Buying A House: C or D?

we have friends who have a decent amount of money and are trying to find a nice house in an area they'd like to live for 1.5 million and under, and they've actually had trouble. some of that comes from their own specific taste but i tell you, a million dollar home in L.A. these days isn't really a million dollar home.

that is wild

literally living in a fishbowl there

boston was getting like that and parts of it are insane but even in the nice area where we were renting (west roxbury) a small single family was still like ~$500k (not that we could afford that)

my friend's parents live in santa barbara and are currently moving. both the current and new homes seem big for my tastes, and given that location, the amount of money involved is mind-boggling to me

williamc wow

it looks like one big room but obviously it's not just one big room

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/13715-Shaker-Blvd-Apt-2A_Cleveland_OH_44120_M35090-51618#photo0

These old condo's are right around the corner from where I live. I would seriously considering going into debt for the mortgage, which isn't that outrageous, but I just can't swing the monthly maintenance fee of $2500.

just wait'll they decide to replace the windows :/

williamc maybe check that The Thing isn't building a spaceship out of it?

holy shit brownie that is amazing

except for the kitchen

i kind of wish there were more original-ish kitchens around in these old cleveland homes. people retain the charm elsewhere in these houses but everyone guts the kitchen

honestly the kitchen aint even bad it just doesn't flow with the grandeur of the rest of the condo

like look at this bullshit

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/3823-Fernwood-Ave_Los-Angeles_CA_90027_M25681-78105#photo1

i hate to say it but the only types of people i know who have purchased houses in recent years in L.A. are people who have been saving their money for a ridiculously long time, are wealthy, have wealthy parents, or received a windfall via inheritance. we've been saving money but not long enough.

everyone else we know who owns a house around here bought twenty years ago. there's a neighbor of ours who bought a fourplex in 1999 for 430k. all two bedrooms. she lives in one of the units and the others all rent out for 3k per month now. the place zillows for 2.3 million now.

we have neighbors across the street who are by no stretch of the imagination wealthy, but they bought their beautiful houses for 200k back in the late '90s and they're all worth well over a million now.

idk we're fine with renting in this particular area, i'd rather rent where i want to live than buy in an area that would be a compromise.

― nomar, Tuesday, April 18, 2017 6:32 PM (twenty-five minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I had like 80k saved up around the time the market went to shit and I'm kinda kicking myself for not jumping in, but 80k is like NOTHING for a down payment here. Now that awesome nest egg has been cut in half bc my wife got another degree and is now currently underemployed. Basically holding out hope for parents to hook us up with a lifeline bc thats the only option.

I grew up in oxnard. there's a really nice spot region called hollywood beach/silver strand where folks bought homes for like 100k in the 70s and now theyre all house rich millionaires. I assume theyre the happiest people on earth..

I don't mind that house, nomar? I get that the kitchen is kind of bland but tbh I have seen so many worse kitchen sins. it's a lot better than

on one hand the subway tile thing is the "it's plain enough to not look dated" standard but even when it does look dated in a few years, it's still crazy easy to clean. those cabinets that are standing on little legs everywhere in the kitchen, though... not sure on that one

it's more like...it's a house that'll go for 950k and it's not even a thousand square feet. plus knowing that particular street, it's not a really pleasant area. not dangerous, just not pleasant.

ah, yeah, that I get

80k is enough for a down payment with PMI today, but it probably wouldn't have gotten it done during the time the market went to shit is the catch

because some rich person would have seen the chance to make $300k and bought the place with a briefcase full of cash, is my understanding

yeah and I would have 0$ leftover for renovations, repairs, taxes, living my life, etc

I'm an Oxnardo too, mj (well Hueneme, but far enough north that it was more Oxnard than PH). I'm in Pasadena now and glad I bought when I did, though I kick myself for not trading up at a couple of points.

lol I went to Hueneme Christian Elementary School - my parents worked at the base. currently living the dream in sherman oaks.

Moved there when I was 11, so Marina West elementary, Haydock JHS, then Hueneme High. My dad worked at Pt Mugu. We lived near Ventura Rd and Hemlock.

WmC, my mom used to have friends who lived in one of those things, hidden in the woods past two cattle fences.

There were four or five people living in it. The 2D blueprint would've shown a C, like on Colorado's state flag, with the living room in the center, and the other rooms around it. I remember the girls slept in this loft thing that covered the interior circle of the C, and you could look over into the kitchen where our folks were visiting.

