You can't just get up and leave to another state when you want. You're trapped into a $1K /week job (give/take) to often times barely meet expenses with none left over. Same city, places, people, 365 days/year, YOY. Parts of the country/world, you never see, except during your 2 week vacation.
But having a family and/or building a 401K & retirement usually requires this.
It is possible to sell a house and move on to another place. And some of us get 6+ weeks a year of vacation to go explore the world. OP fail.
ccrryypptt wrote:
You can't just get up and leave to another state when you want. You're trapped into a $1K /week job (give/take) to often times barely meet expenses with none left over. Same city, places, people, 365 days/year, YOY. Parts of the country/world, you never see, except during your 2 week vacation.
But having a family and/or building a 401K & retirement usually requires this.
1) You absolutely can leave to another state if you want. Sell the house and move, or do what a friend of mine just did...she rented her house, moved, and the rent she gets covers the mortgage payment on both houses.
2) If you want to be a nomad, then you don't HAVE to buy a house. Live in an apartment. Even there, you typically sign a lease for a year, so, unless you want to eat some rent money, you can't just "up and leave" when you are in an apartment either.
fansofonly wrote:
It is possible to sell a house and move on to another place. And some of us get 6+ weeks a year of vacation to go explore the world. OP fail.
Selling a house, you're still pretty committed to at least a couple years in any house you buy. And you're paying closing/admin costs. I like to leave an area every few months, and if I like it- revisit in a year. Far as 6+ weeks vacation- most do not get that much.
Flagpole wrote:
1) You absolutely can leave to another state if you want. Sell the house and move, or do what a friend of mine just did...she rented her house, moved, and the rent she gets covers the mortgage payment on both houses.
2) If you want to be a nomad, then you don't HAVE to buy a house. Live in an apartment. Even there, you typically sign a lease for a year, so, unless you want to eat some rent money, you can't just "up and leave" when you are in an apartment either.
You can usually rent rooms, month-month. Sure, many would find it too small, etc.. But to me, free to do what I want is what I value most. I've worked years, saved... and am not retired yet, but have secured my future. I could never go back to what I was.
ccrryypptt wrote:
fansofonly wrote:
It is possible to sell a house and move on to another place. And some of us get 6+ weeks a year of vacation to go explore the world. OP fail.
Selling a house, you're still pretty committed to at least a couple years in any house you buy. And you're paying closing/admin costs. I like to leave an area every few months, and if I like it- revisit in a year. Far as 6+ weeks vacation- most do not get that much.
You're describing a hobo.
Agreed to an extent. Lots of folks grow up in a boring low income town and they buy a boring house with a mortgage (probably over-leveraged / house poor) and they stay in their boring town / house and have a boring career.
Renting adds flexibility. No significant down payments, no repairs and maintenance. It's a lot easier to move if you land a dream job in a cool town. I actually know plenty of folks in tech who would get nice job offers with a sign on bonus that would essentially pay for ending a lease early.
Anecdotally one of my good friends bought as house as early as possible and recently sold this year and made bank off the sale. However, he just bought a bigger and more expensive home to live in essentially a couple blocks away. Like cool, you have a nice house. But you're still house poor and living in the same town. If that's your end game, that's cool not judging. But that's not always the best way.
Kerouac wrote:
You're describing a hobo.
A hobo is usually struggling and goes wherever. I'm talking about doing what you want, going warm weather in the winter months, etc.. For me, 1 city, 1 place YOY doesn't cut it.
I am semi-retired at 45 with several rentals, none of that would have happened without a mortgage. From the time I bought my house and got a few roommates paying me the road got easier and easier. I wouldn't get stuck in such a simpleton mind frame as what the OP has.
Cut down to the bone and pay off your mortgage with multiple payments per month. You'll save potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars on the mortgage. I paid off our house in 5 1/2 years from a 15 year mortgage and double payments. I spend little and we lived partly off my partner's salary and partly off mine and tax refunds to get through the summers. It wasn't that hard but served as a forced savings program that we never would have had the discipline to meet or exceed if we were just, say, making regular payments on a 30 y mortgage and using the remainder to invest at higher interest rates in the market.
local sheep wrote:
Lots of folks grow up in a boring low income town and they buy a boring house with a mortgage (probably over-leveraged / house poor) and they stay in their boring town / house and have a boring career.
ummm....
local sheep wrote: I actually know plenty of folks in tech who would get nice job offers with a sign on bonus that would essentially pay for ending a lease early.
