Random Topics 3.1

[JayKay PE]

I'm not in the market for a house, I don't really want one, but I might go for a condo (aka; JK doesn't like doing yard work)?  It's just that the rental prices are so high here that it almost always makes sense to buy something.  Which I don't really want to be locked-in here, especially since it's only me/I don't really see kids in my future and I want the mobility of being able to pickup and leave NYS if possible in the future.  Funny thing about 'stuff'.  I cut down on a lot of purchases/actually sold a lot of stuff this past few months because I didn't need it, and I'm actually thinking of selling my bedroom set to my landlord since I don't need a bed at my parents/if I don't have to transport my bed I won't need renters/can save even more money.

@Supe A houseboat is totally doable on LI.  But then I'd have to have dock space and those marina fees get hella expensive around here.  I think one of the crappier marinas is around $1000 for a 6' slip?  Which is not houseboat size.  T_T

 

[Supe]

Then drift just out far enough that you're in international waters.  Profit!

 

[Ramnares P.E.]

Then drift just out far enough that you're in international waters.  Profit!

Next up on @Supe's best advice ever - unlimited power!

 

[csb]

I remember being really nervous about PMI when we bought our house, but it now seems like it was a very long time ago. Well, it was 15 years ago...anyway, it was a blip in the home buying process for sure. We were able to shake it off a couple of years into the mortgage. 

Now it seems crazy to have bought a house at 24-years-old. I wasn't grown up enough for that! 

 

[Road Guy]

I think the biggest trap you can get into with buying a home is the refinance trap. That’s what really causes your balance to increase and set you back several years..

You are better off to make an extra payment a year and not refinance and save all the fees in most cases and you will end up ahead of the game.

 

[Ramnares P.E.]

I think the biggest trap you can get into with buying a home is the refinance trap. That’s what really causes your balance to increase and set you back several years..

You are better off to make an extra payment a year and not refinance and save all the fees in most cases and you will end up ahead of the game.

I would think the exception to this is if you have come into a sizable sum of money and want to refinance to lower your existing mortgage payment.  You'll still be out the refinancing costs of course.

 

[tj_PE]

I would think the exception to this is if you have come into a sizable sum of money and want to refinance to lower your existing mortgage payment.  You'll still be out the refinancing costs of course.

where do i get one of these sizable sums of money?

 

[Ramnares P.E.]

where do i get one of these sizable sums of money?

Alternately maybe inheritance or if you purchased a new home while waiting to sell your existing one?

 

[daydreambeliever]

It's too early for a midlife crisis

Not if I'm only living to 60!

I had a quarter life crisis in my mid twenties! I plan on living until at least 100 so this is the term I came up with. It was seriously legit though!!!

 

[JayKay PE]

I would think the exception to this is if you have come into a sizable sum of money and want to refinance to lower your existing mortgage payment.  You'll still be out the refinancing costs of course.

I too would like additional information about sizable sums of money.  Do I need to have a mortgage payment to have such a thing?

@daydreambeliever Quarter life crisis/midlife crisis, they're all the same to me since they all lead to crushing doubt and questions like "What am I doing with my life?" as I eat mint chocolate chip ice cream at 2am.

 

[snickerd3]

I remember being really nervous about PMI when we bought our house, but it now seems like it was a very long time ago. Well, it was 15 years ago...anyway, it was a blip in the home buying process for sure. We were able to shake it off a couple of years into the mortgage. 

Now it seems crazy to have bought a house at 24-years-old. I wasn't grown up enough for that! 

Same crazy here!!!  

we avoided the whole pmi by getting one of the 80/20 two loan mortgages.  the second loan was cheaper than the PMI would have been.  Same bank 3 yrs later when we moved didn't offer them anymore.  

 

[Road Guy]

I do believe the 80-20 loans are gone for good. Part of the whole banking collapse deal when folks got loans they shouldn’t have. We were surprised when we bought the house here 5 years ago how much stricter they were with the process compared to when we bought a house in 2003.

We bought a ghetto townhouse in Atlanta in 1994 and have been rolling the profits from the sale into each additional house so I believe it’s definitely worth it.

 

[P-E]

We did the 80/20 mortgage 10 yrs ago.  Almost done with the 20 heloc part. HELOCs are still out there, but yes it is stricter.  

 

[Ble_PE]

The 80/20 is what we did on our first home purchase back in 2006-2007. We have PMI right now on our current home, but it will be going away this year. I could pay to have my home appraised and probably get rid of it now, but I don't want to go through that hassle when it wouldn't save me that much money. 

 

[mudpuppy]

We bought a ghetto townhouse in Atlanta in 1994 and have been rolling the profits from the sale into each additional house so I believe it’s definitely worth it.

It's highly dependent on location.  I lost 33% on my house from 2002 to 2017, though the loss was still less than what I would have paid in rent for 15 years.  That being said, Long Island is probably one of those places that likely won't lose value in the next couple decades.

 

[Road Guy]

We took a gamble on the townhouse, we bought it while in college  as it was cheaper than renting and we had dogs and didn't want to pay pet fee's, and generally have to deal with someone else's rules  "man"...  It was on the edge of some real shithole neighborhoods so it could have went either way, but luckily for us the neighborhood "gentrified".  It was one of those places where you either had bars on your doors and windows or you got broken into..

& you probably got a decent tax write off on the "loss"?

 

[JayKay PE]

It's highly dependent on location.  I lost 33% on my house from 2002 to 2017, though the loss was still less than what I would have paid in rent for 15 years.  That being said, Long Island is probably one of those places that likely won't lose value in the next couple decades.

Eh, during the recession, I think my parent's house dropped down to high 300s/low 400s?  It's recovered a bit, around mid-500s, but they haven't had it reassessed since then/haven't really been looking to sell.  I think they could get around $650k+ easy since it's in a no outlet area with beach access, but then if they stay on LI they would only find smaller stuff.  And to think, they bought the house for $150k when I was little.

 

[wilheldp_PE]

The 80/20 is what we did on our first home purchase back in 2006-2007. We have PMI right now on our current home, but it will be going away this year. I could pay to have my home appraised and probably get rid of it now, but I don't want to go through that hassle when it wouldn't save me that much money. 

I tried to do that last year since my tax assessment increased above the LTV threshold to get rid of PMI.  I was told that since I have an FHA loan, you have to get to 80% loan to original value of the loan before PMI is stopped.  But that will be this year, so I didn't lose out on much PMI money.

 

[Audi Driver P.E.]

@Road Guy

you gonna be ok?

 

[Road Guy]

They are not calling this one a bomb cyclone so maybe well be ok..... its almost 80 today so that means something bad is on the horizon usually this time of year. Also I saw a neighbor putting out their patio furniture before mothers day, which is just asking for it...