How more vulnerable would I be in a house ?

[SpiderHerderParticipant 3829]

Hey !

I’ve been out of debt for a couple of days now (just a car loan) and the thought of buying a house in the next few years crossed my mind (I live in an apartment).

Since an apartment is not an asset, I believe it’s easier to ghost while renting. But at some point I’d like to stop giving my money away to some landlord never to be seen again.

I know that buying a house would “expose” me quite a bit more. In the sense that it is an asset and also I’d have to maintain it which means I’d be outside more, being more visible to unwanted parasites.

Buying a secluded house would help I guess, but depending on what I can get with my budget, I might end up buying something in a town with close neighbours.

Don’t worry, I’d never let anyone in anyway, especially women. But you know how crafty some are.

Anyway, what are your thoughts on this ? Experiences ?

Sorry if it sounds like a vague question.

[QuellParticipant 2538]

Buying a home is a good long-term investment.

– Mortgage is cheaper than rent
– You build equity year over year
– You can sell your home at any time and use the money
– You can rent out your home to make money
– You can borrow against your home if need be

However, if quick ghosting is important to you having assets is going muddy the waters just a bit. You also have taxes and upkeep of the home to consider.

[Secret Agent MGTOWParticipant 22613]

I think you need to figure out how much space you need. If you need a smaller footprint a prefab home/garage in a nice well kept park may be enough, or if you need lots of land and space a house on a rural lot might do it. Lotsa factors to consider.

Women want everything, but want responsibility and accountability for nothing.

[Anonymous 42]

Buy, fix, sell, turnover can make a home pay for itself! Buy low, sell high! Even a side by side mobile home in a trailer park is a better way than renting.

Stay away from slums and high crime areas, those are the worst investments! It’s like comparing the restoration of a Yugo to restoring a desirable vehicle! One’s a looser, the other’s a winner, but the same amount of work restoring either one.

[SpiderHerderParticipant 3829]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

Quell: I’ve calculated it with taxes and upkeep and it would barely be above what I pay for my rent and (former) car payment. So it’s pretty decent.

It’s nice to know that it keeps its value too. You basically get the money you put into it back at the end (well, most of it anyway).

Secret Agent MGTOW: I don’t need that much space. I would buy a house for financial reasons (money I’d get back in the end), a garage (for my hobby), and then for more peace and quiet (no one thumping around upstairs).

We’ll see where this idea of mine goes.

Thanks again.

[SpiderHerderParticipant 3829]

Thanks MGTower. That could be a good idea too.

That’s the thing with me: I don’t think I’m the type of person that does the same thing or stays in the same place for 20-30 years. I need to up and go every 4-5 years. I’d have to see if I’m compatible with home ownership.

I’m pretty handy so I can fix up anything. Thinking, thinking, thinking. haha

[OldBillParticipant]

SpiderHerder wrote:

Anyway, what are your thoughts on this ? Experiences ?

This isn’t a “one size fits all” question, brother. Whether owning a home will be good for you depends entirely on how, what, and where you buy.

Generally speaking, investing in a home – and that’s what you’re hoping you’re doing, investing – is a good long term proposition. The operative phrase in that last sentence is “long term”. You need to think in decades, not years.

When answering your question, the devil is in the details and those details are unique to you.

Do not date. Do not impregnate. Do not co-habitate. Above all, do not marry. Reclaim and never again surrender your personal sovereignty.

[Anonymous 7]

I’m gonna go against the grain here.
I am debt free and chose to rent.

First home/land ownership is a myth. Don’t pay your taxes and see how long you remain owner.

For me owning a house means I get a part-time job(s) of handy-man, landscaper, plumber, etc.

[HermitParticipant 1121]

Another factor to consider: if you see the possibility of relocating somewhere else within the next five years, buying a house may not be such a good idea.

I don't hate women. I just feel better when they're not around.

