Dave Ramey's story- couple purchased home w/ CASH in their 20's

[MIch elle]

in "Foundations in Personal Finance"

 

That's phenomenal!! It's something I would NEVER have considered, but I'm excited about my boys thinking about that possibility!! I doubt they would be able to do this in MA but you never know. ;)

 

We'll be starting "Foundations in Personal Finance" this summer. Did anyone else start their new course from the Homeschool Coop Buyer's Club yet?

Edited June 21, 2010 by MIch elle

[Pamela H in Texas]

In TMMO, he talks about a young man who saved $150,000 in 3 years to buy a house. He did mention that most people don't need a $150,000 starter home and may not be able to save QUITE that much that quickly. Still!

 

I was trying to get one off CL, but she sold it. Now I gotta find one, but I can't really spend much money on it. I forgot it was on HSBuyersCo-op....

[hornblower]

Wow - someone can buy homes for 150!

 

Avg prices in Greater Vancouver are 700K. That includes condos/townhouses/duplex.

 

Province wide in BC, it's just over 500K. Again, includes condos/townhouse/duplex.

 

You can't buy much for 150 here. I just checked & in my chunk of Metro Vancouver, the cheapest thing you can get is a 1 bed, 1 bath, 41 year old, 670 sq ft apartment in a wooden 4 story apt building on a busy arterial road in an area known for high crime & ladies who advertise in the classifieds. ;) All that for 143K + $200/mo maintenance fees + property taxes.

 

Whoopeeee.

[LibraryLover]

There are a lot of homes in FL under 100k for sale in many parts of FL. I looked at one very plain 3 bedroom /2 BA ranch, with an inground pool, It didn't *need* much/any real work, but could have used some updating...and a bit of landscaping TLC... for the asking prices of 98k. It wasn't the hippest neighborhood, but it wasn't dangerous. Just very boring and far from everything but a couple of SuperWalmarts. They exist...but are they in areas that can sustain a community in the way one would want a community sustained?

 

You couldn't even buy a fixer-upper here in an iffy neighborhood for 150.

[FaithManor]

I haven't read this but dd has a good plan in place.

 

She is in paramedic school and the teaching university has already told her they want to employ her when she passes her boards next summer. Her starting salary will be $40,000.00 per year and she will be living with us. We aren't going to charge her anything to live here but once she has that salary we will stop purchasing clothing and personal care items. She'll take care of that. So, she will be able to save quite a bit.

 

She believes that with careful planning, she will be able to save $2000.00 per month. She wants to work for two years and then begin her R.N. program part time. She'll drop to only two 12 hour ambulance shifts per week and one 8 hour ER shift as an ER tech but they will still allow her to purchase her health insurance through them, they just won't contribute to the premium because she'll be part-time. But, she will pay cash for her RN degree and still be able to bank maybe $500 or so per month. We think her savings at the end of RN school will be roughly $36,000.00. She is then planning on renting a small apartment and working full-time again as either an ER nurse or paramedic. She'll bank most of that and be able to buy a house with cash very soon thereafter or should she marry, the boy is going to be getting quite a nice little dowry!

 

I'm very happy for her and thrilled that she is so level headed and mature about her financial decisions.

 

Our concern is for ds 11. The boy is clearly headed towards agriculture. He loves gardening, farm animals, and everything farm and ranch related. This is where his natural talents lay but farm land is $4000.00 per acre if it is tiled and draining properly and with out-buildings, he'd have to have a minimum $250,000.00 to get started. He's going to have to have help. So, we are trying to do some planning for him. We'll pay for him to take some agricultural classes at MSU in Lansing and he's going to take ferrier, equine dental, and sheep shearing classes in high school through 4-H. Dh told him that if he could drum up some business on the local farms, we'd buy him a used pick-up truck or van with a small covered trailer to help him get going and pay the insurance on it until he was turning a profit. Hopefully, he will begin to amass some savings. Once he has some money, he's going to buy some unwanted steers at out local Amish auction and raise them on a local farmer's pasture in exchange for giving the farmer a full beef. The farmer has agreed to it (when ds turns 16) because he has a 32 acre fenced field that he won't be using in a few years as he semi-retires and cuts back on his pursuits. This will allow the pasture to be maintained. Hopefully ds will make some money during high school from the beef cattle. He's not going to winter them over because he'd have hay costs and he'd have to rent space in the barn because the run-in shelter in that pasture wouldn't be enough during the worst of our Michigan weather. So, they'll be butchered before they even reach a hanging weight of 1200 pounds but that's a nice size for most families and they should be quite tender. Still, how he'll come up with a quarter of a million dollars to get started in organic farming, I don't know!

