^^^you should check out:

http://realestate.yahoo.com/re/calculators/rent.html

depending on how long you plan to stay in one place, your rent can far exceed what you'd pay for interest.

for ex.:

my rent was $1200/mo.

my house payment+insurance+taxes is $920/mo.

and my house is bigger and much nicer than my apt. and i own it.. as in if i choose to sell it, i will get at least what i paid for it back (our market here in LA probably won't change too much over the next few years). with rent, you get nothing back.

8/24/2005 9:24:12 AM

The rule of thumb is that you want to own if you are going to be staying for greater than 3-5 years. If less, it is generally cheaper to rent because of closing costs and tied up equity, etc.

8/24/2005 9:47:56 AM

^^^not to mention the tax deduction you get from paying interest.

[Edited on August 24, 2005 at 6:36 PM. Reason : ^??]

8/24/2005 6:35:50 PM

http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/ Pretty cool houses

8/25/2005 9:10:46 AM

Quote :

"that is dumb as shit. means you're throwing 100 times as much money down the black hole of rent as you'd be throwing down the black hole of interest payments."

And that's a generalization. You don't know anything about the property market here.

In the last place I was living, I was paying €1450 in rent. If I were to buy that place, it would've cost me in excess of €1m, so the monthly mortgage repayment would've been far higher than the rent. Therefore, it's a renter's market.

Considering that it was short term accommodation, renting made much more sense.

[Edited on August 25, 2005 at 8:50 PM. Reason : .]

8/25/2005 8:43:38 PM

in the UK that's definitely true.

8/25/2005 9:39:10 PM

^^ If you recall, I was addressing this statement:

Quote :

"I don't plan to buy a house 'til I can afford not to get a mortgage"

and my response to that statement is still that such a strategy is dumb as shit. saving up completely for a house while paying rent, just to avoid a mortgage is DUMB AS SHIT because you are wasting 100 times more money on rent as you'd be paying on interest.

NOW, if you are in a renter's market - then FINE GO FUCKING RENT but once you've saved up enough money to put a hefty downpayment on a house, you're better off to buy you dumbass. maye the market conditions are such that you should put down more than 20% - maybe not. Either way, saving up the entire cost of a home while also paying rent is D U M B A S S H I T

8/26/2005 6:55:44 AM

We bought our house right out of college. Went with an FHA motgage and put down a huge 3%. We have to pay PMI for a few years but in the 2 years we're owned it, it's already gone up in value

8/27/2005 9:57:16 AM

^ that can at times be an acceptable strategy for some people, but the 80/20 scheme is very risky and definitely being overused.

[Edited on August 27, 2005 at 10:28 AM. Reason : s]

8/27/2005 10:28:01 AM

^^^ It wasn't general advice. I was making an optimistic statement about my financial future. It's what I plan to do.

You can assume it's dumb based on what you know, but that doesn't make it true.

8/27/2005 10:34:41 AM

doesn't matter if it is general advice or not. your plan is stupid

i could say, "its my plan to invest every last available penny into SCO" but that wouldn't make it smart

The only possible reason you could be thinking this is a good idea is because you are planning to come into a large enough amount of cash within a couple of years to afford to pay the entire cost of a house..... But wait! ITS STILL A STUPID IDEA because interest rates are so low right now that you're actually incurring an opportunity cost by using the money that could have been strategically invested in high ROR stocks to pay off a low interest rate loan.

I know you're thick as a fucking brick so I'll explain.

Smart
House: $100,000
Your Cash:$100,000
DownPayment: $20,000
Invest: $80,000 @ 10% (very conservative estimate)
Repay: $80,000 @ 6%
GAIN: $80,000 @ 4%


Stupid
House: $100,000
Your Cash:$100,000
DownPayment: $100,000
Invest: $0 @ 10% (very conservative estimate)
Repay: $0 @ 6%
LOSS: $80,000 @ 4%

But honestly this is all a distraction because its pretty clear that you're too stupid with money to actually be able to implement any of your "plans"



[Edited on August 27, 2005 at 11:15 AM. Reason : s]

8/27/2005 10:47:10 AM

Interest rates are irrelevant if I'm not getting a mortgage. Putting that aside, what's true of your property market is not true of every property market.

