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What are YOUR reasons for wanting to buy?


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2011 Sep 16, 3:35am   22,694 views  75 comments

by bmwman91   ➕follow (5)   💰tip   ignore  

Obviously, anyone posting in here has some amount of interest in real estate, and that interest is probably centered around buying & owning it. There are a myriad of reasons for this, and everyone has their own. So, what drives your compulsion to buy? I suppose that this could somehow turn into a debate with people tearing up others' reasons, but the intent at this moment is to just try to get a feel for what motivates people with an above-average interest in it. I say above average because I figure that the average buyer does their "research & learning" by being told things by their RE agent, rather than spending lots of time reading on sites like this.

For me, my reasons for wanting a SFH & worrying (probably too much) about it are, in no particular order:
1 - Garage as a workshop for a)loudspeaker building & b) woodworking
2 - Garage for car projects
3 - No attached walls...for making proper use of reason 1a. A 150lb subwoofer that hits -3dB at 12Hz is what some family members have nicknamed "the lease-breaker."
4 - A yard & long-term residence for pets (cats, probably).
5 - A yard & long-term residence for kids (GOD HELP ME IF I CHOOSE THIS SOMEDAY!).

So, what kind of RE do you want to buy / have you bought, and why? If you happen to be an audio geek, you are required to identify yourself!

#housing

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1   edvard2   2011 Sep 16, 3:59am  

Man. Me and you sound like twins or something because I too am into audio, working on cars, and tinkering in the garage. The thing is that I didn't have to buy to have these things. I rent a large 4 Bdrm house in the East Bay for about $1,750 with another housemate who's seldom home. We have a garage, a long driveway ( room for 4-5 cars) and a sizable yard. The thing about your audio comments is that buying a house doesn't mean you're going to be able to suddenly crank up the volume: You're going to have neighbors and they're likely going to get pissed if they hear thudding bass all day. I also have a sort of cut-off time when I stop working on cars if it involves things like grinders, air wrenches, and other loud things... which means most of the time I quit by 9:00PM. I'm also careful to make sure that if I'm working with things like carb cleaner, oil, or whatnot that I do a careful job of cleaning those things up. I have a fairly large stereo out in the garage too. But I seldom crank the thing up that loud and I turn it off by 7-8PM.

Basically we rent what you would like to buy and as far as I'm concerned if you plan on staying in a major metro area that as crammed with people as the Bay Area, you'll have limitations as far as what you can realistically do. I say this because I grew up in a rural area where we NEVER gave a second thought about working on things in the shop until 2:00AM. I felt like I had a lot more freedom in that kind of environment: You can own a big chunk of land far from the neighbors for cheap, build whatever you want, when you want, and basically have a little piece of paradise to yourself. Out here I feel that even if you own a home, you really don't "own" it per say because 10-20 feet away is another house right up next to yours and as such you have to constantly remain reasonably quite and courteous for the sake of your neighbors.

This is one of the many reasons we're probably moving out of here once we've saved a big enough stack of cash to buy our own chunk of land somewhere else- maybe 10-20 minutes out of some 2nd tier smaller metro like Nashville, Austin, or whatnot.

2   bmwman91   2011 Sep 16, 4:08am  

Good points. I can definitely see how living around here can put serious limitations on projects. When I was using my parents' garage for projects (I still can if I drive there, but I feel bad making a mess in there), I had similar rules about power tools & noise.

If I did have my own garage around here, part of the plan would be to strip it to the studs & install some heavy acoustic damping materials on all sides & in the rafters. With some time, money & effort you can definitely build yourself an acoustically isolated space. It will be a bit expensive, but it is an option if you own (or the landlord is OK with you doing it).

For now, I am considering a membership at The Sawdust Shop in Sunnyvale. You pay monthly dues and get to use a fully equipped shop with more tools than any individual would ever fit into a garage. Another option I have considered is renting a U-Store type space & using it as a workshop. A number of them around here have small bathrooms & a little office...if I could get a few people in on one, it would be a great alternative. Those places are usually pretty far from houses, so noise would be less of an issue too.