 

The other two don't have specific plans yet. Of course, the 5th grader is too young to really be thinking about it and the 13 year old wants to be an English and History professor. I am not certain what he will do. He has one more year until high school and then he's going to have to do a little bit more thinking about it.

 

I am excited that at least two of our children are thinking about their finances at young ages and making plans to stay out of debt. Dh and I wish we'd been given more financial training before we embarked upon student loans, traditional mortgages, etc.

 

Faith

[FaithManor]

Oh, and if someone is willing to move to Michigan and put up with our terrible economy, nice houses in a great neighborhoods ) i.e. rural towns, can be purchased for $25000.00 or less. Our youth pastor and his wife just purchased a lovely two bedroom cottage that only needed cosmetic fix up for $8000.00. He borrowed money from his retirement fund so that they could pay cash (they already have a three bedroom house of their own) and they are renting it to a lovely family for $600.00 per month. It will be turning a profit for him after they've owned it for about 18 months. Great investment!

 

So, if you want a house for cheap and can find a job, come to Michigan! The stench of the armpit of the corpse of the economic crisis in America.

 

Faith

Edited June 21, 2010 by FaithManor

[Pamela H in Texas]

horn,

 

Of course, had the young man lived where you do, he would probably make more money so as to be able to have more money to do 100% down on however much a house there would cost. Of course, not always, but generally where there is a higher cost of living, people make enough money to live there.

 

$150K is much more house than we ever would have considered back home. There is not a house anywhere near that low where we are now though.

[MIch elle]

That's great to hear that your guidance is working. Thanks for the details about your dc. Your story is a good one to share with my boys.

[MIch elle]

never mind a house :001_huh:

[Tap]

In our area you can buy a starter home for 150-170,000. 3 bedroom, 1500sqft, 1970s-1990s, small lot, basic design, no upgrades.

 

 

I have a colleague who paid cash for a 250,000 home at about 28yo. Her and her dh both lived at home through college, had jobs making 100,000+. They saved money for the home before getting married in their late 20's. They are both Chinese so the idea of living at home until the mid 20's is not looked down upon as it is in the American culture.

Edited June 21, 2010 by Tap, tap, tap

[FaithManor]

Tap, tap, tap,

 

You bring up an excellent point! In many cultures, there isn't such a move towards leaving mom and dad's at a young age. I think many cultures have no stigma placed on parents continuing to assist their twenty-somethings as they get launched in life and the concept of dorm life isn't so ingrained as some sort of "right-of-passage". When dd was making her college plans, we were just shocked that at many institutions the dorms cost more than the tuition for nine months of living. It was crazy! I think that more common sense will prevail as the recession continues and colleges may not be able to fill those money making dorms.

 

Many of our friends have an "18 or 19 and you're out the door" mentality. They are looking at trying to retire just as young as they can and don't want any adult children living at home unless they are going to pay some serious rent. That's a lot of pressure on these kids in a recession near depression economy and so most of them are taking out huge student loans so they can go away to college, live in the dorms or rent apartments with friends. Sadly, many of them are being lead into both disastrous financial decisions as well as some pretty bad life choices because a bunch of immature 18 year olds living together without any guidance, can be a very dangerous thing! But, they can't go home.

