For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

[23]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

I get the courage to look at mine every blue moon lol


beyond that, its almost like its not there if you know what i mean

what i mean is, what goes in, I act like I dont have it, so I dont touch it, dont think about it, so its money im paying to myself

Best part about borrowing from your 401k is, whatever larger amount you're payin back to yourself, they match that amount as well... its a win win

That dollar for dollar thing is awesome!

I just wish my salary was much better, but combined with my wife, we're no different than any other average couple in the world I guess...either way im not complaining, I've been blessed

I remember the days of getting 800 bucks every two weeks taking care of everything, rent, carn note, food, family and have no idea how i made it but i did

[bigeastbumrush]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Same here.

The more you make; the more you spend.

It's all about lifestyle.

[23]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Yep pretty much..and while I might want something big once or twice a year, I dont do it always, so I think I'd be ok...just want the mortgage to be affordable

jumping from rent to that is a scary thought...but i wont worry too much

[fistofrage]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Yep pretty much..and while I might want something big once or twice a year, I dont do it always, so I think I'd be ok...just want the mortgage to be affordable

jumping from rent to that is a scary thought...but i wont worry too much

I wouldn't worry too much. My prediction is that at some point hyper inflation will set in. Rent is going up. Interest rates are at an all time low. People who have a fixed mortgage in the 4% to low 5% in a house that they intend to live in for the next 10 years plus will be very happy that they have a fixed mortgage as the cost of rent spirals upward.

[23]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

I would say rent has gone up already really. Mine is low now becuase I've been in the current building for a long time, but people pay 13-14-1500 or more for rent now

Buddy of mine had a 2 bedroom apt in santa monica and was paying 2200 a month... thats just insane

[Jonesy]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

I've personally bought 5 properties in my life (sold 3) and truly it's the first one that's the scariest (obviously).

With the drop in prices in some markets and crazy low interest rates you guys have I'd be like a kid in a candy shop over there right now. Def do it man and like fist said I think if you can get a fixed rate loan now you'll be loving it in 10 years. We pay more than 5% now here in Australia on variable loans so if you can get it fixed for 5% or below I would jump at that.

Can you guys use offset accounts against your home loans in the US? Here we have an account that my wife and I pay our salaries into that is the home loan account and it brings down the principle on the loan while it's sitting there but we use that account for bills etc. It adds up to many thousands of dollars of interest saved over the life of the loan.

GL with it man. It is nerve racking and you should definitely do your due diligence and take your time but at the end of the day I think it's totally worth it especially now.

[mjb2124]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

beyond that, its almost like its not there if you know what i mean

I know exactly what you mean. I look at the statements simply because they're mailed to me and kind of chuckle at them. It's not money that I'm touching until I'm retired so there's no sense in getting really upset over how much is lost...it'll bounce back. Plus, the way I look at it now is I'm buying into more shares at a lower price now...when it does bounce back, it will be that much higher.

[mjb2124]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

The more you make; the more you spend.

It's all about lifestyle.

There's a lot of truth to that...But for one person a $50,000 car might not be a lot where as for another person, it might be a huge amount. I always get annoyed when people try to keep up with the Joneses as everyone is different and everyone makes a different amount. As long as the person is happy, that's all that matters.

[bigeastbumrush]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

I would say rent has gone up already really. Mine is low now becuase I've been in the current building for a long time, but people pay 13-14-1500 or more for rent now

Buddy of mine had a 2 bedroom apt in santa monica and was paying 2200 a month... thats just insane

My monthly mortgage payment is lower than what I was paying monthly to rent.

A rule of thumb I used was to back into how much you're willing to pay per month on a mortgage (how much you can realistically handle worst case scenario if you lose your job) and then decide how much for the house you're willing to buy.

There's a lot of truth to that...But for one person a $50,000 car might not be a lot where as for another person, it might be a huge amount. I always get annoyed when people try to keep up with the Joneses as everyone is different and everyone makes a different amount. As long as the person is happy, that's all that matters.

I was making less and doing more somehow. But the more I made...things just seemed to start caving in.

It's about managing your lifestyle. When things go wrong (someone loses a job for instance), it's not the fact that they don't have money that really stresses them out the most. It's the fact that they can't get adjusted to the lifestyle that they used to live when they had money coming in.

[23]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Jonesy..explain that account thing a bit more would ya?

..and I've seen your latest place...lol Who can argue that it hasnt worked out for you?

mjb...yes, even though some was lost, it definitely bounced back, it was just at the time, I wasnt making much as I just showed you, and I could only contribute 20 bucks per check and I just went the conservative route since they scared the mess out of me about aggressive being so riskly LOL

...now a 50k car is too much for me, but then again im not looking to do that...my GMC Yukon will be paid off in a year or two, and I'd like to take some time to just enjoy not having any car payments anyway, so Ill just keep what I have for awhile

[mjb2124]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

I was making less and doing more somehow. But the more I made...things just seemed to start caving in.

It's about managing your lifestyle. When things go wrong (someone loses a job for instance), it's not the fact that they don't have money that really stresses them out the most. It's the fact that they can't get adjusted to the lifestyle that they used to live when they had money coming in.

That's why it's different with everyone. I've been the same throughout...splurge a little bit here and there (want to enjoy things with life while I'm alive), but for the most part I save and invest as much as I can. 11-12 years ago when I made 1/2 to 1/4 of what I make now and my spending habits are pretty much the same. I have a nicer car/house now (car is paid off), but that's about it. It's all about setting a budget and expectations and sticking to it IMO.

[Jonesy]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Jonesy..explain that account thing a bit more would ya?

Lol sorry man I didn't explain it very well.

this sort of explains it better:

If you want to reduce the amount of interest you pay on your home loan, one option is an "offset" facility.

The way that this works is that, in addition to your home loan, you have a transaction account with the same financial institution. You deposit your income into the transaction account and use it for all your day to day expenses. Any money in this account is offset against the amount owing on your home loan and you only pay interest on the outstanding balance. So say, for example, that you have a home loan of $150,000 and you have a balance of $5,000 in your transaction account, you only pay interest on $145,000. Interest is calculated on a daily basis. It sounds like a great idea, a way that you can pay off your mortgage early and still have access to all your funds.

What we do is basically my salary and bonus's go towards the mortgage etc and paying for investments etc like a managed fund then we live off my wife's salary.

If you haven't done so yet I would suggest sitting down with your wife and doing up a simple budget so you can see exactly how much you spend, how much you end up with in the hand after taxes etc so you know where you stand and how much you can truly afford without stretching it too thin.

[23]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

My wife is great at budgeting ...cant tell you how many times we've gone over the debt and stuff we had

I will definitely go through this stuff with her again once they look over our initial paperwork

That account sounds interesting, although im not sure I quite get it yet... also has anyone here ever looked into a 15yr loan instead of 30 years?

...and honestly, im not high maintenance at all, so if my lifestyle doesnt change too much thats fine by me....although I'd love to take couple of vacations out of LA in the year just to get away from the busy schedule...other than that...


I dont know how much im ready for the responsibility, but im definitely not too thrilled with paying extra taxes just because they say we're past a threshold, but im renting, when in truth the cost of living out here is flat out ridiculous and people's paycheck's arent going up half as fast..its crazy to even be in this situation

[Russell76]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Well recently I was looking for an apartment to buy I was facing very difficulty in finding a good one so I hired an expert real estate agent in Chicago who helped me in finding a good one and I got it for only $3K.

[Aggies7]

For me I bought a short sale and it was a long grueling process. But with a good real estate agent you should be fine.

Just don't jump at the first option that you like. Take your time