3   ryan7013   2011 Sep 16, 4:13am  

In mid 20s, married, with a dog. Have been renting since graduating college. Would like a yard and privacy and ability to update without having to change things back the way they were. Rates are super low and rent is increasing yearly (even though I fight it). It's a PITA to keep moving each year to find a cheaper place to rent from.

I live in central Florida area.

4   corntrollio   2011 Sep 16, 4:18am  

When I have been a renter at various points, I have done many of those things. It's easy enough to have a yard or detached walls as a renter -- just rent a house. I think the exception would be landscaping-type things (e.g. I'd plant some fruit-bearing trees, for example). However, it's possible to do such things in planter boxes, as friends of mine have done.

To ryan7013's point, it's not impossible to be a longer-term renter. When I have rented, I have signed leases longer than 1 year, and certainly even stayed somewhere more than 1 year even as month-to-month for a significant period of time.

5   edvard2   2011 Sep 16, 4:22am  

I've been fairly lucky with my renting and working on cars situation. My previous place didn't have a garage. But it had a couple of parking spaces and believe it or not I restored a 55' Ford over the course of a summer in one of the spots- no garage of nothing. The Landlord was fine with it as long as I kept it cleaned up. The same goes for my current landlord. In fact I sometimes help him fix his cars. I still work on most of my cars outside in the driveway because there's more ventilation and room.

Now- to directly answer your question about "Why I want to buy", well it basically comes down to a few things- some of which I will unashamedly admit to.

1: I hate debt and so does my Wife. So the idea is to buy a house outright for cash. Hence the plan to move away from here. Doing so would enact a plan in which suddenly jobs and careers would become less important and the requirement to make a high income becomes unnecessary. With no house or car payments ( I keep cars forever) We would have very little in terms of monthly expenses. The house in this sense would basically provide the means to cut out a major monthly expense. My target max price is between 150-200k.

2: Yes... I sort of like the idea of owning a house. Sort of a nice "Cozy" feeling. That said- and going back to No.1, buying one here in the Bay Area would scare the crap out of me. The prices means having a relentlessly due payment, one that would be due every month and one that would likely be a lot more than what I am paying in rent. But owning- as in I actually own the house- is a nice idea.

3: I collect a lot of junk. I like the idea of having a permanent place to display it. In the back of my head I have this fear that someday when we move- its going to be a nightmare because over the past 8 years we've amassed a LOT of junk. Moving that will be a big undertaking. It would be nice knowing that since we own the house, all the stuff in it is somewhat permanent.

6   uomo_senza_nome   2011 Sep 16, 4:59am  

If I live in a place where it's cheaper to buy than rent, it is nice to have the personal space and avoid the hassle of moving. Also having the personal space means that you can design and maintain your livable space like you want without any landlord restrictions.

I do not like getting into huge debt which is why I hate 30 yr mortgages. With a 10 or 15 yr mortgage, if I have the ability to service the debt in a meaningful fashion - then that debt is productive and helps me get to the future where I don't have to pay rent at all. When I try to see if the mortgage on a 10-15yr loan covers the rent, I don't find any houses that are desirable LOL. The whole real estate market is tilted towards ensuring you get into long-term debt.

7   ryan7013   2011 Sep 16, 5:07am  

austrian...just because you get a 30 year mortgage doesn't mean you have to take 30 years to pay it off...

8   mjfhorsey   2011 Sep 16, 6:06am  

Hey Edvard2 - good idea I am 20 minutes outside of Nashville now - 2 houses (1 rental) on 8 acres. Have lived in apartments and houses in bay area and LA for 20+ years so I feel I have a good comparison.

Primarily when married with kids it is more about day to day conveniences of life and financial. Buying settles you in to a commute, school zone, predictable places to get your stuff done. Predictable payments, enjoyment of the home when you can adjust it to suit you and know the investment is yours. I think it is age related too...mid 40's you just don't want to have to keep starting over anymore. That might be boring to a single person in their 20's.

I did earlier on get the benefit of trying on different lifestyles that came with moving just about every 2-5 years though it does come at a price. Every time you move the old furniture and decorations don't quite fit and you end up spending a lot to get the place to your taste from house to apartment to house again.