 

My brother began remodeling his son's bedroom the day he left for college. The only place his adult son was given to sleep during college breaks was the couch in the living room! His dad took the room over for an art room for the step-mother! I felt so bad for my nephew and he eventually stopped coming home for the holidays or would go to his grandparents who maintained a nice guest room. It cost him nearly $7000.00 a year in student loans to live in the dorms so there's $28,000.00 in debt just to live for nine months each year and then the additional costs of trying to find friends to crash with for the summer break while he took classes part-time. Lots of debt, no savings, and not welcome at home! Sheesh! Unfortunately, this is a rather rampant parenting philosophy in our area.

 

Faith

[hornblower]

horn,

 

Of course, had the young man lived where you do, he would probably make more money so as to be able to have more money to do 100% down on however much a house there would cost. Of course, not always, but generally where there is a higher cost of living, people make enough money to live there.

 

You know, I just don't think this is true in increasingly many areas.

 

I'm not trying to be a Dreadful Dolores but in many urban areas, things are very, very tough.

 

We have 7.5% unemployment & minimum wage is $8 in our province.

 

Let's suppose that our eager beaver young man is able to pull double the minimum wage. That gives him 33K/yr. That's not enough to even qualify for a 25yr mortgage for the dump I posted about (you need 41K to qualify under standard rules).

 

Median household income (including singles, families, with or without children, single parent etc.) in Van is 66K. Yay! They can qualify for this mortgage! Maybe with a bit of luck they find a 2bed run down apt somewhere which they can mortgage their lives away for.

 

I keep looking at the numbers over & over again, thinking ahead as my kids start thinking about what things will look like when they want to move out & the #'s just do not add up.

 

What we're seeing in many cities is an incredibly huge yawning divide between the ultra rich & the regular people. I know tons of people, university educated working regular white collar office jobs, who rent & never expect to own a home. If they do own, they have both parents working, they rent out part of their home (basement suites for rent are pretty much standard now. The guy behind my property built a million + $ home and rents out his basement.) and if they're really enterprising, rent out individual bedrooms to foreign students who want to do home-stay while they come here to learn English.

 

Someone owns these properties, but it isn't the regular working folks. There's no way most people can afford them.

 

Don't get me wrong - I'm big on financial planning & teaching our kids to be good with money. Being frugal, investing wisely, maximizing earning capacity are all critical.

 

But I worry that there's a bit of that "pull yourself up by your bootstraps/if you're poor it's your fault" magical thinking going on with some of the advice. The working poor are working harder & harder & falling farther behind.

 

Oh & if you want to know why they stay here - b/e this is where the jobs are.

[MIch elle]

He helped pick out the Lazy Boy queen sleeper with Deluxe Slumber air mattress. The plan is for him to have this room when he attends college if he lives at home or not (he's shared a room with his brother his whole life).

 

That's too bad about your brother and nephew!

[tadbhoward]

Wow - someone can buy homes for 150!

 

Avg prices in Greater Vancouver are 700K. That includes condos/townhouses/duplex.

 

Province wide in BC, it's just over 500K. Again, includes condos/townhouse/duplex.

 

You can't buy much for 150 here. I just checked & in my chunk of Metro Vancouver, the cheapest thing you can get is a 1 bed, 1 bath, 41 year old, 670 sq ft apartment in a wooden 4 story apt building on a busy arterial road in an area known for high crime & ladies who advertise in the classifieds. ;) All that for 143K + $200/mo maintenance fees + property taxes.

 

Whoopeeee.

 

 

Wow! That seems insane. Our 1700sqf, 3bed/2bath house costed us $60K 7 years ago. Now it is worth only $40K.

[DawnM]

That is fantastic~!

 

I hope my boys can do the same and will marry girls who are of the same mind!

 

This is one reason we moved from Southern California. The cost of living was more than high and we started to wonder if our kids could afford to stay close by (if they wanted to) if we stayed.

 

I too am of the opinion that kids can live at home as long as needed. I would even be interested in a guest suite/house in our next home. Of course there will be stipulations, but they are welcome to stay.

