That’s one of the main reasons why I don’t understand my younger friends’ insistence on starting with a single family house! I’m very handy, I built an extension to my mother’s house, redid most of her plumbing, I know my way around a house electricity and so on… My first property was a condo so I wouldn’t have to take care of most of that bullshit and could just enjoy having my own place and setting most of my housing budget “aside” instead of giving it all to a landlord or paying for upkeep that wouldn’t increase my property’s value.
But when I tell my friends that complain about not being able to afford a house that they should look into buying a condo as their first property instead? Yuck! That’s out of the question! Paying condo fees? Are you crazy?
As if a house didn’t come with the responsibility to put the equivalent to condo fees aside, just in case!
I’m guessing it’s mostly about building equity. The average net worth of a home owner is $225k, while the average net worth of a renter is $6k. You can usually get a lot of the money you pay for your mortgage back if you really need to (and likely much more long-term, if the housing market isn’t down). And you can do whatever you want with a house you own (change flooring, remodel, make garden beds, install solar panels, build a workshop, etc).
Renting makes sense if you plan on moving again within the next 5 years, or if you are very high income, can build significant equity while also paying rent, and just want everything taken care for you.
That’s why I’m saying starting with a condo makes a whole lot of sense, it’s the compromise between the two, but it seems less and less people want to start small to be able to afford something bigger later… My friends are just staying at their parents’ or in their authentic instead, even if they have more than enough money to afford a condo, but not enough for a house 🤷
Having owned a condo - I can’t honestly recommend them.
You’re beholden to an HOA in every way that can charge whatever they want.
I was paying $600/month for a green pool, a broken grill, and an ‘unassigned’ parking spot.
My place flooded 7 times in 6 years due to ‘unforeseen circumstances’ with no recourse because there is no way of knowing which of the 15 units above me leaked, or if it was a central pipe.
And I call bullshit on the no recourse, insurance companies would never have let it fly because the owner responsible is the one who’s insurance would have had to pay for the damage.
If you don’t have the means to buy a house now but have the means to buy another type of property that will allow you to buy a house at a later date, why would you continue living in an apartment where you’re already living next to a bunch of people instead of just becoming an owner of something equivalent that you can sell at a later date to get most (if not all) of your money back?
Nothing in my message is about my friends not being worthy of ownership, it’s about them wanting to go from nothing to everything in one step and not being willing to compromise in the meantime since they can’t afford to make the leap.
Do people expect to start their first job out of school as a manager or they expect to have to go up the ladder and learn their trade first? Why wouldn’t they expect that their first property won’t be their dream house?
Otherwise people can live somewhere far enough that they can buy their dream house for cheap as a first purchase and they deal with the other compromise, which is that professional opportunities are scarce and services are far.
Remind me when this guy’s 79 can’t work anymore and can’t afford rent on the shitty retirement they have and let’s see if they wish they had a fully paid off house by then 😂
As someone who bought an outdated house in 2013, I agree with you, in part.
The amount of money that my husband and I have sunk into this house between having the foundation leveled, having the entire house re-plumbed, updating the flooring, updating the siding, updating the windows, having the gutters re-done, new HVAC…among the various other things that my husband and I have done ourselves (some of the flooring, repainting, updating kitchen sink+hardware, updating both bathrooms, new Hot Water Heater etc), we’ve sunk ~$85K over the past decade. Fortunately all those hits didn’t come all at once. Right now we’re in the process of paying off financing for the siding, the flooring we had professionally done, and the plumbing. Only 2 of those things were planned and budgeted for. The plumbing issue occurred the same month we had the siding and flooring done 😮💨.
That being said, on the other hand, I do see the value of being a property owner. When I look at the appreciation on the property and know that I have that money if shit ever goes super sideways for me, I’ll be able to survive long enough to figure shit out, its comforting. Seeing my mortgage go down and knowing that if I ever need to sell, I’ll get a large lump sum, is also comforting. Or, if I have to live in this house forever for some reason, at least it won’t be mortgaged anymore, so that will be a relief in my old age.
Then again, you’re right about the property taxes too. I’m paying about $460 a month in property taxes, but I’m only 10 years into my mortgage. Who knows how much I’ll be paying a month in 20 years as housing appreciates and taxes go up? It’s not inconceivable that it would get to $1K a month or more. That’s essentially a rent anyhow. Plus I’m still on the hook for all the stuff that will need updating 20 years from now.