It's cool to think back on how fun it was to live in an apartment in Marina del Rey but in the 1990's renting a 2 bdrm apt was $1250 - you can imagine what it is now...over $2k. Lifestyle factors are more important than the money though I think.

9   uomo_senza_nome   2011 Sep 16, 6:13am  

ryan7013 says

just because you get a 30 year mortgage doesn't mean you have to take 30 years to pay it off...

that's true, you can try and pre-pay. But what I'm trying to say is that house prices are valued with the assumption that a 30-yr mortgage will be taken (that being the most common). Prices tend to remain at elevated levels. the fact that Americans don't mind paying interest for their entire life-span has been exploited to the fullest!

10   Katy Perry   2011 Sep 16, 6:33am  

Not sure why you think you need to buy a loan to have any of that I do that in my rental now. it's all in you head folks. move if the landloard won't let you live the way you want.
Debt is Slavery.

11   Katy Perry   2011 Sep 16, 6:35am  

bmwman91 says

For me, my reasons for wanting a SFH & worrying (probably too much) about it are, in no particular order:
1 - Garage as a workshop for a)loudspeaker building & b) woodworking
2 - Garage for car projects
3 - No attached walls...for making proper use of reason 1a. A 150lb subwoofer that hits -3dB at 12Hz is what some family members have nicknamed "the lease-breaker."
4 - A yard & long-term residence for pets (cats, probably).
5 - A yard & long-term residence for kids (GOD HELP ME IF I CHOOSE THIS SOMEDAY!)

Just because you own a loan doesn't mean you can do any of this HOA suck
think out of the box and if the box is holding you down then move to one that allows you to do what you want.
debt is slavery

12   Katy Perry   2011 Sep 16, 6:37am  

some of you folks just love debt i think. Actually the VA JAy JAy loves debt. keeps the pole right where they want them ,.......working, tired, controlled.
debt is slavery
be free.

13   mjfhorsey   2011 Sep 16, 7:14am  

Americans don't mind paying interest for their entire life-span has been exploited to the fullest!

...true...and a renter will pay rent for their entire life span also unless they can find someone with a paid off house to move in with!

14   PockyClipsNow   2011 Sep 16, 7:30am  

Katy Perry is wise.

I will add a small bit of wisdom for the 20 something males. If you are considering a woman for marriage look at her mother. If the mother is fat, she will get fat also after marriage probably. Its genetics and learned.

But that being said, my 'backup retirement plan' is to live with a fat girl in her paid off house! lol. (I'm serious - it should be very easy to arrange this if you are a dude over 60 who has his shit together except maybe not financially. Its beats being homeless or working at walmart....-maybe- lol).

15   bmwman91   2011 Sep 16, 9:06am  

Katy Perry says

some of you folks just love debt i think. Actually the VA JAy JAy loves debt. keeps the pole right where they want them ,.......working, tired, controlled.

debt is slavery

be free.

There is some truth here. I wouldn't mind renting a house with some other people, but my fiancee is not on-board with that. She also balks at the idea of renting a house since it is generally more costly than renting an apartment, and she doesn't see the point in paying any rent that is even close to a mortgage. Basically, everything is a compromise. I live in an apartment & have to concede some lifestyle bits, but I get a 6 minute bike ride as a commute and somewhat reasonable rent. The alternative would be to pay much less rent in a house where I could do more of what I want, but then have to spend a LOT more time commuting. It is what it is, and I am OK with this. I'd rather have more free time to pursue all the other hobbies that don't require a garage than spend hours driving every week, which would detract from my time & energy for garage-hobbies anyway.

F-it, I am renting a storage space for use as a workshop! I hate the idea of debt, particularly when corrupt banks that manipulate the government to everyone's detriment would sell my down payment, that they gave me 1% APY on (at best), back to me at 4%+.

Pockyclips, if that is true then I guess my fiancee will still be pretty attractive when she is 50. Hopefully you are right.

16   PockyClipsNow   2011 Sep 16, 9:17am  

renting a storage space to use for toys/hobbies sounds great.

especially in this downturn it might be more affordable (vacant commercial everywhere)

Also one item to consider is possibly renting an entire/or most of a garage from someone you trust. I am doing this for way cheap and my only complaint is the long distance from my crappy apt.