 

Dawn

[chiguirre]

We bought our first apartment for cash. It was 1100 sq. ft. in a nice, but no spectacular neighborhood. We didn't do this out of frugality, there are no affordable mortgages in Venezuela because of interest rate and exchange rate volatility. When we moved to the US, we didn't pay cash even though we could have. The mortgage interest deduction combined with a low fixed rate loan made it more attractive to borrow than to put all of our investment eggs in the real estate basket.

[Rosy]

I would love for my kids to be able to do that--if that was their goal I would support their living at home during the first few years of their career.

 

Like others have said, though, you'd be hard-pressed to find anything decent in that price range around here. There are some decent townhouses nearby in the low $200s...but you'd have to have a really good job to be able to afford living expenses AND save $40-50k a year on a single income.

 

I think it would be great if my kids married spouses where both had professional incomes and were able to own their homes free and clear before starting a family. They would have to have a really strong vision for that, though. Or move to Michigan. :)

[Crimson Wife]

He did mention that most people don't need a $150,000 starter home

 

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

 

In my neck of the woods, the starter homes go for WAY more than $150k. I did find ONE home listed for $140k but it's in a borderline ghetto neighborhood and is described as a "fixer that needs major work". The recent sales in the neighborhood were $252k, $254k, $290k, $260k, and $275k.

[Parrothead]

The house I'm living in is a 2-story with walk-up attic and full basement on about an eighth of an acre was listed for $139.000. It has 2390 sq. ft. with all the original wood floors and trim. The owner won't get that amount because the house needs some updating and a new roof.

 

When we were looking to possibly buy when we moved here there were lots of houses that need a bit of work plus acreage in the 70s and 80s

 

My plan is for dd to stay home during college and then work for a few years living at home so she can save money for her first house. And since she is an only I'm going to go to work full-time when she goes to college to help out her college expenses. I do expect her to have a part-time job to help with personal expenses, but I don't want her to go into debt first thing to pay for college.

[redheadeddaughter]

I love listening to Dave Ramsey... but I think he is seriously out of touch with some areas of the country. $150K would be an average down payment AND you'd need to have a substantial income in addition. You might get 3 bedrooms and a tiny yard, with neighbors windows within 10-15 feet all around. Plus upwards of $10,000 a year in property taxes, plus HOA fees. All this for 30 years of serfdom. Condos aren't much cheaper once you factor in the much higher (in our area) HOA fees for the common areas. Also factor in the incredibly high state income taxes, utility taxes, etc. and the amount you can actually "save" diminishes very quickly.

 

As for being "picky" about an area... our only requirement is that the commute was less than 1 hour one way (2 hours a day total) and the area be relatively free of gang activity. We actually did the longer commute/cheaper home route and it is very difficult on our marriage. Not worth it in my opinion. Although debt is terrible (and also a strain on a marriage), I'd rather see my husband once in a while! :)

 

I've heard Dave talking about those in high cost areas just up and moving to a cheaper locale. Well, we've been trying to make that move off and on for 8 years and haven't found anything worth the move. I think most employers are preferring local candidates, and not wanting to invest in relocation. Once we have the savings to relocate ourselves and take a chance at possible 6-12 months of unemployment, we'll likely make the move anyway. He oversimplifies sometimes. But I still enjoy his radio show!

 

And I agree there is a benefit to tackling some big expenses before starting a family. I wish I could have saved up $150 before my 30th birthday! And I wish we lived in Michigan or Florida or Texas or Wisconsin... I've seen plenty of nice properties there within that budget.

[jld]

What a humbling thread. How do those of you who live in high cost areas manage?

[SonshineLearner]

We're in debt, and how sad! BUT, I offered for my 2 oldest step-daughters to live with us through college. Then I suggested that they save all their money... pay off any college... and then purchase a house or whatever they'd like to do with it. BUT, she moved full time to her mom's house... and that's fine with me too. Whew.... she's her mom's responsibility now, and I didn't realize how much of a "light" feeling that'd be!

