Finally moving.....

[Guest pod]

I have the money to buy, but not what I want to buy. I'm not gonna lay out assloads of money for a glorified apartment. I want land. I want land to live on, and as an investment. Wouldn't have to be the same place, either. I'd have a small plot here in Miami to live on, and a large plot elsewhere as an investment.

[Guest JMT]

true, condos are a glorified apartment. but if you are going to be living in an apartment anyway, might as well buy a condo to build equity in, and then sell for a profit when you are ready for something else. or when you decide to buy a new place, rent out the condo and have it virtually pay for itself while it appreciates. its a winning investment any way you slice it.

[Guest cutchemist]

Don't get involved in anything you can't walk away from in 30 seconds.

Quote by Robert Dinero , Movie: Heat

"Don't get involved in anything you can't walk away from when you feel the heat around the corner" - Concidence...I think not

[Guest pod]

I've rambled about this before, I just don't see the fun in it. If I have a place, I want to be able to do whatever to it, within safe guidelines of course. Condos, you can't do that. You're stuck. If I feel like putting a concrete slab out back and a 20' satellite dish to hijack every TV signal in the Northern Hemisphere, then by god I want to be able to do it. ;D

[Guest trancepriest]

Quote by Robert Dinero , Movie: Heat

"Don't get involved in anything you can't walk away from when you feel the heat around the corner" - Concidence...I think not

I was going to highlight that. ;D

[Guest JMT]

If I feel like putting a concrete slab out back and a 20' satellite dish to hijack every TV signal in the Northern Hemisphere, then by god I want to be able to do it. ;D

yeah, that might anger the condo commandos a bit.

[Guest pod]

True. At this stage in my life, I don't see the need to be nailed down. Like I pointed out, my parents bought a house, but things changed and it took forever for them to sell.

[Bling]

eh either way i can only take another few months of living with the parents, im 23 its starting to hurt

stop bitchin ur a baby 23........ sheesh :

[Guest Adam Singer]

eh either way i can only take another few months of living with the parents, im 23 its starting to hurt

stop bitchin ur a baby 23........ sheesh :

was i just burned by bling!??!

nice, bout time you burned someone blingster

[Guest pod]

yeah, that might anger the condo commandos a bit.

That's the magic of a house. Customization. Nevermind a defensible perimeter.

[Guest JMT]

That's the magic of a house. Customization. Nevermind a defensible perimeter.

good point, id bet that most condos' shared walls wouldnt stop a .177.

[Guest pod]

Gotta be able to see when Charlie comes looking for ya. ;D

[Guest JMT]

Gotta be able to see when Charlie comes looking for ya. ;D

ha ha

[Guest coach]

, buying is the greatest investment you can make.

Again, this is nonsense fed to you by the big realty companies. I mean, had you bought Microsoft at the IPO, *that* would have been the greatest investment you can make, or one of them.

As far as investments go, houses suck. Including your mortgage, you generally end up paying 3x-4x as much as the house is valued at. Factor in the amount you spend in upkeep over the life of the house, including lawn care, and you probably spend another $2000-$5000 a year. After 30 years, if you get lucky, you might be able to sell it for 2.5x what you paid for it. So, how much are you out.

Now, you might get extraordinarily lucky and buy in a place like Miami 30 years ago, then you can probably get out for a LOT more than you paid, and that is lucky. That is also extremely rare, as far as homebuying goes.

The ONLY reason that a house is a decent investment is that you get to use it while putting money into it. I would still like to see a comparison of how one would fare by renting instead and putting the extra money into various types of investments.

[Guest pod]

True enough. Buying is advantageous only if you're lucky enough to be able to "flip" a home, or do what Coach said and buy, stay until it gets white-hot, and then move out with 500% profit. Not to demean all you real-estate junkies, but unless you're really lucky, it's not gonna finance that yacht you've been eyeballing.

When I rent, I pay a flat fee, and upkeep is (usually) the responsibility of the landlord. Hell, it gives you some negotiating power, too. For example, the main router here at the apt crashed, so I went it and fixed the problem. I paid less rent the next month. If I owned the place, and fixed a problem myself, I'd be out money even if I fixed it myself.