Espcially if you know any single women who own a home, they do not normally fully utilize the garage (unless they are hoarders)

17   bmwman91   2011 Sep 16, 10:28am  

Good point. For now, the closest safe garage I know of is my parents' garage. I like visiting them, but I do try not to "use them" for their garage. It is sort of a crappy drive on weekdays anyway.

None of my friends in my age group (26-30) own anything with a garage either. I think that a lot of people these days are fine with a carport, and no yard to maintain themselves.

There are many storage spaces around. I will check pricing...

18   TMAC54   2011 Sep 16, 3:15pm  

The reason we prefer ownership as opposed to leasing is called the "BUNDLE OF RIGHTS"
What Does Bundle Of Rights Mean?
A set of legal rights afforded to the real estate title holder. The bundle of rights includes the right of possession (the property is owned by the title holder), the right of control (the owner controls the property's use), the right of exclusion (the holder can deny people access to the property), the right of enjoyment (the holder can use the property in ANY legal manner) and the right of disposition. (sell it, rent it, farm it, paint it, etc.)

I need a garage too !

19   Austinhousingbubble   2011 Sep 16, 7:25pm  

I personally never cared about houses until 2001, at which time, my longtime landlady (started renting from her at 18) lost her mind and started doing really weird shit...long story.

It was a great place while it lasted -- a large brick prewar flat above an old florist shop across from a 7-11 (yeah!). After 5pm weekdays, I could crank up the hi-fi and engage in all manner of clang and clamor I fancied until 7AM the following morning. Weekends were all mine. It was a blissful environment for subsistence and I got a lot of good work done in that building. In all those years I honestly never ever thought of buying a house. Whenever someone occasionally suggested it, I all but recoiled. It seemed pedestrian -- the first step toward Dullsville. When I left my building for the last time, I kissed the walls.

It wasn't until I had to start shopping around for other more compromising rentals that I thought about actually buying. Mostly, I no longer wanted to have my living situation subject to the increasingly strange and sudden whims of another human being.

Sadly, my wife and I had the cruel misfortune of having our careers and salaries hit stride just as the bubble started inflating -- so much so that it seemed like the growth in housing costs each year were pegged to the growth of our combined remuneration and savings power. It was very bizarre and frustrating, as this was before I had even the vaguest understanding of asset speculation or credit bubbles. Long story less long: I held off buying, despite the behest and tortured math of friends and colleagues because it just didn't make sense to me at all. The whole mania surrounding housing really grossed me out. It felt like Amway or something.

Anyway, the things I want from a place are the same today as they were way back then, and that is basic control over my domicile. I need a space where I know I won't show up from work one day and discover a work crew bricking in a window. I also fancy the stability a permanent residence allows for starting large involved projects. Among other things, I like restoring old musical instruments and fucking around with old cars (another commenter mentioned having an old '55; I had a '55 Ford Victoria up until three years ago) and it doesn't really do to have an eviscerated automobile in the garage when your living arrangements are one rent hike away from being upended. I've been lucky, but I don't like to bank on luck.

Finally, the look and feel of a place is important. You realize this most when you come back to a place from a trip; if you don't feel glad to see it as the stinky taxi cab pulls up out front, then it's probably not a very energizing environment -- which means it's probably not an environment which helps your gears turn or puts you in the right mood to do whatever it is you like to do. I've lived in some hovels where I didn't even want to listen to certain albums. Sorry if that sounds like NAR claptrap, but yeah, atmosphere is important.

So, yeah. All that.

20   SJ   2011 Sep 17, 1:27am  

For me, owning a home for many reasons:

1- garage and yard for projects, keeping new cars safe and clean
2- privacy
3- tax benefits
4- more quiet than apartment
5- more space

21   bubblesitter   2011 Sep 17, 5:20am  

SJ says

For me, owning a home for many reasons:

1- garage and yard for projects, keeping new cars safe and clean

2- privacy

3- tax benefits

4- more quiet than apartment

5- more space

Can you do those while renting a house instead of buying the same?

22   EastCoastBubbleBoy   2011 Sep 17, 10:39am  

1) More living space - A 1200 ft2 apartment with attic and no garage. it gets crowded quick when you have kids (and all the stuff that comes with them). Plus an extra bedroom would be nice.