I agree that people think that home ownership is some easy ticket to wealth without taking into account how expensive maintenance is. I also agree it can be valuable just by virtue of security (your principle and interest remains stagnant, and you never have to worry about your lease not being renewed.)
And before people are like “You just spent so much because you bought a lemon house. Being a home owner isn’t that expensive when it comes to house maintenance.”
No. My house was never unlivable, and all my maintenance issues occurred at different times over the course of my decade of home ownership. My house was built in 1995. The HVAC went out in 2017. It was 22 years old. That was ~$6K. The foundation needed leveling and the gutters needed replacing in 2021, that was another $12K between the two. Getting all the windows updated to a thicker more efficient glass with better sealing occurred in 2022, 5 windows and a back door was $20K. Started noticing the rear siding looking janky in 2022, and didn’t want to defer maintenance so had that replaced, that was $20K. The plumbing went out in 2022, and it was a leak under the foundation. They offered to patch the plumbing but would only warranty the work for 3 years, or they could replumb the house and warranty for 30 years. That was again, just under $20K.
The house is nearly 30 years old. You can’t defer maintenance like foundation leveling and siding if you want your house standing when your mortgage is paid off.
All of this was a suuuuuuuuper long winded way to just say: Yes I’m a home owner. I plan on selling the moment I’m allowed to escape this state, and no I never plan on owning ever again. I actively want the flexibility of renting and being able to up and move the moment my lease is over if I don’t like the place. And I never want to worry about major upkeep ever again.
Not everyone has shitty retirement funds and if you make the choice to rent you need to set money aside as if you were paying for maintenance on a house with a mortgage equivalent to your rent to compensate not being able to sell later on, in many cases you’ll end up with more money in your pockets too.
I hate renting with a passion and wish I could buy a home of my own, but that is the one silver lining. I’ve gotten home after a 14 hour shift and realized that something was wrong with the hot water heater. Put in a ticket with maintenance, gone to bed, and at 9 am the next morning they’re knocking on my door to fix it. I don’t have to deal with the mental load of even thinking about who to call let alone the financial headache of paying for it. I was also extremely lucky that in that case I lived in a place with amazing maintenance people.
deleted by creator
That’s one of the main reasons why I don’t understand my younger friends’ insistence on starting with a single family house! I’m very handy, I built an extension to my mother’s house, redid most of her plumbing, I know my way around a house electricity and so on… My first property was a condo so I wouldn’t have to take care of most of that bullshit and could just enjoy having my own place and setting most of my housing budget “aside” instead of giving it all to a landlord or paying for upkeep that wouldn’t increase my property’s value.
But when I tell my friends that complain about not being able to afford a house that they should look into buying a condo as their first property instead? Yuck! That’s out of the question! Paying condo fees? Are you crazy?
As if a house didn’t come with the responsibility to put the equivalent to condo fees aside, just in case!
I’m guessing it’s mostly about building equity. The average net worth of a home owner is $225k, while the average net worth of a renter is $6k. You can usually get a lot of the money you pay for your mortgage back if you really need to (and likely much more long-term, if the housing market isn’t down). And you can do whatever you want with a house you own (change flooring, remodel, make garden beds, install solar panels, build a workshop, etc).
Renting makes sense if you plan on moving again within the next 5 years, or if you are very high income, can build significant equity while also paying rent, and just want everything taken care for you.
That’s why I’m saying starting with a condo makes a whole lot of sense, it’s the compromise between the two, but it seems less and less people want to start small to be able to afford something bigger later… My friends are just staying at their parents’ or in their authentic instead, even if they have more than enough money to afford a condo, but not enough for a house 🤷
Having owned a condo - I can’t honestly recommend them.
You’re beholden to an HOA in every way that can charge whatever they want.
I was paying $600/month for a green pool, a broken grill, and an ‘unassigned’ parking spot.
My place flooded 7 times in 6 years due to ‘unforeseen circumstances’ with no recourse because there is no way of knowing which of the 15 units above me leaked, or if it was a central pipe.
It sucked dick
deleted by creator
You realise the HOA is… the owners…
And I call bullshit on the no recourse, insurance companies would never have let it fly because the owner responsible is the one who’s insurance would have had to pay for the damage.
deleted by creator
If you don’t have the means to buy a house now but have the means to buy another type of property that will allow you to buy a house at a later date, why would you continue living in an apartment where you’re already living next to a bunch of people instead of just becoming an owner of something equivalent that you can sell at a later date to get most (if not all) of your money back?