 

:)

[Nan in Mass]

I am staggered at how low home prices are out of New England. I don't think??? that people in New England make ten times what people in Georgia do, so I'm not sure the theory that the pay to house price ratio is the same all around the country is true. I had no idea that it was possible to buy a house in the US for less than $200k, and that was taking into account the tales we have heard of prices being so much lower elsewhere.

-Nan

[Nan in Mass]

Wow! We lived with my folks even after we got married for a bit. And my Dad told us a few years ago, when my husband lost his job, that we were not to worry because we could always rent out the house to help make the mortgage payments and move in with them. We had three children and a variety of pets. My parents would have made it work. They helped us all buy houses, too. It seems to be reasonably common in my part of New England for parents to help their adult children some way, either with housing, or childcare, or grandchildren's school fees, or grandchildren's college, or by giving them cars. Childcare is really, really common. And a good number of adult children live with their parents or grandparents while they are saving for a house. I always find the out-at-18 threads here alarming. I understand that many people have survived that, but survive and thrive are different things. I have a 20yo and a 23yo. They still need a lot of help. They've lived on their own from time to time and we all know they could do it if they had to, but why on earth do they have to, when it is much more comfortable this way?

-Nan

[Renee in NC]

I am staggered at how low home prices are out of New England. I don't think??? that people in New England make ten times what people in Georgia do, so I'm not sure the theory that the pay to house price ratio is the same all around the country is true. I had no idea that it was possible to buy a house in the US for less than $200k, and that was taking into account the tales we have heard of prices being so much lower elsewhere.

-Nan

 

I think it also is determined by what is considered an acceptable house. I looked up San Francisco on realtor.com, chose anything within 20 miles, and found 380 listings for $100K or less. I imagine it is the same everywhere. They aren't places you would live, but the cashiers, janitors, construction laborers, housekeepers, convenience store clerks, etc. are living somewhere.

 

Do the same thing for your area. I know when we lived in NC, we lived 40 miles out in order to afford something.

[jenL]

I am staggered at how low home prices are out of New England. I don't think??? that people in New England make ten times what people in Georgia do, so I'm not sure the theory that the pay to house price ratio is the same all around the country is true. I had no idea that it was possible to buy a house in the US for less than $200k, and that was taking into account the tales we have heard of prices being so much lower elsewhere.

-Nan

 

 

Nan, we used to live in NH, so I understand where you are coming from. We felt we HAD to move south in order for our family to have a chance and for us to even be able to think about buying a home. Since we've lived in NC (4 yrs), we've been able to buy a home ($180K) that would have easily cost us $300K up there, and I am able to not work and stay home with our boys. My being able to stay home would not even be a remote possibility had we stayed in NH. Owning a decent home in a good area up there was also far off our radar. It's amazing how much farther our money will go here, and we're 25 minutes outside of a major city so we have all the urban ameneties as well. Having lived down here for a while, it's conceivable that homes can be less than 150K and still be decent.

[texasmama]

In the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas area, one can purchase a 3-4 bedroom, 2 bath house in a decent neighborhood for under $150,000. It is a great area to live in, too.:001_smile:

[Crimson Wife]

What a humbling thread. How do those of you who live in high cost areas manage?

 

One economy car; no cable/satellite; no landline; vacations with the grandparents who pay to fly us out; clothes are hand-me-downs, consignment shop finds, or clearance at discount stores; rarely eat out; plant-based meals; etc.

 

All of this is fairly standard except we're doing this on an income that if we lived in a place with a normal cost-of-living would make us affluent. I would say that we're only slightly better off than when my DH was an Army captain and making around $60k/year.

[gingersmom]

The least expensive home for sale in my town is $390,000. It has been for sale for 2 years so I am figuring there must be something wrong with it (plus it backs up to train tracks and it is on an odd sized lot kinda, on the corner of the street).

 

By the time my kids graduate college (I am hoping they go full time) they will be 22-23. If they immediately go to graduate school they will be 24-25 by the time they begin working full time.

 

I just don't see them earning enough to afford to pay cash for a house by the time they are 30. I will be thrilled if they save up enough for a nice down payment on a 2 bedroom apartment/townhouse.

