apt. complex shananigans

Pay da rent and things like dat...

 

Yeah near major cities (and not living in the hood) is very expensive, I've found out. And some places like NYC, owning property is simply out of the question.

 

I have a friend who lives in Sleepy Hollow, which is just like 30 miles outside of NYC. His house cost over 400k and is smaller than mine. I paid 110k. The property values in and around big cities like that are just ridiculous.

 

Real-estate around NYC is nuts, everything is over twice the price it should be..

 

Extremely unlikely interest rates remain this low forever. If you plan to stay somewhere at least 5 years, buying is the way to go. Of course it's all about locations and regional trends. Buying in Nashville 7-8 years ago and you could not have lost money on your house.

 

It's not worth it. I'm ok with being able to go to Indy/Nashville/St. Louis within 2-3 hours, and not have to live there.

 

totally disagree. A paid off house is awesome. Nobody owns your ass - NOBODY

you can pick up cans on the side of the road for a living if you choose.

 

Still got to pay the tax man but yeah....no mortgage is almost like having a second job.

 

Yeah man. I pay an extra $100, minimum, on my principal ever single month. I cannot wait for the day I have a paid off house.

 

I went into my mortgage knowing that I would never pay it off. I basically am using it as a rental that I'll profit on. The 20k or more I clear when I sell will pay half of my down payment on my new house... Which I may or may not ever pay off. It'll be nice if I do, but if not, can always get money back when I sell again.

Key is buying in a good area that will never go to crap (in your lifetime at least). If you do buy a house and the area goes to trash, you are just plain underwater.

Better to buy the worst house in a good neighborhood than the best house in a bad one.

But you paying extra is very smart if you plan on staying for awhile. For me, it would be putting cash in, just to take it back out in a few years when selling.