GimmeeShelter Posted June 19, 2020 Posted June 19, 2020 I’m trying to decide if I should buy a home in the Austin area. I make a little less than $140K a year (including bonus and investments), which I know isn’t great for Austin but that’s another problem. Assuming I can buy a starter home around $400K (and it’s a good investment/right area/etc), should I? I feel like girls in Texas really look down on men in their late 20s like me that don’t a home...
Gaeta Posted June 19, 2020 Posted June 19, 2020 I hope you're wrong and Austin isn't living still in the last century mentality. Nowadays I think women want to find a life partner to purchase a house together, not get a man with a house. 4
Crazelnut Posted June 19, 2020 Posted June 19, 2020 You're thinking about going into major debt because you think it'll improve your chance with women??? 2 1
Weezy1973 Posted June 19, 2020 Posted June 19, 2020 Renting is cheaper and you can invest the extra money and over time that will net you more. As long as you’re investing, you should be fine. A mortgage is more like forced savings, so if you find you spend too much when left to your own devices it might be worth buying the house. You should not buy the house in an attempt to make yourself more attractive to women.
Miss Spider Posted June 19, 2020 Posted June 19, 2020 That sounds like a good amount of home to get just to pull women
Gaeta Posted June 19, 2020 Posted June 19, 2020 Pull women with what? The property is his. Even if he marries the fact he purchased it to his name before the legal union it remains his. How many women are interested in living in 'their boyfriends' home and pay utilities? nah. 2
Ruby Slippers Posted June 19, 2020 Posted June 19, 2020 Women definitely care about good financial planning and stability, and being smart from a young age will definitely give you an edge. Owning a home is a much better investment that renting, so I think it's a good idea. Your mortgage payment including property tax and insurance should be no more than 25% of your take-home pay on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage, so a $400,000 house on your salary is reasonable. 1
Miss Spider Posted June 19, 2020 Posted June 19, 2020 (edited) xxxxx Edited June 19, 2020 by Cookiesandough
Gaeta Posted June 19, 2020 Posted June 19, 2020 Purchase a house if you really want one or you'll find it to be a burden. A house is a lot of work, there is no landlord to call when the plumbing is leeking and maintenance take money and time. At your age do you want to spend your weekend mowing lawn, cleaning garage, maintaining swimming pool. 1
clia Posted June 19, 2020 Posted June 19, 2020 If you want to buy a house, you should buy a house. What women think about it shouldn't even be a factor. 4
d0nnivain Posted June 19, 2020 Posted June 19, 2020 (edited) Do not buy a house in an attempt to impress a potential date. the upkeep on a single family starter home will eat up all your free time & leave you little time for dating. Marriage minded women do not care whether you own the home. They do care about financial stability. If you are mooching off mommy & daddy is bad but renting is fine. Edited June 19, 2020 by d0nnivain 1
CautiouslyOptimistic Posted June 19, 2020 Posted June 19, 2020 59 minutes ago, d0nnivain said: Do not buy a house in an attempt to impress a potential date. the upkeep on a single family starter home will eat up all your free time & leave you little time for dating. Marriage minded women do not care whether you own the home. They do care about financial stability. If you are mooching off mommy & daddy is bad but renting is fine. Agree. Home ownership is a good goal, but having a nice apartment with which you're current on rent, can decorate nicely, and still have time and money to do fun things will be just as desirable to a young woman. Unless you know you're never going to leave Austin, I would wait on buying.... 2
Hopeful30 Posted June 19, 2020 Posted June 19, 2020 3 hours ago, GimmeeShelter said: I’m trying to decide if I should buy a home in the Austin area. I make a little less than $140K a year (including bonus and investments), which I know isn’t great for Austin but that’s another problem. Assuming I can buy a starter home around $400K (and it’s a good investment/right area/etc), should I? I feel like girls in Texas really look down on men in their late 20s like me that don’t a home... I love this discussion question. Recently this has entered my mind, and for me personally, it makes a difference. Being a home owner is a representation of how invested a man is about his financial stability and security. This is an attractive quality. 3
Hopeful30 Posted June 19, 2020 Posted June 19, 2020 2 hours ago, Gaeta said: Purchase a house if you really want one or you'll find it to be a burden. A house is a lot of work, there is no landlord to call when the plumbing is leeking and maintenance take money and time. At your age do you want to spend your weekend mowing lawn, cleaning garage, maintaining swimming pool. Why not? These are valid activities. Maintaining a home is a pleasure. It's your place of living. And it's a big financial commitment. It's a worthy step, just a bit more maintenance. And how messy can one man get anyway?
