Who here owns their own place? - Blu-ray Forum

JamesKurtovich · 03-27-2009, 10:49 PM

Having been married recently, my wife and I have been looking at places for sale in our vicinity for a bit looking for that ideal house that we'd like to live in (we live in an apartment in a 4-plex with very cheap rent cost). I've been looking at things that I could change myself.. like turning a basement into a recreation room/home theater/mancave or a kitchen that she'd like. A garage too for vehicle repair or playing Mr. Fix-It. I also want a sauna. And while I was doing this, I was wondering how many people here actually own their own home.

There are a lot of benefits:
1) I can be as loud as I want. I can have loud bass and loud volume, and I can play DDR without disturbing anyone!
2) I can have a dog or cat. At the moment I have a ferret and 5 tarantulas that I hide whenever the Landlord comes. Of course, my ferret will have more room to explore in the house.
3) I can make my own modifications - make it look how I want it to look.
4) Can have guests and small parties without disturbing neighbors.
5) Can have a kid without waking up neighbors with crying.
6) My own HT/mancave/home gym

So how much did you pay? Was it a difficult process? How much are your payments? Thanks!

jw · 03-28-2009, 12:11 AM

we bought our house back in 2002 before the housing boom, I believe its around 2500 square feet located in the city is a small newer neighborhood next to the battlefield here, so it wont be further developed.

I started small with a split foyer home back in 1999 and moved up as money got better. I think we have a big enough house for now because I dont wanna move anymore...PITA

brettallica · 03-28-2009, 12:53 AM

If by "own" you mean "make a mortgage payment to a bank/credit union," then count me in. We own a condo near the beach (<1 mile) and bought at THE ABSOLUTE WRONG TIME. We paid a lot of f-ing money, got caught up in a terrible neg-am loan, but were lucky enough by the grace of God (or insert your higher being here) that both my wife and I had been gradually receiving raises at our respective jobs and were able to refinance into a normal loan before our place repriced and we became über-screwed.

Our place is a 2-bed/1.5 bath nestled in a modest 1100 sq. ft. dwelling. No garage (we do have a carport, though), no yard. All this could have been yours for $500,000 in 2005. Fortunately for you, we took it off the market!

All said and done, despite the nightmare and upside-down-ness we were in with this place, we still have a roof over our head and are paying toward principal now on a home in a place where values go down, but always come back up. We are just going to have to wait a little longer than we originally anticipated to move into something larger. I've got two boys -- rowdy ones -- and our place can't hold us all much longer. I try to look at the big picture, though, in that we are a lot better off than many who bought when and where we did.

Benefits to owning are numerous; however, in a condo situation you are not granted some of the freedoms you mentioned. We can modify the inside of the house as we see fit, but anything done to the outside of the unit has to be approved by the HOA.

Oh and doesn't the smell of the ferret tip off your landlord that you're keeping pets? A buddy of mine owned a ferret for a long time, and that animal definitely brings with it a unique -- shall we say -- "scent."

thecroshow · 03-28-2009, 01:23 AM

i hope to own within the next 5 years. =/ hate apartment life, gotta keep my AVR at around -30db range, -20db if i wanna get risky!

zicmubleu · 03-28-2009, 01:24 AM

This is definitely the time to be buying a house but I don't know about up there in the artic circle. I figured you lived in an igloo.

Probably the most important thing when buying a house is your long term plan for it, how long do you plan on staying there. Sounds like you will be growing your family so schools should be a high priority item. If you are a handyman that allows you to buy older homes much more easily, but if new homes are built like they do down here in the south they aren't any guarantee either.

Don't piss off your neighbors playing your music loud enough to upset them, you really rely on your neighbors. If you can afford a house a bit larger than you really think you need and the taxes aren't killer that is probably a good thing to do as well, it is very costly to add on to a house effectively. Which is another thing to consider, if the house you are thinking about buying is an old home does it have additions? If it does be sure to check the quality of the work, you don't want someone elses slipshod work. If you can ask to see the utility bills for a full years time, that will give you an idea of what it will cost for you to live there. I would be a fish out of water chosing a home in Alaska but I presume you have lived there a long time and really know what to look at.

Good luck finding what you want, at least you have timing on your side.

Chordata · 03-28-2009, 01:27 AM

Bought mine in Orlando in March 2006 in the worst possible time possible. We paid way too much; it's dropped tons and tons in value; and we've already outgrown it.

But I love owning my own home (and by "own" I mean being a slave to the mortgage company of course

).