[LibraryLover]

I love that people can buy nice homes for under 100k. :) It's a great leg up. I know it took us a long time to find a solid house in a supportive community, but it wasn't 150. :( One reason we dont sell and move (to FL, say) is because of our entrenched and supportive community.

 

It's not easy starting out and finding the right home, near work, in a nice community of caring people. More power to these folks. It's a dream come true. :) I love they could do it. It's wonderful.

 

The least expensive home for sale in my town is $390,000. It has been for sale for 2 years so I am figuring there must be something wrong with it (plus it backs up to train tracks and it is on an odd sized lot kinda, on the corner of the street).

 

By the time my kids graduate college (I am hoping they go full time) they will be 22-23. If they immediately go to graduate school they will be 24-25 by the time they begin working full time.

 

I just don't see them earning enough to afford to pay cash for a house by the time they are 30. I will be thrilled if they save up enough for a nice down payment on a 2 bedroom apartment/townhouse.

Edited June 22, 2010 by LibraryLover

[melissel]

What a humbling thread. How do those of you who live in high cost areas manage?

 

I'm always humbled by these threads too, because I shake my head and wonder why on earth we're still living in NJ. I keep telling DH we are never going to get ahead if we stay here. He doesn't care. He won't move. :(

 

We manage by not saving for retirement. We put a little aside for DD7's college fund, and we both have old 401Ks that are growing a bit on their own. Otherwise, we're scrambling. Our mortgage and property taxes are idiotic.

 

Wow! That seems insane. Our 1700sqf, 3bed/2bath house costed us $60K 7 years ago. Now it is worth only $40K.

 

In NJ, our 1700 sq ft, 3 bed/2 bath, sadly outdated (the kitchen is original, from the late 1960s) house cost us over $300K seven years ago. It's still worth about that now.

 

In the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas area, one can purchase a 3-4 bedroom, 2 bath house in a decent neighborhood for under $150,000. It is a great area to live in, too.:001_smile:

 

We have family members who are lobbying hard for Flower Mound :D My aunt was just telling me stories about the houses for sale on her street.

 

All of this is fairly standard except we're doing this on an income that if we lived in a place with a normal cost-of-living would make us affluent.

 

Yep :banghead:

[texasmama]

We have family members who are lobbying hard for Flower Mound :D My aunt was just telling me stories about the houses for sale on her street.

 

Very nice area, and you can get a lot of house for not a lot of money. :001_smile:

[melissel]

Very nice area, and you can get a lot of house for not a lot of money. :001_smile:

 

So I hear! :crying: Maybe someday, if my uncle and I can convince DH...

[Crimson Wife]

I was just telling my DH last week that if we moved to Houston there are jobs in his field that would pay probably a little more than half what he's making now but our cost of living would be probably a quarter of what it is here in the S.F. Bay Area so we'd come out ahead. He didn't want to hear it :banghead:

[amy g.]

I bought some goats in Flower Mound. It looked like such a nice community.

[scrappyhappymama]

I was just telling my DH last week that if we moved to Houston there are jobs in his field that would pay probably a little more than half what he's making now but our cost of living would be probably a quarter of what it is here in the S.F. Bay Area so we'd come out ahead. He didn't want to hear it :banghead:

 

When my husband was finishing up graduate school, he did an internship in S.F. They offered him a job there and he had a job offer in Houston. He was offered about $20k more per year in San Francisco, but his commute would have been twice as long, our house would have been half the size, and I would have likely needed to continue working, whereas I was able to stay home with the children in Houston. The young woman I trained to replace me in CA was buying her first condo, 1br/1ba for $280k. We were able to buy a 4br/2ba home in TX for $170k. I grew up in CA, and it will always be "home" to me, but I can never see living there again.

[Scarlett]

I just bought a 1350 sf house....3 br, 2 bath, 2 car garage..built in 96...Nice older neighborhood in small bedroom community15 miles from the city where there are jobs....I paid $90K for it.

 

I can't imagine paying over $300K for this house...wow.

