WildWill
Well-known member
Good grandparents are worth their weight in gold. My mom insisted on watching the new baby the first year at least. She's saving us $1300 a month in just daycare.
Home purchase
- Thread starter Addicting
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Forkyfinder
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Im a 90s kid myself, got married and owned a home before 30.
I think the bigger point is that the things above used to expectations - now they are achievements.
Nick87
Well-known member
They seem to find there niche in the market. Lucrative or not is probably another story.
El Jason
Well-known member
I feel very fortunate. We downsized at the end of 2017 and cut our mortgage payment by about 50%. We refinanced in 2021 at 2.25% and paid for our roof along with it.
Our house is worth about 2.5x what we bought it for. My wife would love to have a bigger lot, but barring us moving somewhere else in the next few years I’m not sure it’s happening.
It’s an interesting conundrum for sure.
Nick87
Well-known member
Yup. Daycare isn't even an option for me. My wife works weekends but with being able to stay with the kids and now homeschooling. We are very fortunate at least in that aspect.
Gellar
Well-known member
we built our house and moved in in 2019. Our interest is locked in at 2.00% our initial payment was around $1250/month. Now it’s nearly $2000 because of increases in taxes and insurance.
It’s weekly that we get letters from our bank saying we are reapproved for a Heloc loan up to X amount, but we need to refinance at the low rate of 6%. Yea, no thanks.
It’s weekly that we get letters from our bank saying we are reapproved for a Heloc loan up to X amount, but we need to refinance at the low rate of 6%. Yea, no thanks.
BuzzH
Well-known member
I think the only way possible to "take advantage" of what's happening with the housing market is if you had a crystal ball.
I didn't, so impossible to be "taking advantage of the system".
What I did was move away from Montana at the start of the housing insanity and landed in Wyoming.
Bought our first house, now our rental property in 2000 for 102k. Paid it off and bought property and built in 2014.
No way did I ever expect, or have any way of knowing housing prices would double in Laramie in 10 years. So not sure how you figure I'm taking advantage of anything?
Pure luck that we moved at the right time, bought our first house at the right time, and built the second at the right time. Could have just as easily had crap luck and been upside down on either, or both.
I would much prefer that housing values increase compensatory to wages, which hasnt happened in decades and IMO is a result of piss poor bullshit economic policy, better known as trickle down. All that's proven is its a great way to concentrate wealth.
I would much prefer an economic policy that favors and creates a large middle class that can afford to purchase homes at reasonable prices compensatory with average incomes. I do what I can, but I'm only one vote of reason amongst the hordes who reliably as the sun rises in the East, vote against themselves every chance they get, and with gusto.
Gellar
Well-known member
Both our kids are in school now, 5th and first grade. Before school started our daycare lady told us to keep a spot for next summer it’d be $80 a week per kid when they weren’t even going plus extra if they went because of no school or early out or whatever. We haven’t figured out what we are doing yet next summer, but paying $160/week to not send our kids there during the school year is not happening.
Maybe I’ll retire and open a daycare.
Nick87
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Forkyfinder
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Im very grateful to have bought in 2016. Never refinanced, perhaps should have, but i am well rid of the PMI and have been for a few years.
It would be very hard to buy the same house im in, even excluding the updates/upgrades in a lot of places.
I tend to think things like people owning properties as income generators (vrbo, airbnb, and home rentals) drove up the market more than anything else. A person, with money, can sit on the shitter and buy/rent/manage a property in a totally seperate state nowadays. Thatd have been a big challenge, relatively, 15 years ago.
It would be very hard to buy the same house im in, even excluding the updates/upgrades in a lot of places.
I tend to think things like people owning properties as income generators (vrbo, airbnb, and home rentals) drove up the market more than anything else. A person, with money, can sit on the shitter and buy/rent/manage a property in a totally seperate state nowadays. Thatd have been a big challenge, relatively, 15 years ago.
Addicting
Well-known member
That is what I want to do when the kids move out. I drove thru Flagstaff before Covid and route 66 was kinda dumpy. Abandoned buildings and homelessness, wife and I commented how bad it looked. Just got back from there and it has more than doubled in size. Very nice place now but the cost of everything is insane. 14.72 for a 2 cheeseburger meal at McDonald’s. Homes start at about 1 million in a recent Zillow search. Zero way I can even buy a lot there without using all my equity. Let alone a 1400sqft home.