Another_Dude · 03-28-2009, 01:31 AM

Two of them.

I bought stocks the morning the markets opened after 9/11 and that led to a nice down payment on a house in June of '02. Lived there and got married in May of '07. We bought the place we're in now in June of '08.

Now I make the payment on our new 4 bedroom house, and I charge $1100/month rent on the $650 payment on my old place. In a few years I'll have the old place paid off and the rent over there will be pure profit, not including the massive tax breaks I get on that property.

What was the question again?

(Renting: Unless you're leaving the town you live in in the next 18 months, renting is for suckers)

crazyBLUE · 03-28-2009, 02:33 AM

The condo I live in is allmost mine ! 2 more years . the building is only 8 years old . I do have to be carefull at certain times as for my Blu ~ enjoyment ! But I do know when sound level does not matter !!!!!!

obiwopkenobi62 · 04-25-2009, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Another_Dude

Two of them.

I bought stocks the morning the markets opened after 9/11 and that led to a nice down payment on a house in June of '02. Lived there and got married in May of '07. We bought the place we're in now in June of '08.

Now I make the payment on our new 4 bedroom house, and I charge $1100/month rent on the $650 payment on my old place. In a few years I'll have the old place paid off and the rent over there will be pure profit, not including the massive tax breaks I get on that property.

What was the question again?

(Renting: Unless you're leaving the town you live in in the next 18 months, renting is for suckers)

The wife and I do the same thing. We rent out our 1st home and bought our dream home.
Most people I know that don't own and say they can't afford to, yet their rent payment is on par with a mortgage payment.
Right now is a great time to buy.

nbxfan · 03-28-2009, 04:50 AM

I have my own place. By that I mean mortgage etc. Bought about 5 years ago when rates were low. Have a "safe" loan. However, I bought a condo in an uber expensive area and, it is quite frustrating that it was the only thing that I could afford considering my mom was able to buy a house for a lot less than my condo. Association fees are a killer as, when I moved in they were around $70 and now they are over $200 a month...

brettallica · 03-28-2009, 05:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nbxfan

I have my own place. By that I mean mortgage etc. Bought about 5 years ago when rates were low. Have a "safe" loan. However, I bought a condo in an uber expensive area and, it is quite frustrating that it was the only thing that I could afford considering my mom was able to buy a house for a lot less than my condo. Association fees are a killer as, when I moved in they were around $70 and now they are over $200 a month...

$380 for me

nbxfan · 03-28-2009, 05:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brettallica

$380 for me

The issue for me is more that the rates have dramatically increased recently which, in this economy has been tough. My girlfriend lives with me and has had a very hard time finding a job so, I am taking care of everything...the rise in rates is pretty disgusting. Had to do research as within 6 months they raised are rates twice. It was all legal as they are yearly allowed to raise rates 30% per year. I know we are still on the low end but it is still pretty frustrating.

brettallica · 03-28-2009, 05:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nbxfan

The issue for me is more that the rates have dramatically increased recently which, in this economy has been tough. My girlfriend lives with me and has had a very hard time finding a job so, I am taking care of everything...the rise in rates is pretty disgusting. Had to do research as within 6 months they raised are rates twice. It was all legal as they are yearly allowed to raise rates 30% per year. I know we are still on the low end but it is still pretty frustrating.

Actually, I think you're right around average. In my neck of the woods, or at least in the general area, most HOA dues are around $200-$250. I think since we're in California, we pay a little more to live than people in other parts of the country (depending on which part of the country we're talking about, that is). I'm sure salaries are different as well, but the ratio between average household income and average cost of a home is probably nowhere near what it is here in Cali.

JJ · 03-28-2009, 05:50 AM

I'm a renter until I finish all my schooling.

Fors* · 03-28-2009, 09:52 PM

I moved in with my now wife and remodeled out unfinished basement into "my space". She has owned the house for over 12 years, and continues to pay the mortgage (so no rent or mrtg payment here!) Safe to say I married "up" and even got my own HT room. I work in banking ( no, I am not an exec, screw them!)and got her to refinance out of one of those "toxic" mrtg's three years ago. She was not even aware of the fact of the rate inrease every 5 years???!! So, I saved her (us) over 7% in her interest rate (she had bad credit and knew nothing when she signed for her original mortgage back in 97') when we refinanced that mrtg. Saved so much money it was ridiculous. We have 2 kids now, so a bigger space is going to be needed, just need that 20%in equity in our house now to make enough when we sell it to use as a down payment on the new place. Should take another 5 years, but I luv having my own room!