[Dark Ninja DaveParticipant 273]

I’d say go for it. A man’s home is his castle… you will appreciate having your own space. And as others have already stated, it’s a steady investment.

I had the same concerns as you 5 years ago when I purchased land and built: that I would become an immediate target for stupid lazy cows looking for free accommodation. That never happened, fortunately.

It’s like with your car or your clothes, don’t bring unwanted attention by getting something flashy and ostentatious. Go for practical and modest. Stay away from large “McMansion” style homes, as it’s only you living there you don’t need 5+ bedrooms or whatever, plus you’ll save money with utilities (less to heat/cool) and maintenance on crappy modcons.

[DarkRyuParticipant 2354]

For the vast majority of people, it’s not “renting vs owning,” but rather “renting vs. renting + investing.” You don’t ever own the home. With the mortgage, taxes, insurance, etc. it costs the same (or more!) than renting. The only difference is, you can’t move easily without taking a HUGE loss. You’re betting that the home you buy is going to appreciation in value (or at least that it won’t lose value!). If it does, then you’ve made out. If it loses value, you lose out big time.

Remember that with a mortgage, the interest is paid before the principle. So for example a $1,500 mortgage payment would look something like this for the first month:

Principle: $335
Interest: $865
Taxes: $200
Insurance: $100

So assuming your home retains its current value, you’ve invested $335 into your home. This is a good deal so long as the maintenance and repairs don’t equal or exceed the equity you build. As you pay the mortgage down, the principle amount goes up and the interest goes down, so in 10 years for example you’ll be paying say $600 in principle and $600 in interest. However, the older your home gets, the more your maintenance and repair costs increase so it about evens out.

If your home appreciates in value, you get a nice bonus and can either sell it to cash out that bonus, or borrow against it (home equity loan or line of credit) in order to make improvements or buy another property.

The mortgage on my main home looks like this at the moment:

Principle: $560
Interest: $1,125
Taxes: $670
Insurance: $212
___________________
TOTAL: $2,567

A house like mine would rent for about $2,800/month. So not only am I saving $233/month on rent, but I’m building $560/month in equity. So if you add those two numbers up, I’m saving almost $800/month compared to renting. In 10 years my house would probably rent for $3,300/month and my payment will (hopefully) be about the same assuming they don’t jack up the taxes. So I’ll be saving roughly $1,400/month compared to renting (my payment will be about $700 less than renting, and I should be building at least $700/month in equity).

THIS is why the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Renting is literally throwing money down the toilet. Now I’m not saying you should necessarily buy. If you’re in a liberal s~~~hole, the prices are too damned high and have nowhere to go but down. You’ll lose your shirt when prices return to reality. You also shouldn’t buy a run down piece of s~~~ unless you REALLY know what you’re doing and know how to fix s~~~ (and of course can get a killer deal). But it’s hard to be in a worse position than renting. Unless you plan to move in the next 5 years, then buy something.

[Deadly RaverParticipant]

I’m kinda in the same place, that is, looking for a house. Probably gonna wait until late in the year depending on what the money situation looks like. I’ll probably keep an eye on this thread for tips and ideas.

Learn from the past, Control the present, and you will know the Future.

[OldBillParticipant]

That’s an excellent explanation of some of the many financial issues by DarkRyu.

Do not date. Do not impregnate. Do not co-habitate. Above all, do not marry. Reclaim and never again surrender your personal sovereignty.

[ShineParticipant 1696]

House prices are though the roof downunder, but from the perspective here, if you could have afforded to get in way back when it would have been a hell of a ride on the way up.

I’m with Grue on this one, you never really own a house, it’s just another form of investing / gambling. Same as bitcoin, but now the stakes are loaded who can tell which way prices will go.

There’s a saying, buy where you want to invest, rent where you want to live.

From watching the Australian market increase 500-600% in 20 years, this certainly is true as the prices have spiked in city centers and spread out to the rural country areas at a much slower rate, but the growth has eventually reached and when it does property prices go up overnight.

