TRP: Felching Sucks

[The Rube]

Re: TRP: Felching Sucks

See, there's these jobs that require more skill than "see box, pick up box, scratch butt, repeat". Sometimes it's even hard to find a house near one of them.

I didn't want a house.

And I live in friggin' suburbia. There's always houses. There's presently at least two I see on my way to work. And I'm not even actively looking at houses.

 

[dxmnkd316]

Re: TRP: Felching Sucks

I can't commit to something as big as a house without a bit more job security. If the owners guaranteed my job for 6-8 months I'd probably take the plunge.

 

[The Rube]

Re: TRP: Felching Sucks

I can't commit to something as big as a house without a bit more job security. If the owners guaranteed my job for 6-8 months I'd probably take the plunge.

There are many fine apts around. A decent 1BR with W/D in the apt runs about $800-900 around these parts, on avg (about $1/sq foot). I have to imagine Woodbury is a bit pricier though.

 

[Beer Pong Horn]

Re: TRP: Felching Sucks

I can't commit to something as big as a house without a bit more job security. If the owners guaranteed my job for 6-8 months I'd probably take the plunge.

There are many fine apts around. A decent 1BR with W/D in the apt runs about $800-900 around these parts, on avg (about $1/sq foot). I have to imagine Woodbury is a bit pricier though.

I can't even commit to an apartment right now. If I find permanent work for the winter, that'll put me on much more even financial footing, and I'll actually be able to look realistically.

 

[The Rube]

Re: TRP: Felching Sucks

I can't even commit to an apartment right now. If I find permanent work for the winter, that'll put me on much more even financial footing.

Just did a quick search of Woodbury. 1BR's for 1000 min (more often than not)?! That's crazy.

1K will get you a 2BR (split), C/A, W/D in unit, dam near soundproof apt, and a ton of other amenities (pool, indoor and out, sauna, hot tub, gym, etc).

And that's in the better parts of Plymouth or so.

 

[dxmnkd316]

Re: TRP: Felching Sucks

Yeah, sorry, a mortgage would cost me $1,000 a month plus I'd be building equity. Like I always say, renting is for suckers.

 

[The Rube]

Re: TRP: Felching Sucks

Yeah, sorry, a mortgage would cost me $1,000 a month plus I'd be building equity. Like I always say, renting is for suckers.

Many times, the upkeep of said house kills ya. Not major improvements, just simple maintenance. Something I have no interest in doing and/or paying for.

And if want to move, I can. Just wait for that lease to be up. I'm content now, sure, but I won't lose my arse if I move (like many did in the housing bust), and yes, on the flipside, I won't make anything either. I guess I simply prefer my options.

 

[dxmnkd316]

Re: TRP: Felching Sucks

Many times, the upkeep of said house kills ya. Not major improvements, just simple maintenance. Something I have no interest in doing and/or paying for.

And if want to move, I can. Just wait for that lease to be up. I'm content now, sure, but I won't lose my arse if I move (like many did in the housing bust), and yes, on the flipside, I won't make anything either. I guess I simply prefer my options.

I realize renting makes sense for people in certain situations, but right now, I'm totally content with my living arrangements. The commute blows, yes, but $1,000 a month is just a bit steep to be paying for rent in my case. I figure commuting costs me about $150-$200 a month (not counting lost time).

 

[The Rube]

Re: TRP: Felching Sucks

I realize renting makes sense for people in certain situations, but right now, I'm totally content with my living arrangements. The commute blows, yes, but $1,000 a month is just a bit steep to be paying for rent in my case. I figure commuting costs me about $150-$200 a month (not counting lost time).

You ever looked into townhouses in the sorta sticks, with the same commute time? A couple buddies still made some decent money in the housing bust (both got married and moved on) when they bought a townhouse in St Bonifacious (1/2 hour commute to their workplaces) and sold it a few years later. The association fees kinda suck sometimes, but it is something you own, and for a single guy or a starter place, they seem like a good choice at a cheaper option than a house. General rule is the interior is something you fix, the exterior is the association's problem.

 

[dxmnkd316]

Re: TRP: Felching Sucks

You ever looked into townhouses in the sorta sticks, with the same commute time? A couple buddies still made some decent money in the housing bust (both got married and moved on) when they bought a townhouse in St Bonifacious (1/2 hour commute to their workplaces) and sold it a few years later. The association fees kinda suck sometimes, but it is something you own, and for a single guy or a starter place, they seem like a good choice at a cheaper option than a house. General rule is the interior is something you fix, the exterior is the association's problem.

No, not yet. I suppose I should take a look at that just to see if anything piques my interest. I've looked at townhomes quite a bit. I'm 50:50 on house or townhome.

 

[jmh]

Re: TRP: Felching Sucks

Just did a quick search of Woodbury. 1BR's for 1000 min (more often than not)?! That's crazy.

HA.