ZackL · 03-31-2009, 05:06 PM

I need to go to the Apartment Depot. Which is just a big warehouse with people standing around saying "Hey, we ain't gotta fix shit!"

jkwest · 03-31-2009, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZackL

I need to go to the Apartment Depot. Which is just a big warehouse with people standing around saying "Hey, we ain't gotta fix shit!"

I have no idea what this means...

Teabaggins · 03-31-2009, 07:19 PM

it means since he rents his apartment he doesn't have to deal with home owner issues like repairs. he was making a joke regarding "home depot"...in your defense it wasn't very funny

Y3k Bug · 03-31-2009, 09:46 PM

I bought my first house at the end of May last year. It was the perfect timing for me. Prices had dropped a LOT (they still are, but not as much now) and it was before the credit market froze up. So I was able to get a low interest rate, almost no money down and I finally get to build equity (in 5-10 years when the market starts picking up again). I actually love owning the house and don't really care what it's "worth". I don't need to worry about that until I decide to move.

One thing I did that was very helpful to me (being a home buyer noob) was I got a mortgage broker before even looking at a house. He got my financials COMPLETELY squared away so as soon as I found the right house in the right place etc...etc.. all I had to do was say "I'll take it!" There was no worrying about if I would qualify for it or anything, because I had already gotten it out of the way.

It was a bank repo, so I feel kind of bad that someone had to lose their home for me to get mine, but such is life I guess.

Porkchop Express · 03-31-2009, 06:56 PM

Congrats on the recent marriage! I got married in November, and just bought a house 3 weeks ago. I was lucky enough at the time to lock in at a 4.75% mortgage.

I definitely recommend buying a home in this market, there are some great deals out there. I'm from Michigan, where the economy has been hit very hard. Fortunately I have a stable job and was able to take advantage of the situation.

Anyways, if you decide to buy make sure you have some extra cash on hand after the down payment. My house was move in ready, but I still find myself going to home depot, target, bed bath beyond, etc with my wife to buy various things all the time. I feel like Will Farrell from Old School some days. That being said, take your time with your home purchases. You'll be excited and probably want to buy new everything, but things add up quickly. My wife wanted new furniture for example, however the old furniture was fine. I want speakers and a receiver for my tv, which would be awesome, but it's not a priority.
BTW, being as loud as you want is great.

Good luck with everything!

03-27-2009, 10:49 PM	#1
JamesKurtovich Blu-ray Ninja Member since:Dec 2008 Location:Alaska Home Theater Gallery:6 Blu-ray collection:229 Blu-ray reviews:4 Trading Score:2	Who here owns their own place? Having been married recently, my wife and I have been looking at places for sale in our vicinity for a bit looking for that ideal house that we'd like to live in (we live in an apartment in a 4-plex with very cheap rent cost). I've been looking at things that I could change myself.. like turning a basement into a recreation room/home theater/mancave or a kitchen that she'd like. A garage too for vehicle repair or playing Mr. Fix-It. I also want a sauna. And while I was doing this, I was wondering how many people here actually own their own home. There are a lot of benefits: 1) I can be as loud as I want. I can have loud bass and loud volume, and I can play DDR without disturbing anyone! 2) I can have a dog or cat. At the moment I have a ferret and 5 tarantulas that I hide whenever the Landlord comes. Of course, my ferret will have more room to explore in the house. 3) I can make my own modifications - make it look how I want it to look. 4) Can have guests and small parties without disturbing neighbors. 5) Can have a kid without waking up neighbors with crying. 6) My own HT/mancave/home gym So how much did you pay? Was it a difficult process? How much are your payments? Thanks! Last edited by JamesKurtovich; 03-27-2009 at 11:26 PM.