Where I live, the housing market has peaked. At best, most economic analysts predict house prices in Ireland will only rise in line with inflation over the next few years.

Assuming they do rise in line with inflation, which is unlikely, if I were to get a mortgage now, I'd spend the next few years paying interest on that mortgage and paying for the costs involved (legal fees, stamp duty, etc.). For that to make sense, I'd have to stay at least five years, after which I'd begin to pay for the house itself. So I'd have broken even on my investment after five years, and the only way I'd have made money is if the price of housing had risen above inflation.

Given that the price of housing is likely to either remain static, fall slightly, or rise at less than inflation, and that I have no idea where I'll be in five years, it does not make sense for me to buy a house in Ireland now.

You can dispute 5 years all you like. That's an average figure I've heard, but I can't substantiate. Either way, it would take me at least a few years before I start paying back the money borrowed as opposed to covering interest and other costs.

Investing any savings I have in other financial products makes just as much, if not more, sense than investing in housing. But again, this is for the Irish housing market; I never claimed to be making generalizations.

Quote :

"I know you're thick as a fucking brick so I'll explain."

I'm sorry you're taking this argument so personally and I fail to see why you feel the need to insult me.

You really have no understanding of my financial situation or, clearly, the Irish housing market.

[Edited on August 27, 2005 at 12:47 PM. Reason : typo]

Yes, I know, interest rates are also relevant if my money is sitting in a standard savings account, but that's not what I'd invest in anyway.

[Edited on August 27, 2005 at 12:57 PM. Reason : interest rates]

8/27/2005 12:42:49 PM

Quote :

"Interest rates are irrelevant if I'm not getting a mortgage"

that's when i stopped reading.

[Edited on August 27, 2005 at 7:39 PM. Reason : s]

8/27/2005 7:31:26 PM

gg

8/27/2005 8:19:37 PM

the point is, interest rates are highly relevant all the time. particularly when you've got a large chunk of change. If you have 80,000 bucks and you choose to pay off a 5% loan instead of putting it into a 10% investment, you are incurring a 5% x 80000 opportunity cost.

but i doubt you even know what an opportunity cost is

[Edited on August 27, 2005 at 8:24 PM. Reason : s]

8/27/2005 8:21:36 PM

And the point is I'm not planning to gradually save up to having enough money to buy a house. If I was, I would have it in other investments that would provide a better or equal rate of return, which wouldn't be difficult given the current state of the property market here.

You're working from too many assumptions that I didn't specify.

8/27/2005 8:51:45 PM

haha you don't know what opportunity cost is

8/27/2005 9:53:21 PM

what's the opportunity cost of arguing with people on a message board?

8/28/2005 12:53:35 AM

Quote :

"haha you don't know what opportunity cost is"

8/28/2005 1:11:07 AM

^^ Indeed. He's obviously incapable of forming a logical counter-argument, so he's gone back to insulting me. I'm done.

[Edited on August 28, 2005 at 3:44 PM. Reason : -]

8/28/2005 3:43:37 PM

its not an insult if its true.

why don't you look up opportunity cost and report back any questions you have

we're here to help!

8/29/2005 6:04:48 AM

Queti I hope that house of yours is built out of brick or something strong. Good luck

8/29/2005 9:14:51 AM

way to nerd my thread up you douchebags

8/29/2005 2:34:31 PM

^^^ Let's assume I don't understand the concept of opportunity cost (which I do). Refute my actual argument.

[Edited on August 31, 2005 at 7:50 PM. Reason : .]

8/31/2005 7:24:22 PM

Quote :

"what's the opportunity cost of arguing with people on a message board?"

streamlined/optimal work productivity

8/31/2005 8:28:08 PM

My wife and I live in Chesapeake, VA, and we are paying $1350/month rent.

Yeah, I know.