2) Land (a want, more than a need) so I can do what I want. Tell the kids to run around out back and not have to worry (as much) about them. Grow a garden Gabey. Have a place to hang out and entertain guests. I can't explain why - but I've always wanted a nice big chunk of land to call my own.

That's really it. Sure I could rent a house, but most of the ones in my area are people trying to cover their ridiculous holding costs, so buying wouldn't cost that much more than renting an equivalent space.

That said, buying will more than double my current monthly outlay, but of course, if I were to buy, I'd have twice the space.

I'm closer to buying - but its still darn hard to pull the trigger. When your committing that much cash, time and effort, you want it to be as close to "perfect" as possible. A "starter" home does not make economic sense in my market. When I do buy, it's going to be a place I'm in for the long haul.

23   Sprezzatura   2011 Sep 17, 10:52am  

I've hit the point where I want to buy. Mostly because the majority of rental housing stock is not all that nice, and I'm getting tired of low-end kitchen appliances, cheap carpets, thin walls, and no ability to change anything.

Most recently I tried renting a condo unit and it's been a cut above the standard rental housing, but now the owner wants to sell the place (asking price is way over what I am able to pay, sadly).

So rather than go through it all over again I am looking very seriously at buying. I'm sick of not having control over where I live.

24   Truthplease   2011 Sep 17, 11:10am  

I only bought because I moved from San Diego to a rural part of North Carolina. I couldn't believe how cheap it was out here and plenty of land. I have a garden and a nice house that has a cheap price. Rents are higher than my mortgage. If a big collapse happens, the house is cheap so I fall at a lower rate. My primary driver for buying was rents. It was break even when I did my calculations from Patrick's website.

25   toothfairy   2011 Sep 17, 4:21pm  

my first house was bought because i couldnt stand being able to hear neighbors through the walls the apartment.
and every time a new neighbor moved in it was a crapshoot as to how their lifestyle would impact me.

yes you can rent a house but living in somebody elses house you can never get too comfortable.

For example Im remodeling my laundry room/work shop and im thinking of install some of those nice husky tool cabinets like these here
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202600938/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

Its hard to do nice stuff like this when your renting youre kind of forced to live with the hand your dealt.

26   alpo   2011 Sep 17, 6:04pm  

By the time we could afford a desirable SFH, I had got completely sick of the whole apartment renting environment: dealing with management, apartment complexes with transient crowds, rent increases, apartment hunting every few years, parking problems, etc.

Sure I could have rented a SFH, but then to me renting a SFH for around $3,200 per month seemed like a stupid idea since that is more or less what our mortgage turned out to be after 20% down.

We didn't want to move into a condo or a town home (too crowded like the apartment complexes that we lived in) and made sure that the SFH we bought was not part of any HOA and did not have any back neighbors.

Now I have complete freedom to plant stuff in front and back yards and gradually customize the house exactly as I want it (something that would never be possible in a rental).

Best of all, I like the added security that comes out of living in your own home and knowing that someday I will own this place free and clear. I also like the freedom of being able to do anything that I damn well (legally) please on my own property.

My current retirement plan includes owning two SFH free and clear: one that I would live in and the other that I would rent for income rather than relying on 401k plans and wall street ups and downs.

27   kc6zlv   2011 Sep 17, 8:20pm  

Gardening - I choose places to rent based on the ability to garden. Most landlords don't care. The ones who don't maintain the landscaping love having a gardener as a tenant. The problem is other tenants. There are those that are inspired by my gardening then insist I'm being selfish by taking up the whole property to garden. Then there are those who think my garden the cause of everything sinus issue they have. Lastly, there are the obnoxious extroverts who start removing plants because they want the extra space to hold beer parties.

Garage and workspace.

I like to play music a little loud. With one exception, nobody has complained about the volume. For some reason everyone who moves in next to me listens to raunchy metal and hates everything else. I hate metal.

My experience has been I usually have to fix things anyway and the most I get in return is the amount I paid for whatever needed to be replaced while the landlord gets $200+ worth in free labor for the repairs. So I figure I might as well buy a fixer-upper for cheap.