[Melissa in Australia]

Boy all those houses are so cheep compared to the houses in Australia. I don't think there is any houses in Melbourne for less that $700k. I know my grandmother just sold her weatherboard, poky house 1950's house, 2 bed, 1 bath, for $800k in Melbourne, and bought a duplex unit for $700k.

I live 500 km from Melbourne, way out in the sticks, with a 20 minute drive to the nearest town.

our property is worth nearly $400k, and it is a nothing fancy, weatherboard house.

[Melissa in Australia]

When my grandfather died a year ago, his house was sold at Auction. It was in a good suburb in Melbourne. A Three bedroom old house built pre WW1, high ceilings impossable to heat, it didn't even have a toilet in the house, it was down the back yard etc. fairly run down. It sold for well over $1million

[IsabelC]

Melissa, you need to move down here to Tassie. You can get a decent place for $250-350K. What? You don't wanna live here? :glare:

 

I would imagine it would be very do-able to save up for a house if you are a couple who both do paid work and have no children yet. We saved up for a new car ($14K) and an extended overseas trip ($20+K) with no difficulty. By the time we bought our house we had two children and couldn't save as easily, but we nevertheless managed to save over $100K for the deposit.

[cathmom]

We felt we HAD to move south in order for our family to have a chance and for us to even be able to think about buying a home. Since we've lived in NC (4 yrs), we've been able to buy a home ($180K) that would have easily cost us $300K up there, and I am able to not work and stay home with our boys... It's amazing how much farther our money will go here, and we're 25 minutes outside of a major city so we have all the urban ameneties as well. Having lived down here for a while, it's conceivable that homes can be less than 150K and still be decent.

 

Unfortunately, the migration south from the northeast of people who are thrilled how far their money goes has driven up home prices in the South, in many cases out of reach of lower income workers.

[Nan in Mass]

20 years ago we bought a shack on an 1/8 of an acre with no attic, a basement that floods regularly, no insulation, electic heat that melted or scorched anything that came near it, wind came right through the walls and made us sneeze as well as freeze, louvred windows, mold coming out of the cracks in the kitchen counters, mushrooms growing around the washing machine, an oil tank for a septic system, termites, one bedroom, a minute bathroom that we took the door off of to make it so you could bath children in the bottom of the shower stall (no bathtub). The town had no high school or no trash pickup, although the area is fairly safe. Our road isn't plowed or maintained by the town (neighbors pool to do it). The commute is at least half an hour, more probably three quarters until you get to someplace with engineering work. There have been years when my husband commuted over two hours one way in bad traffic, an hour an a half in light traffic. All this we considered ourselves very fortunate to have found for $125, 000.

-Nan

Edited June 22, 2010 by Nan in Mass

[Nan in Mass]

Wow. We thought we had chosen never to buy a home when we chose that I would stay home with the children. We didn't know my husband's father was going to die and leave us a downpayment. Well, almost a downpayment. My parents loaned us a bit, too. I've tried living south, though, and know that it doesn't work for me, so I think we are stuck here. We consider ourselves very, very lucky because my husband is an engineer and we didn't have school loans. For us, it was possible to buy a house in a safe place. Not much of a house, admittedly, but a house. My husband has done well over the years and we have had several windfalls, so we are fine in New England now. I am glad we stayed. We are watching an awful lot of people move south to retire early, though. We are assuming that the choice to stay in New England will proably mean that my husband never fully retires.

-nan

[Jane in NC]

Unfortunately, the migration south from the northeast of people who are thrilled how far their money goes has driven up home prices in the South, in many cases out of reach of lower income workers.

 

We live near a number of golf course communities that are popular among Northeastern/Mid-Atlantic retirees. Before the bubble, retirees were selling their modest homes in, say, New Jersey, and buying a 2500+ sq. ft. place along the greens--often with part of their NJ proceeds as a leftover cash cushion. This contributed to the rise in real estate valuations here. With the influx of this new population, however, came the need for infrastructure. Hence our taxes have risen dramatically with property values. The latter has come down some--but our home valuation is still much over what we paid for it.

