I was when I was renting. Granted, I had to move down 66 into Manassas (for those that know NoVA) to afford it but it's not so bad.

[Kiir]

I will be spending close to $60,000 on my house this year - just on maintenance like roofing, exterior staining, interior painting, etc. Ownership costs a helluva lot more than the mortgage payment net of tax benefit.

This really depends on the house. Yes Dan and I will eventually be putting in about 30k worth of work into our house, but just general upkeep of stuff is closer to 1 to 2k a year. Now if you buy a house knowing it needs work you might spend more on general upkeep and getting the house up to your standards, but in general, I've found that every 6 months we have a 500 to 600$ matience problem with our house and in general everything else work well.

The other thing to remember that in this area if you can find anything for a reasonable price you are looking at a 150 to 300% return on your investment, since property values in this area are booming. On the other hand apartments are easy, no worries about matience since it is taken care of by the complex, and it is possible in some areas it is actually cheaper then morgages at the moment, though if you want to buy now is a good time, since rates are rising, but still fairly low, and you don't want to get caught at the high point.

[Greebo]

I have to disagree with Kiir on the 150-300% ROI. Real estate prices right now seem to be to be like the tech stocks in the 90's. Big bubble, ready to burst. People are buying homes for half a mil that aren't worth half of what they're paying. Dan and Sarah bought at a much earlier point in this inflation. Houses bought *now*, IMO, will never increase in value as much as theirs has and, IMO, stand a solid risk of losing value.

That aside, owning has many advantages over renting - you are building equity, which means you're building your long term assets and improving your ability to borrow money if you need it. You get a major tax break based on the interest you pay.

But you do also end up taking on sole responsibility for the condition of the house.

And...in your case...well if you buy a house, how are you going to keep your mom from moving with you? I mean you can - and you should - but you know it will be a lot easier on YOU if you transition to something too small for her to share first, THEN look at buying something.

But forget Arlington - good god you think Columbia's real estate is bad

[Raveneye]

Depends on the area you live in. I thought I paid a lot for the house I justr built last year, and yet I recently discovered that the same house in the same neighborhood is now nearly $12,000 more expensive to build, and that does not include the "free" room I got as part of my deal (was a $17,000 add on that they threw in for free). Even if I only see half that in equity, it's nearly $15,000 more that my house would be worth right now than it was a year ago. Because the area my new house is in was undeveloped until recently, and is outside the city limits and yet has access to highways and major roads where shopping and services are plentiful, demand is rising. Developments are going in all around me where the starting prices of the homes are as much as $25,000-$50,000 more than mine, which is nice for me as it will eventually help boost my home's value as well.

I agree with Greebo though that overall the housing market is teetering on the brink of a bubble burst. There are insane prices attached to moderate homes in many parts of the country, and there is no way that the economy can keep pace with the rise in real estate values. Eventually average families will be priced out of many homes, and the market will need to adjust. I think the key is to find a moderately priced home with nice features in a developing area or an area expereincing a rebirth. Buying into already pricey markets is going to be a gamble at best.

[DinbinFanfoom]

Come to Canada! She has HUGE... tracts of land!

[DirkDarkBlade]

Just a couple of my thoughts. I bought my home when I realized that rent on a one bedroom apartment I lived in was going up to $750/mo. (this was 9 years ago). I did not live in town or in an exceptionally nice apartment (it was nice but not any better than the house I bought). The mortgage payment on my home is about $575/mo. Even taking into account the required repair work I've done (roof, painting, etc.) I'm still ahead of the game.

If repairing the home yourself scares you, there are several companies that offer home warrentees. They will do repair work similar to how an apartment would for an annual fee. Some of these companies cover the roof (usually with some time delay, like after you've had service for three years or similar). They will fix appliances and other things depending on what contract you sign up for.

I've been happy as a homeowner since I bought my home. I live in a townhouse now, and have considered saving up to buy a traditional single family house, but that will be a few years off.

Now I'm back to the kitchen remodeling project!

[DirkDarkBlade]

Come to Canada! She has HUGE... tracts of land!Yeah but my commute to work would be awful!

[EricStratton]

The mortgage payment on my home is about $575/mo.
:eek: That's awesome! My car payments (before I paid it off) were more than that. Nice work!

[Draknor]

If repairing the home yourself scares you, there are several companies that offer home warrentees. They will do repair work similar to how an apartment would for an annual fee. Some of these companies cover the roof (usually with some time delay, like after you've had service for three years or similar). They will fix appliances and other things depending on what contract you sign up for.

This I'd actually like to learn a bit more about - can anyone point me in the right direction for info?

I'm inheriting my dad's house. Beyond getting a home equity line of credit, a warranty might really be good for me for a few years before I get used to having to do all the maintenance myself.

I figure this is probably a pretty good deal for me. The mortgage is $430 a month and has about 3 years left before it's paid off in full. It's only worth around $150K, but I suppose that's all equity, which is probably a very good thing now that I think about it.:lowsmile: