Time is money. Pay someone to do all those things for you and then you would have time on the weekends. Ultimately, the reason is money.
Time is money. Pay someone to do all those things for you and then you would have time on the weekends. Ultimately, the reason is money.
Knew a guy who bought a $235,000 crappy house, gutted the thing and turned it into an amazing spectacle on the inside. Both basement and first floor were meticulously done. As soon as he wrapped up his 9-month project the water pump flooded the back yard and cost him another 20k out of pocket.
Don't listen to HGTV. Fixing up houses is for the birds. Your friend should have just bought a nicer house without fix-up. Newlyweds and young people underestimate the time required to fix houses properly. Just buy something nice (not "flipped") up front and save your time. Is it fun going to Home Depot every weekend or arranging contractors? No.
OP has a point. Don't buy a crappy house. Save and buy something decent.
Once you are a home owner, the optimal stragegy for appreciation and resale is actually "deferred maintenance". Why? Because there's so many morons that watch HGTV and underestimate the cost of fixing up a house.
I've never wanted to own a home, even in high school. I see it a a big ball and chain. I want to be able to pick up and pack up all my belongings (I don't have a lot) at any time. Business wants people to own because they are more predictable to market to and sell some useful stuff to and sell even more stuff that isn't.
Buy a low maintenance house: permanent siding, small lawn, natural landscape, no big trees close to house, etc... My first house had none of these but you can bet that my current house does. I spend almost no time or money on maintenance.
House Guy wrote:
Buy a low maintenance house: permanent siding, small lawn, natural landscape, no big trees close to house, etc... My first house had none of these but you can bet that my current house does. I spend almost no time or money on maintenance.
I got a neighbor just like you.
His pigsty shows his savoir faire, so to speak.
sock puppet wrote:
observer_of_things wrote:This is why insurance is an actual thing that exists
Believe it or not this would not have been covered by your homeowners policy because flood and surface water is specifically excluded. There would not have been coverage under a flood policy because there was no "general condition of flooding".
Damage from burst pipes/pumps/etc is covered usually I thought?
From your post, it is fairly obvious that you are single (if all of your time is running and work). As a single person, you don't have to be all that financially savy as it is pretty simple to take care of one's own self. It would be a good tax write off to own some property so long as you aren't moving around a lot, as you are probably getting taxed to hell. That being said, real estate isn't always a sure fire investment as others here have professed, and if your money is invested in something else that is out performing real estate (and the tax avoidance you would be getting from it), renting is not all that bad. In summary, it probably isn't the best idea to rent for 20 years, but if your single, it's not the end of the world, you will just have to work a little longer until you retire.