If you can keep an investment in a good area, with a good tenant, and rent pays for the property, then there is much to be gained, and in twenty years you can collect the keys to your free house off the tenant – in theory.

"Society is to blame" Denton

[SpiderHerderParticipant 3829]

Great replies guys. That’s a lot to think about, for sure.

I know I can save up a lot of money in my current situation. If I bought a house, it would be small, around 100,000$. I’d save up about 1/5th for a downpayment. I could probably pay it off in about 10-12 years if I kept the same job. Just to give an idea.

So DarkRyu, if I understand correctly, if I bought a bigger house (let’s say 200,000$) and would only keep it for five years and tried to sell it (assuming the value remains the same), I would’ve paid more interest than anything else, so I’d lose regardless. Which is why it’s only worth it in the long-term like Old Bill said.

Am I understanding this right ?

I could also stay in my current situation, debt-free and renting like Grue, save up money and start with some basic investments.

Dark Ninja Dave wrote:

I had the same concerns as you 5 years ago when I purchased land and built: that I would become an immediate target for stupid lazy cows looking for free accommodation. That never happened, fortunately.

It’s like with your car or your clothes, don’t bring unwanted attention by getting something flashy and ostentatious. Go for practical and modest. Stay away from large “McMansion” style homes, as it’s only you living there you don’t need 5+ bedrooms or whatever, plus you’ll save money with utilities (less to heat/cool) and maintenance on crappy modcons.

Thanks for your post, Dark Ninja Dave. That was my main question (not that the subject of buying a house itself is off-topic, it’s also much appreciated). Good to hear about the gold diggers NOT coming after you. Yeah, Modest is my middle name haha. I’ll keep gathering numbers as far as my budget goes and see from there. I’m not in a hurry. Who knows, maybe I won’t buy.

There’s this constant battle within, about the need to remain able to just up and go if my situation becomes unbearable vs. the desire to have a garage to work on my hobby, have no noisy neighbours (I’m aware I could still have noisy neighbours if I owned a house) and also be able to build an investment (that’s not the right word, but you know what I mean).

I’m sure with time and reflection, it’ll become clear.

[ForeverDoneParticipant 2928]

I wish I never bought my house. It costs a lot more dough to maintain a home and pay for utilities than an apt. Been here over ten years, wouldn’t get my money back. As for a chick magnet, unless it’s a mansion in like Los Angeles or Miami, I think you’d be fine. I’m halfway decent looking, and women do not knock down my door. Then again, this is NY women…

[ForeverDoneParticipant 2928]

Anonymous wrote:

Buy, fix, sell, turnover can make a home pay for itself! Buy low, sell high! Even a side by side mobile home in a trailer park is a better way than renting.

Stay away from slums and high crime areas, those are the worst investments! It’s like comparing the restoration of a Yugo to restoring a desirable vehicle! One’s a looser, the other’s a winner, but the same amount of work restoring either one.

What do you have against Yugos? I think you’re being a bit unfair to Yugos… LOL.

[SpiderHerderParticipant 3829]

ForeverDone wrote:

I wish I never bought my house. It costs a lot more dough to maintain a home and pay for utilities than an apt. Been here over ten years, wouldn’t get my money back.

Hmm sorry to hear that. But would you lose more money than what you would’ve paid in rent had you rented an apartment instead ?

[RhinoParticipant 3477]

Pros: Build equity and good investment. You don’t have to deal with noisy neighbors (make sure you spend a Friday and Saturday late at night to see if you will have good neighbors and no trains or plains making a ton of noise as sound can travel miles away depending on location).

You get to drive up to the house and unload groceries and other heavy stuff right to your door. You can paint and renovate the interior of the house any way you like so long as it is nothing major like a new addition to make it your own.