Tech is literally the most boring job in the world. It's the definition of getting a boring job so you can get a morgage and have a boring career.
ccrryypptt wrote:
Kerouac wrote:
You're describing a hobo.
A hobo is usually struggling and goes wherever. I'm talking about doing what you want, going warm weather in the winter months, etc.. For me, 1 city, 1 place YOY doesn't cut it.
That's retirement.
fansofonly wrote:
It is possible to sell a house and move on to another place. And some of us get 6+ weeks a year of vacation to go explore the world. OP fail.
Big OP Fail. I guess the alternative to a mortgage is living for free as a homeless person under a bridge? If you're renting you're locked into a typically year long contract, and often a two bedroom apartment rent is the same as a mortgage payment. The difference is the mortgage payment helps pay for the house which you keep, the apartment rent is never seen again. And yes, a person can move to a different location if they want and sell the house. Or they could go on these things called vacations. Or in my case, continue to work somewhere remotely before returning to the house.
zvcxzcvx wrote:
Cut down to the bone and pay off your mortgage with multiple payments per month. You'll save potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars on the mortgage. I paid off our house in 5 1/2 years from a 15 year mortgage and double payments. I spend little and we lived partly off my partner's salary and partly off mine and tax refunds to get through the summers. It wasn't that hard but served as a forced savings program that we never would have had the discipline to meet or exceed if we were just, say, making regular payments on a 30 y mortgage and using the remainder to invest at higher interest rates in the market.
Great job! Getting shelter needs taken care of quickly is freedom. Most people can't do that without a mortgage.
I had a house free and clear with rental income from houses with mortgages before I got married. Game changer for someone who doesn't do 9-5 well and isn't a genius either.
I am hearing that you do not earn enough to save for a down payment nor enough to use the tax advantages? You are also priced out of the expensive market that you live in? How adorable!
Bought first house for $200k and sold for $300k. Bought 2nd house for $350k and sold for $450k. Built current house for $400k and paid off mortgage. House is worth about $600k now with no mortgage payment forever.
Owning a home is more expensive (mortgage, insurance, taxes, repairs, needless home improvement projects your wife insists on doing., etc.) than renting, and there are massive transactions costs to sell a house. Sure, you could get lucky and your leveraged investment appreciates in value, but then what do you do when you sell? The house you’ll buy will be just as expensive, or more so (unless you’re downsizing).
In general, it’s probably a better financial decision to rent unless you know you’ll live in a house for at least 10 years.
Kerouac wrote:
local sheep wrote:
Lots of folks grow up in a boring low income town and they buy a boring house with a mortgage (probably over-leveraged / house poor) and they stay in their boring town / house and have a boring career.
ummm....
local sheep wrote: I actually know plenty of folks in tech who would get nice job offers with a sign on bonus that would essentially pay for ending a lease early.
Have you have a very dated notion of the tech industry.
Tech is literally the most boring job in the world. It's the definition of getting a boring job so you can get a morgage and have a boring career.
You’re saying it’s hard to move cities every few months AND own a home in each one? Real insightful.
bio Domer wrote:
Owning a home is more expensive (mortgage, insurance, taxes, repairs, needless home improvement projects your wife insists on doing., etc.) than renting, and there are massive transactions costs to sell a house. Sure, you could get lucky and your leveraged investment appreciates in value, but then what do you do when you sell? The house you’ll buy will be just as expensive, or more so (unless you’re downsizing).
In general, it’s probably a better financial decision to rent unless you know you’ll live in a house for at least 10 years.
When do you sell? what do you get when your landlord sells? Who said when you sell your 600k house that you have to buy another one. Don't get the wrong wife, much worse than even being a slave to a mortgage. Sounds like you lack confidence and positive vision for a lot of things.