 

Interesting note: some of these retirees have begun downsizing and have gone back to work. Their investments no longer subsidize their lifestyle choices. I could never figure out why a retired couple wanted a 3000 square foot home anyway. We have too many "zombie developments" (abandoned subdivisions) within the county. Such a shame to see these large empty houses that were constructed on empty promises of amenities.

[melissel]

With the influx of this new population, however, came the need for infrastructure. Hence our taxes have risen dramatically with property values.

 

Really? We have family in Garner (NJ transplants, sorry!) and their taxes are just over $1,000 a year. Is that normal/average?

[LibraryLover]

I would like a large home so I can always have boatloads of family over and not worry about where to put people. I know a lot of older folks who have set up their homes with playrooms/bedrooms for grandchildren etc. My own teens often have friends over, I like them to be here. My sil has a dream bedroom for her grandchildren (who visit frequently), and another older couple we know has the most amazing play structure. If we were to move, I don't see us buying anything smaller than 2500 sq ft. I could continue to host T'giving or other gatherings without worry. I also love saying, "Please come stay with us a few days, we have plenty of room!" (A bunch of kids can sqeeze into sleeping bags all over the floor, but a big family room would make this much easier! :) )

 

I absolutely want to be the auntie/grannie with the pony. :)

 

We have looked at many homes down south (more SC, GA, & FL) and one reason they are not terribly costly in some areas is because there are so many on the market. I've not looked at any really fancy ones on Golf Courses (as I would not want us to be near the toxins it takes to maintain greens), but many of the empty homes didn't appear to be retirement or brand new homes. Just your basic one level ranch houses...

 

 

We live near a number of golf course communities that are popular among Northeastern/Mid-Atlantic retirees. Before the bubble, retirees were selling their modest homes in, say, New Jersey, and buying a 2500+ sq. ft. place along the greens--often with part of their NJ proceeds as a leftover cash cushion. This contributed to the rise in real estate valuations here. With the influx of this new population, however, came the need for infrastructure. Hence our taxes have risen dramatically with property values. The latter has come down some--but our home valuation is still much over what we paid for it.

 

Interesting note: some of these retirees have begun downsizing and have gone back to work. Their investments no longer subsidize their lifestyle choices. I could never figure out why a retired couple wanted a 3000 square foot home anyway. We have too many "zombie developments" (abandoned subdivisions) within the county. Such a shame to see these large empty houses that were constructed on empty promises of amenities.

Edited June 22, 2010 by LibraryLover

[Jane in NC]

Really? We have family in Garner (NJ transplants, sorry!) and their taxes are just over $1,000 a year. Is that normal/average?

 

My taxes (county and municipal) are more than that. Further, property taxes have more than doubled for us in the past decade. But this was an undervalued area when we first moved here. Not surprisingly, taxes rose as valuations became more realistic.

[Big Buckin' Longhorn]

You can get brand new construction 2200 sq ft, 4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath homes with a nice fenced backyard for about $140K not too far from Austin.

 

I have a neighbor who sold his house in California (not sure where) and bought a house for himself and his mother for cash here. 2 houses. His is the 4 bedroom house with his family but he bought his Mom a little 2 bedroom 2 bath house close by.

 

He said he wasn't even considered wealthy in California, just working class average. It really made me appreciate Texas a little more. :tongue_smilie:

Edited June 22, 2010 by TejasMamacita

[Nan in Mass]

I wish people would make up their minds before all the fields and woods and farms get dug up for houses.

[melissel]

My taxes (county and municipal) are more than that. Further, property taxes have more than doubled for us in the past decade. But this was an undervalued area when we first moved here. Not surprisingly, taxes rose as valuations became more realistic.

 

Ah, I see. Our taxes in NJ are $7,000 a year, and that's quite low for the area. So anything lower than that, especially if it's comes with a bigger house/nicer neighborhood, sounds like paradise to me! Of course, our township is struggling massively now, so I have a feeling we're about to bump up to where the nearby towns are. That's going to hurt :(