When we move to GA next June, we are buying a house.

8/31/2005 10:40:12 PM

closing this Friday on a N. Raleigh townhome!

8/31/2005 11:00:21 PM

Yes - for 2 yrs this month.

I got 99 problems but a bitch aint one.

9/1/2005 1:09:22 AM

Where in GA kdawg?

9/1/2005 2:59:48 PM

ok, where can I find a map that shows what homes are for sale? I know the general area, but when I search durham, I dont wanna search all of durham

9/1/2005 6:13:51 PM

congratulations Andrea

9/1/2005 11:49:55 PM

I bought a house I can't afford. Who wants to be my roommate starting Oct. 1???
J/K, damn Raleigh houses are really cheap comparitively.......

9/2/2005 4:57:16 AM

yeah, it makes me hurt inside a little when i think about what kind of house i could have bought in raleigh for the amount i paid for my house in baltimore.

9/2/2005 11:19:29 AM

Kings Bay

I think my wife and I may move to Yulee, FL, though.

9/2/2005 1:02:18 PM

If only I could afford one of the fine $500,000 $600,000 $800,000 homes here in San Jose.

I don't see how people actually afford to buy these homes, other than with the interest-only or other financial shenanigans people pull here in cali.

9/5/2005 1:38:09 AM

9/5/2005 2:27:29 AM

WHOOOOHOOOOO....i just closed about 30 mins ago. yay for me!!

9/8/2005 2:30:46 PM

buy me a house

9/8/2005 3:47:05 PM

Ok, in 8 months.

9/8/2005 4:08:18 PM

I've been in mine 1 year and 2 months..... Lots to keep up by yourself, but totally worth every bit of it.
I seem to find projects everywhere I turn...

9/14/2005 11:00:53 PM

i own 2 homes

one in wilmington
one in downtown raleigh

9/14/2005 11:03:32 PM

I have a townhouse 2 blocks from the ocean in Kill Devil Hills. I don't know how the hell I found anything for $150k there.

9/14/2005 11:32:17 PM

Was it damaged by the storm?

9/15/2005 1:51:21 PM

I don't believe so. Its been through quite alot. We had a noreaster this winter that had winds of 80 mph, so I doubut it. I have'nt gotten a call from my tenant yet stating otherwise.

9/15/2005 2:27:02 PM

I might try to buy an apartment next year with one of my roommates, though i'm not sure what kind of apts we could get approved for in manhattan.

9/15/2005 2:41:21 PM

I am looking for a house but it is taking a long time to find the right one for me right now.

9/15/2005 3:43:12 PM

My wife and I just put a down payment on a lot in Greenville about 2 weeks ago! Building should start in about a week or so! We can hardly wait...already find ourselves riding by the lot almost everyday!

Renting sucks! When I lived in Raleigh, we paid $850 in rent for a 3 bedroom duplex for 3.5 years. Ended up putting over 35,000 into a place and have nothing to show for it other than a mailing address for those 3.5 years! Our mortgage and insurance should be around $1200 but that $1200 is going into something we own! Not paying some other guy's house mortgage while he sits there and rapes us for rent!

9/15/2005 3:49:47 PM

My CPA said get a house in 1999. So, I did.

That said, I hate my lawn.

9/25/2005 4:12:29 PM

Quote :

"I might try to buy an apartment next year with one of my roommates, though i'm not sure what kind of apts we could get approved for in manhattan."

Quote :

"In Manhattan, 1,000-square-foot, two-bedroom apartments on the Upper East Side now rent for about $3,700 a month. Buying a similar apartment costs around $1.1 million, which can translate into monthly payments of $6,000 or so."

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/25/realestate/25cov.html

9/25/2005 11:01:59 PM

Bought a house in Holly Springs about a year and a half ago. I got fed up putting over 700 a month toward rent for the apt. So for a little more than 800 I now have a mortgage, and a pain in the butt yard that I have to upkeep lol. I dont mind though, gets me out in the sun

9/26/2005 2:26:06 PM