I own my house

I purchased it in the spring of 07 and was moved in by August due to remodeling the inside, I was 23 when I bought my house... Its 1600sqft with full basement and 2 1/2 car garage Detached on a 3/4 acre lot I love it!!!!



DAN



DAN

3100 sq/ft, although I'm sure others' homes dwarf mine. Especially out in the country where the property is a lot cheaper. My grandparents have the same size house in the country and paid 1/3 what I had to in the Phoenix area.

1400 square foot here, just me and 2 bloodhounds. Moved here to the big city from an 100 acre farm with a pre-civil war farm house. What a change. I miss the country.

I live by myself in vancouver for studying, and my parents bought me 2.4 million(4000sf) house for family investment. Back in china, my parents live in 5 million house(9000sf) in hongkong.:ugh2:

In my dream:p

Now you're speaking my language.:hello:

I deal with a lot of wealthy clients that don't own a house. Lots of them rent (especially if they live in the city) and some may own some vacation property elsewhere.

Some people say it's a waste of money to rent, but for some people the ease of apartment living is worth it. It's as much a financial decision as it is one of personal preference whether you ultimately own or rent.

As far as the whole living with the parents thing... as soon as I graduated from school I lived with my parents for a while paying rent. I could have easily bought some ridiculous car and lived with them paying cheap rent but there's no way in hell I was going to do that. Like someone else said, it's all about priorities.

I sacrifice nothing to own my Z. I live in the apartment I want and have all the crap I want and need to call it home. The Z is just an accessory. I know a lot of people stretch to be able to afford the car that they really want, and many do it at the expense of their living standards. I know there are people that can only own their Z's because they are paying discounted rent at their parent's house. If they are content with being confined to living under their parents wing until they get a fat raise or pay their car off that's fine... but it's never something I could see myself doing.

It's not even that. Usually they just enjoy the ease of apartment living. They don't have to worry about lawn care or even about selling their property if they decide to up and leave.

From a financial perspective, owning is always going to be better than renting if you assume that the value of the property stays the same or appreciates because you will get your mortgage payments back in a sale.

If you're renting, you're throwing that rental payment away and will never get it back.

I despise apartment living! I would get into some sort of altercation at least once a month with some douchebag blaring his music, or leaving his trash by our door etc.

To me the benefit of owing the home is (usually) appreciation of the property AND the mortgage interest write off every year, so the benefit is two fold.

But those experiences will vary from place to place. If you are in a posh high rise you're never going to have to deal with those issues vs. an older complex with thin walls, etc.

But I agree about the benefits of owning. I just like the idea of having my own property even if it means I have to cut the grass myself.

It also depends on the cost of living in your area, in some places the housing market is much more favorable.

Man that sucks. "If" I ever get married again, or have a long term live-in, there will definitely be a pre-nup signed. No b**** is going to take away all that I have worked all my life for. Glad you didn't loose it!!!

John

Own home & vacation property

It's really not so much about "size" amymore. Many are downsizing for energy conservation. I think the size should fit ones needs and lifestyle. Mine is only 2200 sq/ft, but the great room and kitchen are very large and open, as is the master bedroom........ 1000 sq/ft deck on the back as well. You can tailor something perfect to your needs without having to be too big :tiphat:

John

i am 21 and i was about to close a deal on my new PG sport pkg. 370z last month but decided instead to take advantage of this $8000 tax credit for first time homeowners. my house is in construction now and will be done late october. The $8000 tax credit will go to the Z when i get it in around spring/summer

Excellent and wise financial move!!!

John