Gellar
Well-known member
Living in a tourist area (for Iowa standards) we definitely saw this. Houses would be bought site unseen by someone from out of town. I think it’s slowed a bit but for the prime properties it’s still happening.
You would be surprised. At least in my area. mtmuley
We've been in the same home for over 35 years and it's been paid for a long time. When we first purchased it was a financial stretch and the interest rate was 9.9%, so don't complain about todays rates.
Those low 2-3% rates were historically unusually low and todays rates are pretty historically normal. The fact that homes have increased so much in value is good for a large section of society as their home is often the biggest piece of pie in their entire net worth. Stay put, take care of the place, and pay it off. Make improvements with cash, pay as you go, stay away from HELOCs.
My grandad built lots of homes in the 50's and 60's and peoples expectations have increased dramatically. Back then most homes were small, on small lots, 3 bedrooms, bath and a half, small kitchen and a single living room. Garages, carports, master bedrooms w/ bath, basements, big kitchens, entertainment spaces, air conditioning, etc. were luxuries and not many had them. The kids bunked 2-3 to a bedroom and everyone shared the main bathroom. They also often have one car per family. A lot of families got a long fine in these simple homes and raised good kids. There are a lot of things we all now consider necessary, that we could actually live without.
Those low 2-3% rates were historically unusually low and todays rates are pretty historically normal. The fact that homes have increased so much in value is good for a large section of society as their home is often the biggest piece of pie in their entire net worth. Stay put, take care of the place, and pay it off. Make improvements with cash, pay as you go, stay away from HELOCs.
My grandad built lots of homes in the 50's and 60's and peoples expectations have increased dramatically. Back then most homes were small, on small lots, 3 bedrooms, bath and a half, small kitchen and a single living room. Garages, carports, master bedrooms w/ bath, basements, big kitchens, entertainment spaces, air conditioning, etc. were luxuries and not many had them. The kids bunked 2-3 to a bedroom and everyone shared the main bathroom. They also often have one car per family. A lot of families got a long fine in these simple homes and raised good kids. There are a lot of things we all now consider necessary, that we could actually live without.
Letthemgrow
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I don't think most people understand how big an influence this is having.
I recently traveled to a SLC for a week for work, so got an airbnb instead of a hotel.
While I was searching I noticed a cul-de-sac with 12 relatively new homes, all part of the same constructions project by the look of them, that were all listed for rent on Airbnb and managed by the same company.
15 years ago those would have all had families in them.
BigHornRam
Well-known member
That would mean an increase of nearly 9k a year in property taxes and insurance in 6 years. Does not sound accurate. My taxes and insurance run around 4k per year total.
El Jason
Well-known member
I completely agree with you on homes. Ours is a 1930s vintage and quite modest compared to many new homes.
The days of one car families isn’t in any way realistic though.
We aren't one car but are one income. Always have been. Times were tight with the kids at home but thanks to Kevin Costner my property value exploded. mtmuley
Big Sky Guy
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Yes and no. The issue I see is those same houses are still around, and for what they are, are pretty asinine in price. North of $300k, probably $400k here. And now they are 60 or 70 years old.
I don’t think anyone was building houses in the 50’s and 60’s without plumbing or electricity, yet just a generation earlier they were and those were the luxuries at the turn of the century. Similar to now, what was a luxury then is now “normal.” Garage door openers, a/c in hot/humid climates, garbage disposal, and dishwasher are all things that were considered lux (at least to me in my economic upbringing) during my childhood just 20-30 years ago.
The home inspector that did our home inspection was out of Bozeman. I still remember him telling me about the “starter” homes in Bozeman back then, all right around $300k. He was doing an inspection on a house and couldn’t find the garage door opener, before he could look up to see there wasn’t one the contractor was there and told him they don’t put those on the “starter” homes. The home inspector thought that was asinine for a $300k home to not have one, I would tend to agree. But they were selling faster than they could build them.
So while expectations are indeed higher, the dang home prices are absolutely ridiculous so I think it’s kinda fair they include these things now and completely understand why folks want them, they aren’t buying a home that is 1-2x their wage, it’s probably closer to 10x now, 10x wage in 50’s and 60’s got you Richie Rich home
.
Built current house in 2016- we could easily afford it then, we could easily afford it now even though it has roughly doubled in value.
Being intentionally “under-housed” (vs what we qualified for at the time) has been one of the best financial moves I’ve made in my adult life.
Being intentionally “under-housed” (vs what we qualified for at the time) has been one of the best financial moves I’ve made in my adult life.
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