Cons: If anything breaks down be ready to pay large sums of money to fix it like a new roof or furnace (7k for roof and 10k for furnace in my area that I paid in the last few years). You will have to mow the lawn once a week year round or shovel snow in winter months either way you will be doing work once a week at least.

Don’t buy a house that has any large pieces of wood attached to it as you will have to paint it every 5-7 years. I have a large Victorian style porch with huge decorative beams with a wooden fence running along it and it is a pain in the butt to repaint. Same with wooden shutters stay away from those too.

Buy a house if you plan to live and work in the area for at least 10 years or more if you move around every 5 years or less for work or because you get restless home ownership is not for you. As you can see you can’t move out when you want it could take up to a year to sell a house depending on the market and where you bought it.

Now down to the things you need to watch for before buying a house. Calculate the cost of the property taxes into the monthly payment along with the utilities and home insurance. I can’t stress enough how important this is because I have seen people only after one or two years end up selling their house because they can’t afford the property taxes alone. Get a reputable home inspector that has been in the business for a very long time to do the inspection one with 20 years or more if you can find him.

Get a survey done on your land prior to purchase trust me on this. I have seen sellers (even banks do this) put city land into your property to inflate the price because you think you are getting everything in the survey they provide for you. When it comes time for you to get permits to build or the city wants to use the land that they own to build or do work on it you will find out that you don’t own a plot of land that you thought was yours. The city will not reimburse you for your lost land because you need to do your due diligence prior to buying the land.

Another example that I had to deal with personally was I wanted to tear down and install a new fence on my property. Two neighbors complained that the old fence was built on their property and I couldn’t put the new fence where it was before. I had to pay $800 for a survey just so I could prove that it was my land. Only one neighbor helped with the survey cost the other told me to screw myself. Lesson learned so now learn from my mistake.

Finally get a good lawyer and make sure he checks everything including the survey and all your hard work matches up to your records and what he has on file so the purchase can go smooth without any problems.

Another tip decide what you want to do with your land. If you want to grow vegetables or keep chickens check the bylaws in your area and decide what size of land you need for your hobbies like repairing cars or storing vehicles or other things you may need. If you don’t want to mow large amounts of grass get smaller plot of land or invest in a riding mower or a snow blower. Either way you will have to buy other stuff you never needed before like tools and a mower as an example and it will add up as time goes on but these expenses can be managed.

If I had to do it all over again I would learn from my mistakes and still buy a house it is worth it. If you like the city life don’t buy rural as you will not like the commute if you work in the city. I bought mine in a rural area it is cleaner air and I don’t mind the commute but everyone is different. Anyway I hope this helps if you have any other questions feel free to ask. If I remember anything else I will add it at a later time good luck with your decision brother.

[ForeverDoneParticipant 2928]

SpiderHerder wrote:

ForeverDone wrote:

I wish I never bought my house. It costs a lot more dough to maintain a home and pay for utilities than an apt. Been here over ten years, wouldn’t get my money back.

Hmm sorry to hear that. But would you lose more money than what you would’ve paid in rent had you rented an apartment instead ?

Hmm.. Prob. a bit more or a wash when compared to living in an apt in the city. The prop. taxes were raised a few years ago and that was what threw everything out of whack. Prior to moving into my house, which I love btw, I ran the #’s for rent vs buy. Buy was slightly ahead as the rents were getting out of control if you wanted to live in a decent area. After the market crash, many of the NY municipalities raised their prop and school taxes. That is what started to hurt. I was able to cut in some areas and increase working in others to re-adjust. I had a flood a few years ago due to the hurricane, so that also had me spend extra $$$ that I wasn’t planing on. You know what they say, when it rains, it pours… Very true in my case.

However, I will say, since I’ve usually been a loner (still like female company from time to time though), I prefer living in my own house on my own property not having to deal with other people’s rules and regulations. If you do it for that reason, then go for it. If you do it for an investment, you will prob. lose money. Also, consider buying a foreclosure. Mine was a foreclosure and I did a lot of the work myself.

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