Nothing in my message is about my friends not being worthy of ownership, it’s about them wanting to go from nothing to everything in one step and not being willing to compromise in the meantime since they can’t afford to make the leap.
Do people expect to start their first job out of school as a manager or they expect to have to go up the ladder and learn their trade first? Why wouldn’t they expect that their first property won’t be their dream house?
Otherwise people can live somewhere far enough that they can buy their dream house for cheap as a first purchase and they deal with the other compromise, which is that professional opportunities are scarce and services are far.
Remind me when this guy’s 79 can’t work anymore and can’t afford rent on the shitty retirement they have and let’s see if they wish they had a fully paid off house by then 😂
deleted by creator
deleted by creator
As someone who bought an outdated house in 2013, I agree with you, in part.
The amount of money that my husband and I have sunk into this house between having the foundation leveled, having the entire house re-plumbed, updating the flooring, updating the siding, updating the windows, having the gutters re-done, new HVAC…among the various other things that my husband and I have done ourselves (some of the flooring, repainting, updating kitchen sink+hardware, updating both bathrooms, new Hot Water Heater etc), we’ve sunk ~$85K over the past decade. Fortunately all those hits didn’t come all at once. Right now we’re in the process of paying off financing for the siding, the flooring we had professionally done, and the plumbing. Only 2 of those things were planned and budgeted for. The plumbing issue occurred the same month we had the siding and flooring done 😮💨.
That being said, on the other hand, I do see the value of being a property owner. When I look at the appreciation on the property and know that I have that money if shit ever goes super sideways for me, I’ll be able to survive long enough to figure shit out, its comforting. Seeing my mortgage go down and knowing that if I ever need to sell, I’ll get a large lump sum, is also comforting. Or, if I have to live in this house forever for some reason, at least it won’t be mortgaged anymore, so that will be a relief in my old age.
Then again, you’re right about the property taxes too. I’m paying about $460 a month in property taxes, but I’m only 10 years into my mortgage. Who knows how much I’ll be paying a month in 20 years as housing appreciates and taxes go up? It’s not inconceivable that it would get to $1K a month or more. That’s essentially a rent anyhow. Plus I’m still on the hook for all the stuff that will need updating 20 years from now.
I agree that people think that home ownership is some easy ticket to wealth without taking into account how expensive maintenance is. I also agree it can be valuable just by virtue of security (your principle and interest remains stagnant, and you never have to worry about your lease not being renewed.)
And before people are like “You just spent so much because you bought a lemon house. Being a home owner isn’t that expensive when it comes to house maintenance.”
No. My house was never unlivable, and all my maintenance issues occurred at different times over the course of my decade of home ownership. My house was built in 1995. The HVAC went out in 2017. It was 22 years old. That was ~$6K. The foundation needed leveling and the gutters needed replacing in 2021, that was another $12K between the two. Getting all the windows updated to a thicker more efficient glass with better sealing occurred in 2022, 5 windows and a back door was $20K. Started noticing the rear siding looking janky in 2022, and didn’t want to defer maintenance so had that replaced, that was $20K. The plumbing went out in 2022, and it was a leak under the foundation. They offered to patch the plumbing but would only warranty the work for 3 years, or they could replumb the house and warranty for 30 years. That was again, just under $20K.
The house is nearly 30 years old. You can’t defer maintenance like foundation leveling and siding if you want your house standing when your mortgage is paid off.
All of this was a suuuuuuuuper long winded way to just say: Yes I’m a home owner. I plan on selling the moment I’m allowed to escape this state, and no I never plan on owning ever again. I actively want the flexibility of renting and being able to up and move the moment my lease is over if I don’t like the place. And I never want to worry about major upkeep ever again.
Not everyone has shitty retirement funds and if you make the choice to rent you need to set money aside as if you were paying for maintenance on a house with a mortgage equivalent to your rent to compensate not being able to sell later on, in many cases you’ll end up with more money in your pockets too.
I hate renting with a passion and wish I could buy a home of my own, but that is the one silver lining. I’ve gotten home after a 14 hour shift and realized that something was wrong with the hot water heater. Put in a ticket with maintenance, gone to bed, and at 9 am the next morning they’re knocking on my door to fix it. I don’t have to deal with the mental load of even thinking about who to call let alone the financial headache of paying for it. I was also extremely lucky that in that case I lived in a place with amazing maintenance people.