03-28-2009, 12:53 AM	#3
brettallica Blu-ray Samurai Top ranked HT gallery Top contributor Member since:Nov 2008 Location:Santa Cruz, California Home Theater Gallery:51 Blu-ray collection:79 Trading Score:6	If by "own" you mean "make a mortgage payment to a bank/credit union," then count me in. We own a condo near the beach (<1 mile) and bought at THE ABSOLUTE WRONG TIME. We paid a lot of f-ing money, got caught up in a terrible neg-am loan, but were lucky enough by the grace of God (or insert your higher being here) that both my wife and I had been gradually receiving raises at our respective jobs and were able to refinance into a normal loan before our place repriced and we became über-screwed. Our place is a 2-bed/1.5 bath nestled in a modest 1100 sq. ft. dwelling. No garage (we do have a carport, though), no yard. All this could have been yours for $500,000 in 2005. Fortunately for you, we took it off the market! All said and done, despite the nightmare and upside-down-ness we were in with this place, we still have a roof over our head and are paying toward principal now on a home in a place where values go down, but always come back up. We are just going to have to wait a little longer than we originally anticipated to move into something larger. I've got two boys -- rowdy ones -- and our place can't hold us all much longer. I try to look at the big picture, though, in that we are a lot better off than many who bought when and where we did. Benefits to owning are numerous; however, in a condo situation you are not granted some of the freedoms you mentioned. We can modify the inside of the house as we see fit, but anything done to the outside of the unit has to be approved by the HOA. Oh and doesn't the smell of the ferret tip off your landlord that you're keeping pets? A buddy of mine owned a ferret for a long time, and that animal definitely brings with it a unique -- shall we say -- "scent." Last edited by brettallica; 03-28-2009 at 12:59 AM. Reason: Ferret

03-28-2009, 01:31 AM	#7
Another_Dude Blu-ray Guru Member since:Dec 2008 Blu-ray collection:191 Blu-ray reviews:8	Two of them. I bought stocks the morning the markets opened after 9/11 and that led to a nice down payment on a house in June of '02. Lived there and got married in May of '07. We bought the place we're in now in June of '08. Now I make the payment on our new 4 bedroom house, and I charge $1100/month rent on the $650 payment on my old place. In a few years I'll have the old place paid off and the rent over there will be pure profit, not including the massive tax breaks I get on that property. What was the question again? (Renting: Unless you're leaving the town you live in in the next 18 months, renting is for suckers) Last edited by Another_Dude; 03-28-2009 at 01:35 AM.

03-31-2009, 06:56 PM	#20
Porkchop Express Blu-ray Guru Member since:Dec 2008 Location:Detroit,MI Blu-ray collection:261 Blu-ray reviews:4	Congrats on the recent marriage! I got married in November, and just bought a house 3 weeks ago. I was lucky enough at the time to lock in at a 4.75% mortgage. I definitely recommend buying a home in this market, there are some great deals out there. I'm from Michigan, where the economy has been hit very hard. Fortunately I have a stable job and was able to take advantage of the situation. Anyways, if you decide to buy make sure you have some extra cash on hand after the down payment. My house was move in ready, but I still find myself going to home depot, target, bed bath beyond, etc with my wife to buy various things all the time. I feel like Will Farrell from Old School some days. That being said, take your time with your home purchases. You'll be excited and probably want to buy new everything, but things add up quickly. My wife wanted new furniture for example, however the old furniture was fine. I want speakers and a receiver for my tv, which would be awesome, but it's not a priority. BTW, being as loud as you want is great. Good luck with everything! Last edited by Porkchop Express; 03-31-2009 at 07:02 PM.

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03-28-2009, 12:11 AM	#2
jw Blu-ray Archduke Top contributor Member since:Apr 2007 Location:USA Trading Score:519	we bought our house back in 2002 before the housing boom, I believe its around 2500 square feet located in the city is a small newer neighborhood next to the battlefield here, so it wont be further developed. I started small with a split foyer home back in 1999 and moved up as money got better. I think we have a big enough house for now because I dont wanna move anymore...PITA

03-28-2009, 01:23 AM	#4
thecroshow Power Member Member since:Jul 2008 Location:Victoria BC Blu-ray collection:459 Blu-ray reviews:10 Trading Score:1	i hope to own within the next 5 years. =/ hate apartment life, gotta keep my AVR at around -30db range, -20db if i wanna get risky!

03-28-2009, 01:24 AM	#5
zicmubleu Expert Member Member since:Dec 2008	This is definitely the time to be buying a house but I don't know about up there in the artic circle. I figured you lived in an igloo. Probably the most important thing when buying a house is your long term plan for it, how long do you plan on staying there. Sounds like you will be growing your family so schools should be a high priority item. If you are a handyman that allows you to buy older homes much more easily, but if new homes are built like they do down here in the south they aren't any guarantee either. Don't piss off your neighbors playing your music loud enough to upset them, you really rely on your neighbors. If you can afford a house a bit larger than you really think you need and the taxes aren't killer that is probably a good thing to do as well, it is very costly to add on to a house effectively. Which is another thing to consider, if the house you are thinking about buying is an old home does it have additions? If it does be sure to check the quality of the work, you don't want someone elses slipshod work. If you can ask to see the utility bills for a full years time, that will give you an idea of what it will cost for you to live there. I would be a fish out of water chosing a home in Alaska but I presume you have lived there a long time and really know what to look at. Good luck finding what you want, at least you have timing on your side.