That being said, the real market these days is in commercial property. I'd be in heaven if I owned a stupid strip mall in Broward with a Starbucks, a T-Mobile store, and a Blockbuster video. All corporate clients, whom pay their rent via direct deposit. This one guy I know owns a small office building in Downtown Miami, and his best tenant is Nextel oddly enough. Not a store, but the Nextel antenna array on his roof. $15,000 a month for some funny grey boxes, a power tap, and some antennae. And maintenance is their problem. He's not allowed to touch it.

[Guest macboy]

This one guy I know owns a small office building in Downtown Miami, and his best tenant is Nextel oddly enough. Not a store, but the Nextel antenna array on his roof. $15,000 a month for some funny grey boxes, a power tap, and some antennae. And maintenance is their problem. He's not allowed to touch it.

I tried to get my parents to let T-Mobile install an antenna on their property in NJ, since it was a dead zone and eligible for placement. Even though they would have received rent from T-Mo, my mom shot it down on the theory of the increase in "deadly radio waves" near her home.

[Guest pod]

To quote your crew: "Oy vey!"

Electronics are the best tenants. ;D

[Guest cutchemist]

Quote by Robert Dinero , Movie: Heat

"Don't get involved in anything you can't walk away from when you feel the heat around the corner" - Concidence...I think not

I was going to highlight that. ;D

[Guest rhythmburn]

good for you man...

when's the housewarming party?

;D

[Guest JMT]

Again, this is nonsense fed to you by the big realty companies. I mean, had you bought Microsoft at the IPO, *that* would have been the greatest investment you can make, or one of them.

As far as investments go, houses suck. Including your mortgage, you generally end up paying 3x-4x as much as the house is valued at. Factor in the amount you spend in upkeep over the life of the house, including lawn care, and you probably spend another $2000-$5000 a year. After 30 years, if you get lucky, you might be able to sell it for 2.5x what you paid for it. So, how much are you out.

Now, you might get extraordinarily lucky and buy in a place like Miami 30 years ago, then you can probably get out for a LOT more than you paid, and that is lucky. That is also extremely rare, as far as homebuying goes.

The ONLY reason that a house is a decent investment is that you get to use it while putting money into it. I would still like to see a comparison of how one would fare by renting instead and putting the extra money into various types of investments.

wrong. this "nonsense" was obtained while getting 2 business degrees. the advantage of buying a home is the appreciation is reliable and virtually guaranteed, unlike a stock. that microsoft example would be like finding a needle in a haystack.

i have no idea what lenders you might use, but with current interest rates you will pay roughly the SAME amount of interest as the principal over a 30 year mortgage. but who the heck lives in a house for 30 years anyway?

heres a simple way to look at it, whatever you pay in interest and maintainence each month when owning a home is your only real cost, which is further offset by the equity that is being built up. now compare that to the rent payment. its a no-brainer.

unless you have advanced knowledge of financial markets, its highly unlikely you are going to consitently beat the rate of a home's appreciation (well maybe right now but not in another couple years) by playing other investments, even if somehow you managed to save it and consistently invest it every month to begin with.

free amortization chart: http://www.freemortgageanalyzer.com/mortgage/mortgage.html

economics aside, the only advantage to renting is lifestyle flexibilty.

[Guest Electric Eel]

Again, this is nonsense fed to you by the big realty companies. I mean, had you bought Microsoft at the IPO, *that* would have been the greatest investment you can make, or one of them.

As far as investments go, houses suck. Including your mortgage, you generally end up paying 3x-4x as much as the house is valued at. Factor in the amount you spend in upkeep over the life of the house, including lawn care, and you probably spend another $2000-$5000 a year. After 30 years, if you get lucky, you might be able to sell it for 2.5x what you paid for it. So, how much are you out.

Now, you might get extraordinarily lucky and buy in a place like Miami 30 years ago, then you can probably get out for a LOT more than you paid, and that is lucky. That is also extremely rare, as far as homebuying goes.

