I'm starting to understand why people are looking at alternative housing.

[fan-of-fans]

Property taxes are definitely a frustration. Where I am the insurance is getting ridiculously expensive, and I think a big part of it is just the inflation of material and labor, as well as the extremely high costs of houses in general.

I keep running the numbers trying to see what kind of payment I can afford, while still being able to save for retirement and savings in general.

Currently I have my down payment mostly locked up in a share certificate. I had to do it for a year to get the best rate. It’s annoying and a bit stressful that I can’t get to it, but to me it was worth it for the earnings, and I didn’t have any risk.

I’ve been saving up for a house for 13 years next year. If I could do it over again, I would’ve been investing that money provably in the S&P 500, but I sadly didn’t.

At least banks are now paying good interest rates, so I’m finally making some good dividends.

When the certificate rolls over next summer, I think I’m going to re evaluate and see what’s going on.

I have noticed that prices have finally moderated a bit here, and there are more choices in the lower price ranges that I could be happy with. If that holds true next summer, I might see about buying then. Of course, this is the slow season in real estate and things could pick up again next summer, in which case I’d probably wait until next winter.

I do have a pretty good idea of what I’m looking for and at this rate I figure I’ve been saving for this for so long that I refuse to compromise on the house or location.

I do worry about buying and then having a housing crash where if I’d waited I could buy much cheaper.

 

[wstonehockertv]

And then you have people like me who need Social Security Disability Income.

 

[fan-of-fans]

One of the big questions to ask is “Why do I want a house?”

For me I don’t have a definitive answer. I have always had it as a goal since I graduate from college, but I knew it wasn’t one that I’d meet quickly.

I did have this idea that it would be nice to have my own place abd my friends would come over and we could watch movies or eat dinner or play video games, etc.

Now that I’m in my 30s, all of my friends are married, with kids. I don’t even go to their houses. It’s unrealistic to think anyone is going to come over at this point.

Then there’s the idea that I really want a display room for my collections. And a garage with a workbench to do projects. But are those valid reasons for wanting a house? I really don’t know.

The idea of buying a house in today’s larger and economy is totally a different world than it was five years ago, or even two years ago. Home prices have doubled, and as much as people talk about a crash, it has not happened. $150k in 2019 would get me a 3 bedroom 2 bath home with a two car garage and porches. Now it would get me a two bedroom two bath condo bulky in the 1970s, with no yard, no garage and a $200 a month HOA fee.

Totally different market. Most of my friends bought their first or second homes around 2014-2019. I don’t know of anyone that I work with my age that has bought a home since I’ve been there. Some people have bought homes in the last few years, but most of them are close to 50 or over, and already owned a home which they sold to upgrade. Most of the people there my age or younger would like to buy, but they have to rent because they cannot afford the payments. I have two friends that upgraded homes in the last two years, and rented the old one out, but they are all very high income as well as dual income.

I don’t believe I can buy a home, because I cannot get the total payment under 30% of my take home pay. First time homebuyer programs don’t work anymore at these rates and prices, because they’re designed to put down as little as possible, which makes the monthly payments even worse. To be fair though, I’m trying to skip the whole “starter home” step because, I’m already 35 years old. I don’t have enough time to pay off a starter home and then try to profit from it to buy what I want. Don’t get me wrong, I know I will never be able to afford what “everybody else has.” I just don’t want to get stuck with some old shack that isn’t worth what I paid for it.

In my state, insurance is getting terribly expensive. My parents pay $9k a year for insurance on their very old, 1970s home. My aunt’s house was built in 2005 and she is paying over $4k a year. Her insurance doubled in cost at renewal this year. Neither of these homes are in a flood zone or anywhere near the coast. So you can imagine how that makes getting the monthly payment under 30% even more difficult. I don’t know how it would even be possible to insure a 1920s home here or something like that.

 

[justjunque]

Take this with a grain of salt, because I have no real solid evidence to go on. But, is there any chance you'd be willing to move to a different state?
We're in New England, where everything is insanely expensive. We know people who moved south; one to North Carolina, and one to Tennessee. They both raved about how much more house and property your dollar buys there, compared to Massachusetts.
But, at the same time, I would have to wonder if perhaps wages and employment opportunities are lower as well.
For us, personally, we both have family here that are getting older, and we feel that we need to be here for them. Not everyone can just pick up and relocate, for a variety of reasons. But, I just thought I'd throw it out there as something to think about.

 

[fan-of-fans]

That is a very good point.

I’ve looked a few times at listings in other states, especially Georgia. I was surprised that there were houses there at lower price points than here in Florida, and in general, it seemed like the houses were a better value for the money. I believe insurance is also somewhat cheaper there. Many of the houses were in areas where there were lots of shopping centers and big box stores, just like here.

I also did look at some listings in TN as well and notice similar with pricing.

I may consider that in the future, as I could likely work remotely and not be as concerned with the local job markets in those areas.

 

[wstonehockertv]

You could also live out of a hotel. A lot of celebrities do that. At least at a hotel, everything is included.