I don't want to have to see and say hi to my neighbours every time I come and go.

I won't have to live six feet from a drama queen with herd of undisciplined kids who gets in a fight her boyfriend three times a day.

28   Done!   2011 Sep 17, 11:31pm  

When I bought my mantra was, "I want the MOST house for the LEAST money".

I wanted at least a 1/4 acre lot,
at least 2K sqft house,
3 brs,
an extra room with a door, not meant to be a LR, Florida Room, Dinning room or Den. That I could use for a slash Office/Studio/Man Cave.

Also wanted a house that had a MIL quarters, or detachable unit, or at least an efficiency on the property.
If I'll be paying a mortgage until I'm 70, I might need some extra help in the form of renting that extra space out, at some point.

That's what I wanted(got), and I had a million reasons for it.

29   Anselm   2011 Sep 21, 1:11am  

I want to buy because

1) Permanent place to restore cars
2) Can change the property to suit my taste
3) Buying in the area I am looking at is cheaper than renting equivalent property
4) Are I am looking at has strong rental market and the home I buy will be able to do double duty as a rental property if I decide to move.
5) Hard to find what I am looking for in a rental
6) Won't have to hassle with a landlord
7) If you are financing a house interest rates are so low that factoring in a 20% further drop in prices with a rise interest rates makes buying now or later a wash

30   bubblesburst   2011 Sep 21, 2:49am  

Buying a house doesn't automatically mean you have to have debt. Expenses..sure. Property taxes, maintenance, etc. But some of us paid cash for our houses or have them completely paid off. I actually own many properties that I rent out and they are all paid off with no mortgages. Buying them was the best decision I ever made because the income they are spinning off is great, especially now that CD's are paying almost nothing.

Renters have continual expenses renting forever so it's not like renters don't have ongoing expenses as well. Plus they will never own renting something. Hey, renting is ok but the fact remains, many people that rent, don't really save up the extra savings vs. owning. It's not like many stash all their savings from renting vs. buying. Many blow their cash and then when they are 60 or 70 and renting all their lives....and don't own anything and don't know where rental prices will be. It's a major bummer. One of the biggest advantages to me is knowing what your fixed cost will be if you have a mortgage and especially retiring and having a place you own without worrying about where you will live. You can then decide if you want to sell and then go rent but at least you will be retired and own the property.

I'm not trying to push buying vs. renting because I rented for many years. But I think everyone has to look at their personal situation carefully and see if buying makes sense for them.

I rented for many years while I was single. I owned a house many years ago before the bubble but sold it during the bubble and then waited on the sidelines many years. Having kids really pushed my motivation to get back in as an owner of a house.

Some of the reasons were stability for the kids. We knew we would be here for the long haul and bought in a great school district and community. We didn't want to move around in rentals which sometimes you can't control. Stability was a big part of that. Also, wife likes gardening and we also wanted to customize the house exactly how we wanted it with the bathrooms we like, hardwood flooring we like, etc.

Buying can make sense for many people. Rents are also very high in good neighborhoods of San Diego in bigger houses (5 bedrooms/ 5 bathrooms). So financially it works out in the long-run as well buying vs. renting.

I do get the arguments from many of you not to own but just as I think many unrealistic owners of houses were permabulls during the bubble, I think many of you are permabears during this housing mess. Prices aren't going to fall forever. Things run in cycles.

31   Shawn   2011 Sep 21, 3:18am  

I'd like to buy because I'd like to have a home I own flat out by the time I retire. There are a lot of other smaller factors like garage/home theater/game room/etc but like others have said, I realize I can have these just as easily buy choosing to rent a bigger place.

32   Future Cash Buyer   2011 Sep 21, 1:31pm  

throwing away money because I don't like money

33   ryan7013   2011 Sep 21, 11:28pm  

Future cash...so you paid for your home in cash? I would say rent is throwing away money.

34   DoctorRenter   2011 Sep 22, 12:55am  

My wife and I are getting ready to close on a house purchase in Lamorinda (SF East Bay). I'm a long-time Patrick reader, but after having problems with our second straight landlord--this time, health threatening pest problems not being fixed in a timely manner--and with two young children, one starting Kindergarten and the other starting preschool in the near future, we wanted to stay in the same small community and decided to take the plunge.