Gaeta Posted June 19, 2020 Posted June 19, 2020 Hopeful30: To you it is, why not ask OP if it's what he wants to do with his weekends at 28 years old. Maybe he has other interest. Maybe he's not handy and has no interest in fixing yard, and putting up shelves. 1
Hopeful30 Posted June 19, 2020 Posted June 19, 2020 1 minute ago, Gaeta said: Hopeful30: To you it is, why not ask OP if it's what he wants to do with his weekends at 28 years old. Maybe he has other interest. Maybe he's not handy and has no interest in fixing yard, and putting up shelves. OP?
basil67 Posted June 19, 2020 Posted June 19, 2020 4 hours ago, Weezy1973 said: Renting is cheaper and you can invest the extra money and over time that will net you more. As long as you’re investing, you should be fine. A mortgage is more like forced savings, so if you find you spend too much when left to your own devices it might be worth buying the house. Are you talking about the Austin rental market? Or is rent in the whole of the US so low that one can also have money leftover to invest? What you speak of is so different to the rental market where I am, I can't help but ask the question.
Hopeful30 Posted June 19, 2020 Posted June 19, 2020 (edited) If you're paying monthly living anyways, why not pay it towards a mortgage so that you get it back in the end? (When you sell) Edited June 19, 2020 by Hopeful30 3
CautiouslyOptimistic Posted June 19, 2020 Posted June 19, 2020 28 minutes ago, Hopeful30 said: If you're paying monthly living anyways, why not pay it towards a mortgage so that you get it back in the end? (When you sell) Depends on how much equity you have in it of course, and home ownership comes with a lot of costs you sometimes don't think of up front. I own a home now and kind wish I'd just rented.....I have decent equity and will make money whenever I eventually sell, but it's a lot more stressful than renting.
deepthinking Posted June 19, 2020 Posted June 19, 2020 Make your mark professionally, then get a house of substance, just making enough for a mere starter flat will put you on a treadmill, irreversibly
Weezy1973 Posted June 19, 2020 Posted June 19, 2020 (edited) 54 minutes ago, basil67 said: Are you talking about the Austin rental market? Or is rent in the whole of the US so low that one can also have money leftover to invest? What you speak of is so different to the rental market where I am, I can't help but ask the question. When you add in maintenance, interest, property tax and insurance, renting is almost always cheaper. Of course if you have a big down payment that changes things, but in average for sure renting is cheaper. Add in the flexibility of being able to move whenever you need to, renting is often the better option as long as you’re putting the difference into investments. Edited June 19, 2020 by Weezy1973 1
basil67 Posted June 19, 2020 Posted June 19, 2020 (edited) @Weezy1973, so a broad amount of people can find rentals in large cities (with landlords who actually do repairs) for less than 30% of their income? Wow. Edited June 19, 2020 by basil67
Weezy1973 Posted June 19, 2020 Posted June 19, 2020 I mean it depends on the place. Some cities are really expensive, but in those cities home ownership will still be even more expensive. Renting for life is a pretty good plan as long as you can invest the difference.
d0nnivain Posted June 19, 2020 Posted June 19, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, Hopeful30 said: Maintaining a home is a pleasure. Maintaining a home is a never ending, expensive pain in the tail & a lot of things you can't do yourself. We need a new roof. Last year we put in a new chimney & rebuilt a retaining wall. Those are not do it yourself projects & they all require investments of 10s of thousands of dollars. If it's a real fixer up & you are not handy it's just a money pit. When you rent, you call & somebody else shows up at no additional costs to you & does all those things. Edited June 19, 2020 by d0nnivain 2
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