Home Buying & Real Estate Thread

[s0lefunk]

Put it like this, I’ve never heard the phrase “I sure wish I was paying rent instead of a mortgage” from a homeowner.

Having buyer’s remorse is normal. Maybe you bought too much or too little house. Maybe the location isn’t as ideal as you thought it was. Or maybe maintenance and renovation costs exceeded expectations. Most of that can be prevented with due diligence, thorough research, and conviction.

 

[slaughterx]

I dunno... one major home repair might make some wish that.
















Ultimately nothing beats having your own tho.

 

[Mark Antony]

Yeah i've actually heard that from homeowners.

 

[you go boy]

Put it like this, I’ve never heard the phrase “I sure wish I was paying rent instead of a mortgage” from a homeowner.

Having buyer’s remorse is normal. Maybe you bought too much or too little house. Maybe the location isn’t as ideal as you thought it was. Or maybe maintenance and renovation costs exceeded expectations. Most of that can be prevented with due diligence, thorough research, and conviction.

I remember when I first bought my place I didnt like it... not because of how it looked at the time because it was a big fixer upper and I had to do a ton of renovations... but because my neighbor who lives upstairs I live in a one floor condo was loud AF...but after some time I got used to it... I think she was annoyed by me having friends over late night smoking bud and talking loud outside... so she toned it down a bit lol...I dont regret buying my place at all... if anything I just wish I got a place that had an upstairs and downstairs so I dont have to worry about noise... other than that Im happy...

 

[s0lefunk]

Yeah i've actually heard that from homeowners.

Care to share their rationale?

 

[Mark Antony]

Care to share their rationale?

Just typical "grass is greener" outlook, especially when the repair bills start to pile up. When you gotta drop 5 figures out of nowhere, living somewhere that's fully managed sounds ideal. Though like folks in marriages who miss single life sometimes, I doubt they would actually make that leap.

 

[s0lefunk]

Just typical "grass is greener" outlook, especially when the repair bills start to pile up. When you gotta drop 5 figures out of nowhere, living somewhere that's fully managed sounds ideal. Though like folks in marriages who miss single life sometimes, I doubt they would actually make that leap.

As I said before, buyer’s remorse is normal and can hit at anytime. Conviction is the most important thing when making what will likely be the largest purchase/investment of your life. As with anything man-made maintenance and repair expenses should be expected. Plan accordingly.

 

[Mark Antony]

Ok.

 

[lovehateself]

winter is coming so so is the rain.
dreadful thoughts for some homeowners

 

[HankHill]

Due diligence, thorough research, and conviction come second to money though. Most people’s financials are going to leave them settling on the house they purchased.

The folks with means have no issue with renting instead of owning if the former check’s off all their lifestyle boxes.

I know a couple who are renting out their individual homes and went back to renting for lifestyle reasons. They’re in a good position because the investment incomes covers their mortgage and rent.

Their homes are just a means to make income; the idea of homeownership doesn’t do anything for them. No different than some one buying homes, storefront, cars, etc as investments to supplement the lifestyle they want.

 

[pdino]

^ ultimately they decided to buy so they can enjoy renting from the proceeds of the investment they bought..

 

[Raji Lowenthal]

If I ever went back to renting, I would rent a house.

 

[HankHill]

^ ultimately they decided to buy so they can enjoy renting from the proceeds of the investment they bought..

No. They decided to buy because being a homeowner was a box they wanted to check-off as single adults in their 30s. After getting together, their lifestyle preferences meant going with a rental. Circumstances provided them the means to do that.

 

[アミーゴ]

2 houses in my neighborhood both sold within 3 days and went over by $125k and $90k in the last month

 

[you go boy]

^ part of the reason I didn't want to buy a house and opted for a condo was I didnt want to be responsible for maintanence issues like new roof or damage to the exterior of the house... I coulda bought a ranch but opted against it... If anything I will sell my place and get a townhouse next...

 

[pdino]

Worth noting that tax deductions for owning are considerable: mortgage interest is tax deductible, whatever interest you're paying will be deducted from taxes. Property taxes are tax deductible. For me, both of these are 20k+ in tax deductions

If you convert this home into a rental, there's additional tax deductions: depreciation(Most residential rental property is depreciated at a rate of 3.636% per year for 27.5 years, for a 500k property this is ~18k in tax deductions), expenses for the rental (repairs, renovations). As a rental it's considered a business and anything used for your "business" is tax deductible.

If you rent, there aren't really any tax deductions.