 

[Markt]

Re: TRP: Felching Sucks

Yeah, sorry, a mortgage would cost me $1,000 a month

Plus taxes, plus insurance, plus fixing the ****ing piece of **** ****ing lawnmower again, plus buying a new lawnmower because the old piece of **** ****ing lawnmower won't work and you're ****ing tired of fixing it, plus a basin wrench which you'll use twice, plus a snowblower, a rake, a shovel, a shed for all of this stuff, paint, more paint, still more ****ing paint, a new roof, hoses, curtains, a new couch because the old one doesn't match the new curtains, and doesn't this carpet look a little weird with the new couch and curtains, and as long as we're doing the carpet in the living room, maybe we should do the bedrooms too.

On the bright side for me, my dad lives 10 minutes away, so I've received many of the tools that you need once or twice as he cleans stuff out ("Hey, I haven't used this in years. Take it to your house. If I need it, I'll borrow it from you!").

plus I'd be building equity. Like I always say, renting is for suckers.

Early on, you're about even or worse because of the extra stuff you have to buy (and at that point, you're building so little equity that it feels like running up an icy hill). Later, as rents climb and your mortgage doesn't, it's a great deal.

 

[The Rube]

Re: TRP: Felching Sucks

HA.

Yeah, yeah, it's more expensive out there, we get it.

$1000 probably gets you a cardboard box, and you wouldn't even be near Central Park.

 

[bigblue_dl]

Re: TRP: Felching Sucks

See, there's these jobs that require more skill than "see box, pick up box, scratch butt, repeat". Sometimes it's even hard to find a house near one of them.

Wasn't that hard to find somewhere to rent close to work.

 

[The Rube]

Re: TRP: Felching Sucks

In case you haven't noticed,

IT'S FRIDAY!!!!

(with a bonus weekend extension for many of us)

 

[goldy_331]

Re: TRP: Felching Sucks

plus fixing the ****ing piece of **** ****ing lawnmower again, plus buying a new lawnmower because the old piece of **** ****ing lawnmower won't work and you're ****ing tired of fixing it,

Psst, two words, lawn service.

 

[jmh]

Re: TRP: Felching Sucks

Yeah, yeah, it's more expensive out there, we get it.

$1000 probably gets you a cardboard box, and you wouldn't even be near Central Park.

Eh, screw Central Park, it's too crowded with Duke/Penn State/BC frat bro/sorority girl types.

 

[legal_hit]

Re: TRP: Felching Sucks

Plus taxes, plus insurance, plus fixing the ****ing piece of **** ****ing lawnmower again, plus buying a new lawnmower because the old piece of **** ****ing lawnmower won't work and you're ****ing tired of fixing it, plus a basin wrench which you'll use twice, plus a snowblower, a rake, a shovel, a shed for all of this stuff, paint, more paint, still more ****ing paint, a new roof, hoses, curtains, a new couch because the old one doesn't match the new curtains, and doesn't this carpet look a little weird with the new couch and curtains, and as long as we're doing the carpet in the living room, maybe we should do the bedrooms too.

LOL! Would it have been easier to just return the curtains and get different ones?

On the bright side for me, my dad lives 10 minutes away, so I've received many of the tools that you need once or twice as he cleans stuff out ("Hey, I haven't used this in years. Take it to your house. If I need it, I'll borrow it from you!").

Early on, you're about even or worse because of the extra stuff you have to buy (and at that point, you're building so little equity that it feels like running up an icy hill). Later, as rents climb and your mortgage doesn't, it's a great deal.

We lucked out when we bought our first house, a friend of a friend was retiring to a sail boat in Florida. We were able to buy all of his yard tools and his W/D for some ridiculously cheap amount of money.

Buying a house when I moved down here four years ago would have been a huge mistake. Things were still booming, housing wise, and I would have taken a bath on anything I would have bought. Renting was the smart way to go money wise. I was able to get an 800+ sq foot place for 740 a month right on the lake.

 

[melmac]

Re: TRP: Felching Sucks

Psst, two words, lawn service.

Cake eater.

 

[Bakunin]

Re: TRP: Felching Sucks

Yeah, sorry, a mortgage would cost me $1,000 a month plus I'd be building equity. Like I always say, renting is for suckers.

Actually, a mortgage would run you less than that for a starter home.

For example, you can get a decent-sized townhouse (~1000 sq feet) in the twin cities for around $130k these days. If you can put 20% down, your mortgage would only be $104k. Given that 30yr fixed rates are hovering around 5%, your payment would be around $550 per month. Even accounting for property taxes, association fees and property insurance, your total cost could be well under $1k per month. My advice would be to pay very close attention to the first two, though. They vary considerably from place to place, even within the same city. A reasonable guideline for property taxes is 1% or less of the property value annually. For association dues, I'd say anything under $200 a month is good, particularly if it includes sewer/water/garbage/lawn care/snow removal.

As for building equity, I suggest you look at a mortgage calculator. You build jack**** in the first half of the mortgage. "Rent is for suckers" is a bit simplistic; renting doesn't build equity in a property as you do not own it, but it grants you the flexibility to move on fairly short notice without having to deal with the hassle of selling a property or finding someone else to rent it. Also, given the nature of the housing market over the past four years, I'd say the renters were the smart ones as they can now buy houses that might be 50% cheaper than they were not that long ago.