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coriacci1
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2013 Oct 23, 2:01am
just the thought of dishing over the realturds 6% commission will keep me in my lovely mission dolores rent controlled 1850sqft pad FOREVER!!!!!! ( or at least as long as I can hold on to it).
retire59
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2013 Oct 23, 2:47am
I understand when some say that "no debt" is the best way...but it is all semantics instead of economics. Unless you plan to live "rent free" somehow, you have to pay for a roof over your head. So you may not be in "debt" but if you plan to not live with your parents for free or in a 'box', you still have "expenses" that must be met.
So I believe it is just a matter of semantics and not ecomonics in that you should always base your 'living' situation on what you can afford... do the math and be realistic and you will be able to decide. the Patrick.net calculator rent vs buy is a good way to start. Take care as this is a very important decision.
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Hey guys, you helped me out a lot last year and I was able to escape from a tricky situation unscathed. I sold my 1br/1ba condo without having a short-sale on the record based on your advice.
My wife and I needed more room since we were having a baby in January, and so we're currently renting a 3br/2ba house with a pool in a great neighborhood. The rent is reasonable for what and where it is, but I still feel like I'm throwing thousands down the drain instead of building equity.
I'd like to buy a reasonable starter home in the future, and I should be able to scrape together 10% down myself, and possibly get some family assistance, depending on the total cost.
But even decent starter homes in the South Bay in good neighborhoods are $500k+, which means a 20% downpayment is $100k.
Having been burned on my condo, I'm naturally cautious. Also, I'm very comfortable in my rental, my family enjoys it, and it's in a great neighborhood I could never afford to buy into. (Rent is $2,390 a month, house appraises at $795,000 on Zillow and was appraised last year for $850,000 for refi purposes by the owner).
So how do I know when the time is right to make my move? Should I just wait until those $500-$700K suburban nearly-identical homes all through the valley drop another 10%? Should I wait until inventory is lower? Or average time on the market is lower? What do I look for?
Compounding the difficulty, we're probably going to try and have another baby in two years, which would be fine in our current house as well - but since 2 kids in day care costs more than my wife makes, our income will probably change a bit in that time frame.
Any advice is appreciated guys.