Tell that to the guy who posted on AT who said he lost 100k on his condo in Chicago. I saw a couple condos here where they were losing 20,30k AND had to put in 10k in fixes to get it sold. Then you have the realtor fees...
I won't say you would be better off renting and putting the down payment plus extra funds into an index fund though.
I've always heard condos are not worth owning if you plan to just try and make money off of selling it. The one my wife and I rented for 6 years the owner sold for like 100k less than she bought it for.
Location is also critical in values obviously. We bought our first house 2.5 years ago for $419k, and houses around us have been selling higher which is good for us. One just sold for $489k across the street and it's not as nice as our house, so we are happy about that.
Till the bottom falls out. I thought the same with my first house. How can I lose? I bought for $146K and put another 50 or so in it, so all in I'm at 200K. The upgrades are all equity, right? That's what all the home shows on cable say. At one point I was completely surrounded by foreclosures. Going rates in my neighborhood were 40-50K till 2012. There's a couple houses asking in the 90-100K range now that have been sitting on the market forever. If I had to sell today I could probably get 80K for it and it's one of the nicest houses in the neighborhood with a full finished basement. That's a 120K loss and doesn't factor in taxes, insurance, and interest I've paid over the years.
I could have saved a ton more by renting.
Tell me about it.
Living in downtown Portland,OR.
My rent on my large studio apartment went up from $565 last month to $645 on April 1st.
(my March rent stays at $565,thank god.)
Total bullshit.The scary thing is,when I originally moved in here back in Sept.2009...I was paying $510 per month for the same apartment.
not necessarily to the same scale, though.
in Jersey, which granted has ridiculously high property taxes, what the landlord of my old 4-unit building paid in yearly property taxes wasn't a whole lot higher than I would have had to pay for a 2-3 bedroom standalone house.
so while $250 of my monthly rent might have been going towards the property taxes on the building, if I had purchased a house in the same town, I might have been looking at a $900 monthly tax payment on top of the mortgage.
Yeah, it's all about location. Where I live, there's so much demand, anything decent gets multiple offers over asking when units come right on the market. Friends had a two bedroom townhouse that they bought in 2008 for $450k and recently sold it for $600k.
I get asking regularly if I'll sell or rent out my place.
And in regards to rents, in many places, rents are at all time highs.
Rent is out of hand in our neighborhood. A 2bdrm/1 ba house just rented for $2700. A 3bdrm/2 ba similar to ours have been going in the $3300-3500 range (my mortgage is only $2k a month). No, not NYC/LA/SF prices...but for being in the middle of the country...it is a bit ridiculous.
Well yeah, that's the whole idea - people that own investment properties spend money up front that generate ROI from the tenants. We recently rehabbed our rental condo and upped the rent; remodeling is paid for in 1.8 years.
Also when your landlord forecloses, you're equally f'd and eventually will have to move. Literally the only risk you don't face is 7 year ding on your credit.
The only real arguments for renting vs owning are
1) timeframe too short to recoup the fixed costs
2) not having money
3) not having income to the extent that itemizing makes sense
I feel spoiled.
I just pay $300 a month.
4) Not wanting to deal with maintenance
5) Not wanting to deal with HOA/condo association, property taxes, income tax complications
6) Preferring to keep your assets liquid instead of tied up in a house or condo. In some softer markets in can take 6 months or more to sell a house (my mom went through that a few years ago in St. Louis). I can sell index fund shares in 1 day.
Due to escrow changes (tax/insurance), my mortgage payment went up $55 as of January. You aren't the only one.
Jokes on you. They are all under 18.
Tell me about it.
Living in downtown Portland,OR.
My rent on my large studio apartment went up from $565 last month to $645 on April 1st.
(my March rent stays at $565,thank god.)
Total bullshit.The scary thing is,when I originally moved in here back in Sept.2009...I was paying $510 per month for the same apartment.
I've been thinking of lowering my mortgage. I pay 600 biweekly. I could go as low as 400 if I wanted to. Could put the extra 400/mo in savings.
What's your mortgage rate and what's your average rate of return on savings and/or investment accounts where you would place the $400/mo?