The ONLY reason that a house is a decent investment is that you get to use it while putting money into it. I would still like to see a comparison of how one would fare by renting instead and putting the extra money into various types of investments.

wrong. this "nonsense" was obtained while getting 2 business degrees. the advantage of buying a home is the appreciation is reliable and virtually guaranteed, unlike a stock. that microsoft example would be like finding a needle in a haystack.

i have no idea what lenders you might use, but with current interest rates you will pay roughly the SAME amount of interest as the principal over a 30 year mortgage. but who the heck lives in a house for 30 years anyway?

heres a simple way to look at it, whatever you pay in interest and maintainence each month when owning a home is your only real cost, which is further offset by the equity that is being built up. now compare that to the rent payment. its a no-brainer.

unless you have advanced knowledge of financial markets, its highly unlikely you are going to consitently beat the rate of a home's appreciation (well maybe right now but not in another couple years) by playing other investments, even if somehow you managed to save it and consistently invest it every month to begin with.

free amortization chart: http://www.freemortgageanalyzer.com/mortgage/mortgage.html

economics aside, the only advantage to renting is lifestyle flexibilty.

I totally agree with John, I would much rather own then rent. When you rent you have to live under other peoples rules pretty much while you are paying their mortgage for them. I think owning has a lot more benefits then renting.

I myself was looking to rent out the apt I own and go rent somewhere. That was only because I like living in an area for a year before buying a place and realizing I don't like living there. Other then that I will never go back to renting after owning something. Of course, if you don't have the means to own then renting is 100 times better then living with the parents.

[Guest pod]

i have no idea what lenders you might use, but with current interest rates you will pay roughly the SAME amount of interest as the principal over a 30 year mortgage. but who the heck lives in a house for 30 years anyway?

economics aside, the only advantage to renting is lifestyle flexibilty.

Umm, a lot of people. My grandparents lived in the same house for 50.

The main advantage to rental is flexibility. Again, you should be able to walk away from something in 30 seconds. Too many entaglements leads to too many problems. In today's transient world, a single person should never buy a home.

[Guest coach]

I myself was looking to rent out the apt I own and go rent somewhere. That was only because I like living in an area for a year before buying a place and realizing I don't like living there. Other then that I will never go back to renting after owning something. Of course, if you don't have the means to own then renting is 100 times better then living with the parents.

Be careful what you wish for. Have you ever owned a house? How about mowing the lawn in 1000 degree heat? Or crawling under the house to see why one side is slumping and you have huge cracks... in 1000 degree heat? Or having to call 13 plumbers when your toilet back up, only to have the one guy who can make it charge you $200 to tell you he needs to order a part and will be back in 2 weeks... in 1000 degree heat?

Obviously, I'm exaggerating for humor, but there are a lot of things that the realtors don't tell you. I've owned and I've rented and I doubt that I will ever go back to owning again. At least not for a long time. The ONE thing I liked about owning was being able to have yard-parties - cookouts. The yard-upkeep sucked hard, though.

[Guest pod]

Never owned a home, but I remember, and still hear, my parents bitching about the exact same thing. They called last week since I'm a bad son and never call, and they were bitching about refinishing a deck, and clearing boulders from the backyard.

[Guest Electric Eel]

I myself was looking to rent out the apt I own and go rent somewhere. That was only because I like living in an area for a year before buying a place and realizing I don't like living there. Other then that I will never go back to renting after owning something. Of course, if you don't have the means to own then renting is 100 times better then living with the parents.

Be careful what you wish for. Have you ever owned a house? How about mowing the lawn in 1000 degree heat? Or crawling under the house to see why one side is slumping and you have huge cracks... in 1000 degree heat? Or having to call 13 plumbers when your toilet back up, only to have the one guy who can make it charge you $200 to tell you he needs to order a part and will be back in 2 weeks... in 1000 degree heat?

Obviously, I'm exaggerating for humor, but there are a lot of things that the realtors don't tell you. I've owned and I've rented and I doubt that I will ever go back to owning again. At least not for a long time. The ONE thing I liked about owning was being able to have yard-parties - cookouts. The yard-upkeep sucked hard, though.

I'm Macgyver, I like doing that kind of stuff around the house. You cant scare me!!