 

[s0lefunk]

A lot of issues are being conflated. Pros and cons to both and everyone’s situations are different. Personally, becoming a homeowner has been one of the best decisions of my life (even with the headaches) that has afforded me even more financial flexibility. YMMV.

 

[アミーゴ]

Hope y’all are able to afford multiples places

I love NT

 

[HarlemShakeStory]

My best advice for anyone shopping for their first home: buy the cheapest house you can live in contently, something at the bottom of your budget. Fix it up some yourself and then use heloc or refi to pull out some of that cash for bigger projects. Get a good inspection but don’t be afraid to buy something that might scare off other buyers. My current home had a tarp on the roof, a broken second floor balcony, and no working a/c (in Florida). Scared off a lot of wives. Bought for $300k in 2019. My neighbors houses have gone for 1.2-1.8 and ours is nicer after several renovations. Used the equity to make other investments using similar strategy.

So many people have told us they wished they bought this house but choose something in better shape, with much less upside. No guts no glory.

 

[mplsdunk]

I bought a dated house but in good shape.

My mortgage is 15 years and 1500 a month. Idgaf. It still is valued at 100k more than I paid.

My house is dated but I do what I want with no crazy payment

 

[アミーゴ]

I bought a dated house but in good shape.

My mortgage is 15 years and 1500 a month. Idgaf. It still is valued at 100k more than I paid.

My house is dated but I do what I want with no crazy payment

Love to hear it brother!

Well done!

 

[206to813]

the “pro” for home ownership for me is simply one thing, equity.
I wouldn’t be able to stomach throwing $ away in rent. Gimme that equity and appreciation. The deductions, pride and ancillary stuff is just extra.
When I’m older and have that “F U” money maybe I’ll rent lol

 

[moderndarwin]

Put it like this, I’ve never heard the phrase “I sure wish I was paying rent instead of a mortgage” from a homeowner.

Having buyer’s remorse is normal. Maybe you bought too much or too little house. Maybe the location isn’t as ideal as you thought it was. Or maybe maintenance and renovation costs exceeded expectations. Most of that can be prevented with due diligence, thorough research, and conviction.

i would much rather rent a nice new 3 bedroom apartment than have my townhouse lol. it’s not remorse because i’m sure in the long run this will work out better financially but the painful delta right now in monthly and annual costs is quite terrible to deal with in the interim. And i say this as someone who loves the place i got, the location, etc. I’d just strongly prefer a nice new apartment where i didn’t have to deal with any home maintenance stuff and i could move to other places easier.

3 bedroom townhouse buy: $8,000
3 bedroom apartment renting: $4,500

I get it that over time these two numbers will get closer and it was a good financial decision over a 10 year time frame. And the above numbers don’t take into account tax benefit so it’s probably more like 6.5k vs 4.5k once tax benefits are properly included. Also California is nuts so that above math is probably much much much more favorable in other states

 

[HarlemShakeStory]

the “pro” for home ownership for me is simply one thing, equity.
I wouldn’t be able to stomach throwing $ away in rent. Gimme that equity and appreciation. The deductions, pride and ancillary stuff is just extra.
When I’m older and have that “F U” money maybe I’ll rent lol

I know “f u money” is subjective, but I don’t know anyone with money that rents as a long term plan. I have known people that came up on money quick who rented mansions for short period of times, but that was the result of poor planning and did not last, and neither did their money.

 

[s0lefunk]

i would much rather rent a nice new 3 bedroom apartment than have my townhouse lol. it’s not remorse because i’m sure in the long run this will work out better financially but the painful delta right now in monthly and annual costs is quite terrible to deal with in the interim. And i say this as someone who loves the place i got, the location, etc. I’d just strongly prefer a nice new apartment where i didn’t have to deal with any home maintenance stuff and i could move to other places easier.

3 bedroom townhouse buy: $8,000
3 bedroom apartment renting: $4,500

I get it that over time these two numbers will get closer and it was a good financial decision over a 10 year time frame. And the above numbers don’t take into account tax benefit so it’s probably more like 6.5k vs 4.5k once tax benefits are properly included. Also California is nuts so that above math is probably much much much more favorable in other states

By how much did you underestimate your monthly housing expenses? And what specifically did you not account for or what came up unexpectedly? What would you have done differently to feel otherwise?

Let’s have a discussion to help others in their rent vs. buy decisions. Personally, our property taxes are expected to balloon. It’ll be a few extra hundred a month but it’s not a surprise to me. Comes with the territory in booming areas.

I’m simply of the opinion you shouldn’t go into a six, seven figure/15-30 year commitment without having a very firm grasp of what comes with it.