We found a reasonably priced probate sale that needs some work (helping us limit crazy, Prop 13-inflated taxes). Financially, we will probably take a loss over time, since it probably will remain cheaper to rent since I believe prices are likely to drop further. Since housing is really an amenity, we see it as an upgrade like paying more to buy a nicer, newer car.

I'll admit that the federal mortgage limits dropping to 625K was an incentive for us, even though I expect prices to drop with this limit change. After many years in grad school, I now have a healthy income but little downpayment saved. Putting 10% down now on a non-jumbo mortgage gets us into a market which we wouldn't be able to enter for a few years once 20% down (plus reserves) is needed for what will soon be defined as a jumbo mortgage.
With my higher income, the tax benefits dampen the loss if prices drop substantially.

35   Katy Perry   2011 Sep 22, 1:41am  

Wants and needs,..wants and needs.

" Why do we Buy stuff we don't need? with money we don't have. to impress friends we don't really like." -

Ego's a Bitch. Debt is slavery!

36   Shawn   2011 Sep 22, 2:17am  

Katy Perry says

Ego's a Bitch. Debt is slavery!

Debt is temporary, so long as you know how to manage it.

Ego is slavery. Keeping up with the Joneses creates lifetime indebtedness in pursuit of a life style not afforded.

37   FuckTheMainstreamMedia   2011 Sep 22, 2:21am  

The people having problems with landlords and rental issues like noise and stuff....its not renting that is the issue. It's the property. Bad rental situation isn't any reasonable impetus to buy. Motivation to move? Yes. Buy? No.

You can move to a better rental and not have those issues. For instance, the building I live in has very thick solid walls. Literally the only noise ever comes from the hallway only. I can't hear either of my neighbors. I blast my tv and music and they can't hear me either(I've asked).

I suspect its largely an issue of cheaping out on the rental. I have co-workers who make more than I do, yet live in a cheaper apartment nearby in DTLA. They have smell issues, infestation issues, plumbing issues, etc. It's because they cheaped out. They could afford 2-3x what they are paying in rent...easily into the 2500/mo range at least, which gets pretty nice digs...even too much really unless one person needs 1400 sq ft. But instead they cheaped out cause they don't want to "throw too much money away on rent". And thus they live in crap conditions. And then I supose use it as self rationalization to decide to purchase.

Makes no sense to me.

38   FuckTheMainstreamMedia   2011 Sep 22, 2:23am  

Shawn says

Katy Perry says

Ego's a Bitch. Debt is slavery!

Debt is temporary, so long as you know how to manage it.

Ego is slavery. Keeping up with the Joneses creates lifetime indebtedness in pursuit of a life style not afforded.

Eh, not so much. I'm pretty sure that the vast majority of mortgages are 30 years, and thats anything but temporary. In a declining market most of these mortgage holders can't sell, hence Katy Perry's comments about debt being slavery.

39   Shawn   2011 Sep 22, 2:38am  

dodgerfanjohn says

Shawn says



Katy Perry says



Ego's a Bitch. Debt is slavery!


Debt is temporary, so long as you know how to manage it.


Ego is slavery. Keeping up with the Joneses creates lifetime indebtedness in pursuit of a life style not afforded.


Eh, not so much. I'm pretty sure that the vast majority of mortgages are 30 years, and thats anything but temporary. In a declining market most of these mortgage holders can't sell, hence Katy Perry's comments about debt being slavery.

It's temporary in the sense that you get to choose how long you want to commit. Nobody says you have to take a 30 year mortage, you could buy smaller and take 15 years. You can also walk away when ever you want.

If you convince yourself that you have to borrow the maximum to have the biggest house and the nicest car, or that it's imoral to walk away from such contracts when they are no longer favorable, the servitude your indebted to isn't the bank. It's yourself.

40   bubblesitter   2011 Sep 22, 3:07am  

Seriously! Why would I get a 100K mortgage if the value goes down to 90K the next year. Positive cash flow on an investment property? Misnomer! Try subtracting the value going down from the positive cash flow and wait don't forget to count what that 10K would turn into in 30 years in any other investments.

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