There were daddy longlegs all over the place and coming back through the dark woods - and having to get out and manually open and close those cattle fences - were some of the scariest moments of my life.

Also, this cracked me up for no reason at all.

http://i.imgur.com/1nOe83L.jpg

I'd love to have a garage like that.

The mini-dome potting shed cracked me up.

is that what that is? super spooky imo

i really like the way the main house looks inside!

lso do we have a home improvement / home ownership thread? we are already tallying all the projects we want to do. i strangely thought i would be relieved when this is all over but now i have to call a bunch of contractors, painters, etc.

― marcos, Tuesday, 18 April 2017 18:24 (three hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Depending on your mood:

department of the interior: home decor
is anyone "home"?
i've discovered a downside to home ownership

"Good Afternoon Mr. Marcos,

I have great news.

Your loan request has been FINAL APPROVED and we are CLEAR to CLOSE!"

woohoo!

https://sc.mogicons.com/l/thumbs-up-192.png

congrats!

So that only took like... a year?

haha

What you know is right vs. selfishness--it never ends.

The (wildly unpopular) Ontario Premier made proposals today to slow down the housing market in Toronto, which has been insane the past few years. There'll be more on the way.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/wynne-housing-market-1.4077094

Absolutely should be done--on the other hand, I'm planning to sell and clear out for cheaper pastures when I retire in two years, so there's part of that's thinking "Great--can you just hold off for a while so I can cash in?" I bought in 2003, and right now I'm sitting somewhere between two and three times what I paid. I guess I'm hoping now to tread water for two years and not start losing money.

offer accepted; hopefully this is the beginning of the end of our dealings with the boston real estate market c. 2017

sweet! good luck! that cool farmhouse or something else?

thanks! c. 1940s colonial in beautiful shrewsbury, mass. find the bright red house for sale on colton ln and that's it.

not the exact town we wanted but the price was right, the house is charming, and i'm not really inclined to wait around and see what happens in this market.

i doubt i updated in this thread but turns out that farmhouse was surrounded by a 7-acre lot that was also for sale and is a prime development opportunity in a development-happy town.

whoa absolutely gorgeous house! good luck through the process! i know what you mean about being tired of looking especially in a tight market (not that we looked much in Boston when we lived there)

still haven't bought, somehow am just not impressed by houses anymore after having looked at a lot

whoa absolutely gorgeous house! good luck through the process! i know what you mean about being tired of looking especially in a tight market (not that we looked much in Boston when we lived there)

― marcos, Saturday, April 29, 2017 2:08 AM (five days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

hey thanks! inspection was today and went really well.

anyone here ever remodel a kitchen?

it is expensive and takes awhile to get materials. the most annoying part is not having a kitchen sink. are you planning to do it yourself?

Ideally you can get that done before moving in. Otherwise, it'll take longer than is comfortable and you'll be spending a ton of money on takeout.

We redid the kitchen, bathroom, and living in our first house when we had 2.5 months to redo things before our lease was up. We'd never really done anything before and it kind of sucked and we spent every free hour there working on it. Put in commercial vinyl tile floor, base cabinets, sink, tile backsplash, and laminate countertops and it turned out alright but I always knew all the spots where I fucked up.

Friends are having a full kitchen remodel done starting next Monday, so three kids and two adults are going to only have a mini fridge, microwave and hot plate in the basement for six weeks. I have no idea how that's going to go.

i haven't done a kitchen remodel, but my sister & brother-in-law just finished one and it took months longer than they anticipated, they ended up firing the first contractor and hiring another one to finish it

we close on tuesday. right now i'm calling a bunch of people bc there is some things we want to do before we move in, the biggest projects being exterior painting and finishing the 3rd floor. i'm hoping we can get the attic finished before we move in late july

You guys I want to buy a house. I have no earthly way of doing so, but there's this house I really want very close to where I grew up but in an emerging downtown area that's recovering from post-industrial blight, with terrible schools which is probably what's keeping the price insanely reasonable.

It's been on the market for a year and price has been dropping steadily, from $275k to $229k in a year. How low do you think it has to fall to get my boyfriend agree to move across the country with me and use his savings as the down payment?

I'm afraid to share the link because what if someone else discovers it AND BUYS IT? No, no, that won't do.

It's an 1870s Eastlake Victorian, 5br/3bath, within walking distance of a sports arena, a library branch, an art museum, and a historic performing arts center. Already updated. Central air. Jesus wept.