03-28-2009, 01:27 AM	#6
Chordata Blu-ray Knight Member since:Jan 2009 Location:Home of N'Sync and the Backstreet Boys Blu-ray collection:75 Blu-ray reviews:2 Trading Score:1	Bought mine in Orlando in March 2006 in the worst possible time possible. We paid way too much; it's dropped tons and tons in value; and we've already outgrown it. But I love owning my own home (and by "own" I mean being a slave to the mortgage company of course ).

03-28-2009, 02:33 AM	#8
crazyBLUE Moderator Top ranked HT gallery Top contributor Member since:Aug 2008 Location:Pacific Northwest Home Theater Gallery:89 Blu-ray collection:479 DVD collection:1 Blu-ray reviews: 38 Trading Score:30	The condo I live in is allmost mine ! 2 more years . the building is only 8 years old . I do have to be carefull at certain times as for my Blu ~ enjoyment ! But I do know when sound level does not matter !!!!!!

03-28-2009, 04:50 AM	#10
nbxfan Special Member Member since:May 2008 Location:Anaheim, CA Blu-ray collection:246 Blu-ray reviews:12 Trading Score:15	I have my own place. By that I mean mortgage etc. Bought about 5 years ago when rates were low. Have a "safe" loan. However, I bought a condo in an uber expensive area and, it is quite frustrating that it was the only thing that I could afford considering my mom was able to buy a house for a lot less than my condo. Association fees are a killer as, when I moved in they were around $70 and now they are over $200 a month...

03-28-2009, 05:50 AM	#14
JJ Blu-ray Count Top ranked HT gallery Member since:Jul 2007 Location:Miami, FL Home Theater Gallery:99 4K collection:619 Blu-ray collection:1293 DVD collection:31 Digital collection:5 Blu-ray reviews: 18 Trading Score:203	I'm a renter until I finish all my schooling.

03-28-2009, 09:52 PM	#15
Fors* Moderator Top ranked HT gallery Top contributor Member since:Jan 2009 Location:Pottstown, PA Home Theater Gallery:160 4K collection:12 Blu-ray collection:142 Trading Score:11	I moved in with my now wife and remodeled out unfinished basement into "my space". She has owned the house for over 12 years, and continues to pay the mortgage (so no rent or mrtg payment here!) Safe to say I married "up" and even got my own HT room. I work in banking ( no, I am not an exec, screw them!)and got her to refinance out of one of those "toxic" mrtg's three years ago. She was not even aware of the fact of the rate inrease every 5 years???!! So, I saved her (us) over 7% in her interest rate (she had bad credit and knew nothing when she signed for her original mortgage back in 97') when we refinanced that mrtg. Saved so much money it was ridiculous. We have 2 kids now, so a bigger space is going to be needed, just need that 20%in equity in our house now to make enough when we sell it to use as a down payment on the new place. Should take another 5 years, but I luv having my own room!

03-31-2009, 05:06 PM	#16
ZackL Senior Member Member since:Mar 2008 Location:Ontario, Canada	I need to go to the Apartment Depot. Which is just a big warehouse with people standing around saying "Hey, we ain't gotta fix shit!"

03-31-2009, 07:19 PM	#18
Teabaggins Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Aug 2008	it means since he rents his apartment he doesn't have to deal with home owner issues like repairs. he was making a joke regarding "home depot"...in your defense it wasn't very funny

03-31-2009, 09:46 PM	#19
Y3k Bug Senior Member Member since:Jun 2007 Location:Arizona Blu-ray collection:666	I bought my first house at the end of May last year. It was the perfect timing for me. Prices had dropped a LOT (they still are, but not as much now) and it was before the credit market froze up. So I was able to get a low interest rate, almost no money down and I finally get to build equity (in 5-10 years when the market starts picking up again). I actually love owning the house and don't really care what it's "worth". I don't need to worry about that until I decide to move. One thing I did that was very helpful to me (being a home buyer noob) was I got a mortgage broker before even looking at a house. He got my financials COMPLETELY squared away so as soon as I found the right house in the right place etc...etc.. all I had to do was say "I'll take it!" There was no worrying about if I would qualify for it or anything, because I had already gotten it out of the way. It was a bank repo, so I feel kind of bad that someone had to lose their home for me to get mine, but such is life I guess.

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