patrick.net

We bought in Washington DC in late '95... turned out to be a perfect time as Mayor Marion 'Crackhead' Barry announced soon after buying he was leaving office - prices zoomed overnight. Our $255K house sold for $550K in late 2002.....and we probably didn't put $25,000 in updates in all that while. Net gain.

Moved to NorCal in late 2002. Weren't sure we were staying so we signed 2 year lease. We decided to stay, my business was so-so, so we leased for another 2 years. By 2006, housing prices were madness, so we signed on for another 2 years. By 2008, house prices came down a lot....but, I was too scared to commit scanning the carnage around...so we signed another 2 year lease. In 2010, we seriously looked at homes, but we didn't find anything that was priced reasonably....so we took another 2 year lease.

In mid-2012, we scouted and saw dozens of homes. One we loved back in 2010 was still on the market - at 20% less than in 2010. We have good credit and good income so we got a mortgage commitment from Union Bank and bid 10% less than asking and the owners gave in. It was just good timing - the owners had 2 teenage sons and couldn't afford college without ditching the house for something smaller (they built in 2000 so they had equity in it)

So, I don't know how to characterize myself: I've been a happy homeowner, a quasi-happy renter (except for saving money, it's hard for me to love the concept of renting) and a happy homeowner again.

A patient and lucky bastard might be the best description for me. Visiting Patrick.net every so often rounds out my knowledge level.