O/T Worthwhile buying a house in america or keep renting?

[desibaba]

I turned 30 recently and most people I know have been telling me that I should buy a house or condo at this point. Im not the most handy guy out there and I have always rented. What I love so far about renting is that if anything breaks they come to fix it and I never have to spend a penny on renovating anything. For a guy who doesnt have a family and cant fix anything himself is it a good idea to buy a small condo for around 100k or keep renting for 700/month?

 

[HOOLIGAN]

I'm not too far from you (Miami).
Property prices are still somewhat low in South Florida but they are climbing.
I think it's a good time to buy if you can afford it.

 

[monopoly]

Property in an investment. It's a finite resource.

30 years from now, everything is going to worth more than it is today as long as it is maintained.

 

[desibaba]

Property in an investment. It's a finite resource.

30 years from now, everything is going to worth more than it is today as long as it is maintained.

I think if i buy now at least i will have a paid off house when im 60 but over the years im sure ill spend all kinds of money in fixing and maintaining shit that breaks. AC, Roof, Appliances. The hoa fees can be high too from what im seeing.

 

[Jude2]

By the house or Condo far sure. You want to own something as u get older and u don't want a note when u retire.

 

[Kaladryn]

Rent for sure, things will go south again. Consumerism isn't sustainable, and the end of consumerism will cause another housing crash.

 

[highdrum]

Buy a piece of property as far back in the woods as you can find, build a concrete subsurface structure and power it from solar, get off the grid if you can, when shit gets crazy in this country that'll be the best investment you ever made, well besides smith & wesson and ammo.

 

[gogotren]

By the house or Condo far sure. You want to own something as u get older and u don't want a note when u retire.

That`s as good as the wife saying "let`s buy a house so we can paint the walls a nice color". It is based off nothing. Those were the same comments I heard in 2006 when I moved to one of the hottest RE mkts in the country. The same people that said to buy in`07 are still saying, "great time to buy", what a surprise.

Buying a home is the biggest investment/purchase of your life, base it off SOMETHING! By next year there will be more baby boomers dying than there are new families buying, what does that create? What has caused the recent bump in RE prices in FL, NV, AZ, CA?? Hedge funds, investors, speculative money. Many of these hedge funds have now stopped buying homes. Note: This is the first time in history Hedge funds have bought private homes on any real level. Bubble #2, thank you ben bernanke. Bubbles always go back to where they started, if you can buy a home at 1996 prices go ahead, otherwise stick with your rent.

 

[olazabal]

renting is the biggest waste of money there is. you will never see that money again. Depending on where you live, a mortgage isn't much more than a rental payment.

 

[gogotren]

renting is the biggest waste of money there is. you will never see that money again. Depending on where you live, a mortgage isn't much more than a rental payment.

....and buying in 2007 even with zero down payment, after 6 years of payments($100k pmts), + HOA + maintenance + taxes, being upside down 100K (my neighbors exact situation) in NOT throwing money away. What are you a realtor? How much of your interest (all you pay for 3 yrs basically) will you ever see again? or Taxes?

 

[olazabal]

....and buying in 2007 even with zero down payment, after 6 years of payments($100k pmts), + HOA + maintenance + taxes, being upside down 100K (my neighbors exact situation) in NOT throwing money away. What are you a realtor? How much of your interest (all you pay for 3 yrs basically) will you ever see again? or Taxes?

It's not 2007 anymore.

 

[360]

Reasons to buy a house:

1. You see yourself staying in the southern Florida area for a long time.

2. You have a stable job and plan to stay at your company for a long time.

3. You see yourself wanting to have a family in the future.

No one on this board knows what will happen to the housing market and economy in the future. Don't base your decision on these factors.

 

[nidal ak]

Reasons to buy a house:

1. You see yourself staying in the southern Florida area for a long time.

2. You have a stable job and plan to stay at your company for a long time.

3. You see yourself wanting to have a family in the future.

No one on this board knows what will happen to the housing market and economy in the future. Don't base your decision on these factors.

You are right but the economy all over the world is getting worse. Oil producing countries are having problems in their countries, U.S economy is getting worse by the day and Europe is collapsing, so do the math so do the math.
Didn’t you see what happened to the prices of gold recently?!?!
No one knows ya but the educated and experienced ones can see the patterns

 

[phatrr]

My two cents: I worked my ass off to be able to buy our house, and I continue to work my ass off to make the mortgage payments, taxes, maintenance, etc.

It's the single biggest regret I have. I was much, much happier and better off as a renter.

I will also say this: I'm not sure that I could have found a rental which continued to meet my needs - long story short: the rental we had for 10 years was being torn down.

This, I think, is the big reason to buy: you don't want to compromise your lifestyle in order to rent.

 

[ronnieron]

if you could buy a house for the same or less than it is costing you to rent, you should buy. Prices are already up in most areas(10-15%)over last 6-9 months, not to mention interest rates are up a full point over the last month. its still a good time to buy but 6 months ago would have been much better

 

[gogotren]

It's not 2007 anymore.

Wow you have a calendar! Has the banking system been fixed? Has the excess debt been deleveraged? Some but a lot more needs to go, 30% of homes are still underwater. What happens when interest rates tick up just 1-2 pts off 40 yr lows? Sir you are clueless.

No one on this board knows what will happen to the housing market and economy in the future. Don't base your decision on these factors.

Speak for yourself about not knowing things. To say "ah nobody knows anything so jump head first into your biggest purchase ever" is just plain ignorant and foolish. It comes down to demographics, people. RE will take another dive between now and the end of 2014. The ONLY thing holding it up is free money from the fed to create another speculative drive. The #1 of first time buyers is low, that`s what drives the mkt, because these people then drive the trade up home purchases by time they are early 40`s.

 

[h2os]

Check with your tax person. I was renting. In 2008 bought
my 1st home you pay mostly interest on your mortgage. I
get most that money back each year on my taxes. So It cost
me less a year to have a house.

 

[matt1164]

buy a condo. at least you won't have to do the maintenance or repairs.

I bought a house in 2004- a year before the peak. I am looking to buy another house next year sometime if I can sell this hunk of junk I have now.

 

[HOOLIGAN]

buy a condo. at least you won't have to do the maintenance or repairs.

I bought a house in 2004- a year before the peak. I am looking to buy another house next year sometime if I can sell this hunk of junk I have now.

Condo associations are responsible for the grounds and exterior of the building. The owner is still responsible for all maintenance and repairs inside thier condo.

 

[matt1164]

Condo associations are responsible for the grounds and exterior of the building. The owner is still responsible for all maintenance and repairs inside thier condo.

does that differ from co-ops rules? I had a co-op in new york and they fixed my broken toilet and sink.