Houses

[Paul Cicero]

What annoys the shit out of me is that we have left homeownership as rather something we are entitled to, or some untouchable dream……it’s neither.  Go to the bank and figure it out…..how much money you need?  How are you going to get it…..don’t let it become some sort of rhetorical conversation……

They other thing to consider is whether or not you want it…..there’s nothing wrong with just not wanting it, if you’re not committed to staying somewhere for more than 5 years, willing to change your lifestyle….it’s fine.  Get then answers, make a decision and live with it without regret…..

This is it.

Also - if you feel like you must be in the market, then be willing to start at the bottom, sure the house in the perfect suburb is definitely out of reach right now, but why not start with a studio or smaller unit in a cheaper suburb? Aim for something within budget and in a few years you just may have the capital to get that house you wanted 5 years or earlier.

I say this as someone in a pretty good spot in regards to real estate who watches mates bitch about not being able to have their dream home “right now” - It doesn’t have to be an impossibility, it’s just going to take some time with a few stepping stones and sacrifice thrown in.

Good Luck! And like j-soy said, go and ask, you can make it happen.

[TheLurper]

I'm not sure that starting with an asset that is appreciating at a much lesser rate than the asset you want is going to lead to a good outcome.

Studios and other crummy housing do not appreciate at the same rate as desirable homes and even if they appreciated at exactly the same percent 3% of 600K is way more than 3% of 200K.

The only way starting with something sucks allows someone to catch up is if someone buys in a shit neighborhood and it gentrifies.

Without gentrification, buying a home in broke ass area of Detroit isn't going to help anyone keep up with cost of homes in Northville. Same goes for buying house in Binghamton, NY. You can get a home there for free basically, but then you live in a county that is losing 10% of its population every 10 years because it is a rust belt hellscape.

What makes this all the more fun is that the Boomers poor management of the housing market benefits them at our expense. Limited supply, stupid ass zoning laws, lack of federal investment in housing, and so on pushed prices to the moon, which puts more money in their pocket as they move from major metro areas to retirement communities.

[Paul Cicero]

My comment is based on my own experiences (In Sydney, Australia) Obviously the same logic can’t apply to every location on earth.. My point was that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush - having that studio is a hell of a lot better than just talking about it / complaining about it.. And starting with a studio may gain you the capital over time to get a two bedroom unit, then a townhouse then a house.. play the long game and be willing to start at the bottom.

[BartHarleyJarvis]

My comment is based on my own experiences (In Sydney, Australia) Obviously the same logic can’t apply to every location on earth.. My point was that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush - having that studio is a hell of a lot better than just talking about it / complaining about it.. And starting with a studio may gain you the capital over time to get a two bedroom unit, then a townhouse then a house.. play the long game and be willing to start at the bottom.

The issue in America is that it’s very rare to see apartments you can actually own. Ownership is overwhelmingly skewed towards single family homes and apartments/studios are basically all rental units. Here in Los Angeles, aside from extreme luxury units in high rises downtown, there’s no studio I can purchase and sell later to build capital.

Townhomes are an option but they usually have “homeowner association” fees that can be $500-600/month on top of your mortgage payments, so it can be MORE expensive monthly than just finding a slightly more expensive house.

My friends in Germany are all buying 2 bedroom apartments in 4-6 unit buildings and I would do that if it were an option, but it really isn’t.

[Rusty Shackleford]

We got lucky in that we found a decent manufactured home on 5 acres just outside of Eugene, OR before it hit the market. By no means is it my dream home, but we're building equity and the dogs and horses love the acreage. Hopefully we can cash out in a few years and get more house somewheres like tennessee.
Keep saving, guys! Every little bit counts

[IUTSM]

We got lucky in that we found a decent manufactured home on 5 acres just outside of Eugene, OR before it hit the market. By no means is it my dream home, but we're building equity and the dogs and horses love the acreage. Hopefully we can cash out in a few years and get more house somewheres like tennessee.
Keep saving, guys! Every little bit counts

Veneta? I love it up there, man. HMU if you go to Fair in July. I'll be slinging lemonade =)

[Molte]

Build a tiny house, get rid of debt, save some birds for flipping afterwards..

[The Drew]

I own a lovely mortgage that came with a house

Like @Gray Imp Sausage Metal stated, the country we live in doesn't place too much emphasis on having a home as an asset. (unless your land is near a train station in a metropolitan area... )

I think the strict building laws and quality/strength of the land you build on also helps keep prices somewhat affordable... if you buy second hand and the house was built before a building law was put in place, then the house is basically worthless (or not worth much) and you pay for the land

Also if you are willing to live in a more rural area, you can find deceased estates or "open houses 空き家" for extremely reasonable prices (my wife cousin got this awesome house up in the hills for 300man which is about 30grand give or take)


I understand that Australia is overpriced, even in semi-rural low socioeconomic towns home prices are stupid
I always thought the bottom would fall out of the housing market there ages ago, like it should have... but it never did and now my generation and younger generations are going to struggle