Kind of a poor play on words, but I thought that I'd take some time to take a quick look at the idea of buying a house again.
My thing is that I really, really don't want to pay a whole lot for a house at this time. The idea is to have a "starter home" that meets my needs. Then, maybe some day when I build up enough savings, perhaps then I will afford what I really want.
But first thing's first I say.
Using Zillow, I've narrowed it down to four potential candidates. All of them are cheap condos in the $70k to $80k price range. However, they are near a college campus so they should be able to hold some kind of value.
I then went over to
Can I just say that, when the total cost of ownership is calculated, it's absolutely frightening? Even on a 70k property, by the time you finish paying, the final cost would be more like 125k! Wow! WOW! I've looked at the numbers before and know what to expect, but it still stuns me every time I see it.
It's also why I THANK MY FAMILY to be able to live rent-free right now. The financial impact of this temporary arrangement is immense, and I do not want to waste it! I'm going to save as much as I can and re-visit my options for increasing my earnings!
December 29th, 2008 at 05:04 am 1230527043
There is NOTHING, NOTHING in my town in that price range. NOTHING. Maybe add $300,000 to that for a condo. I can't even imagine getting anything for that price.
It sounds like you've got a good deal going for now.
December 29th, 2008 at 05:16 am 1230527775
December 29th, 2008 at 06:57 am 1230533871
December 29th, 2008 at 01:33 pm 1230557589
December 29th, 2008 at 02:40 pm 1230561650
It will make more sense once you have to rent again. For now you are comparing $0 to $125k. Once you are renting, factoring renting for the rest of your life, and buying won't sounds so bad.
December 29th, 2008 at 03:06 pm 1230563176
Still, the fact that I have to pay essentially 78% extra in compounded interest on anything blows my mind! (Based on a 6.5% loan.) Nooo thank you!
Of course, as fern pointed out, I am assuming a minimum payment and I don't have to do that either. I can always either pay it down early or invest in a house fund on the side and then pay it down that way.
But the ideal method is to simply save up enough before buying in the first place. That would allow me to avoid the brunt of the interest payments. That's why I feel so fortunate about being able to do that.
Hehe. Kind of fun to talk about stuff like this with you guys. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this so far....
December 29th, 2008 at 04:57 pm 1230569844
December 29th, 2008 at 05:06 pm 1230570377
However, I don't look at this uncertainty with disdain. After all, it's not like I'm losing anything. Quite the contrary.
But, it's all the more reason why I need to save and invest what I can, while I still can!
December 29th, 2008 at 07:15 pm 1230578154
On the other hand, the fact that you are in a college town is a plus. You might want to consider renting out your condo until you are ready to move. Property in college towns is so easily rented out.
As for the interest, you can one day pay the mortgage more and decrease the amount of interest that you pay.
The bottom line is that you know that you want to buy a home some day and the interest rates are alot lower now.
December 30th, 2008 at 08:49 am 1230626954
My sister bought a house (or two) about a year ago. She's in a much better financial situation than I am, and have bought in at a beautiful time. Color me jealous, but her finances made sense. Mine doesn't yet.
Hopefully the low interest rates and the slump will hold just long enough for me to get in as well. If not, well, that's OK too. We can only do the best we can right?