General > General Technical Chat
First house for a young man
nctnico:
--- Quote from: cdev on July 03, 2017, 10:03:25 pm ---I would not buy a townhouse or in a neighborhood ruled over by a "homeowenrs association". Ive heard a great many horror stories about them. Also, the quality and integrity (or lack of it) of local government varies a lot from town to town.
--- End quote ---
I strongly agree. Home owners associations must be avoided like the plague! They are usually run by incompetent people or people who let their business friends do the work. Even worse: many of the homes falling under the HOA could be owned by a large company which has a 51% vote over what is going to be done and which company (their subsidiary company!) is going to do the work. Oh and let's not forget about increases in service fees.
nctnico:
--- Quote from: blueskull on July 03, 2017, 10:17:15 pm ---
--- Quote from: cdev on July 03, 2017, 10:03:25 pm ---I would not buy a townhouse or in a neighborhood ruled over by a "homeowenrs association". Ive heard a great many horror stories about them. Also, the quality and integrity (or lack of it) of local government varies a lot from town to town.
--- End quote ---
A real house here would be 300k+, still with HOA. Unless you build a house in a remote place, or buy a house built decades ago, you simply don't have non HOA managed houses, let along townhouses.
My primary goal is to get a house that doesn't need much of my attention, rather than a house I need to work on it every quarter, if not month.
--- End quote ---
Then put the money in an investment fund with a good spread of risks and rent a home. With HOA you will be worse off then renting. HOA is what we would call 'a trap for young players'.
edavid:
--- Quote from: blueskull on July 03, 2017, 03:28:22 am ---1. Should I spend all the money (read: ALL) on a house that leaves me no money at all (maybe a few k$ in checking account, but that's it)...
--- End quote ---
I sure would not feel comfortable with that. I think in your situation you should have at least 6 months living expenses on hand, plus an emergency house repair fund.
--- Quote from: nctnico on July 03, 2017, 10:19:47 pm ---Then put the money in an investment fund with a good spread of risks and rent a home. With HOA you will be worse off then renting. HOA is what we would call 'a trap for young players'.
--- End quote ---
Maybe that's true in NL, but in the US, an HOA full of picky people can be a very good thing for protecting the value of your property.
cdev:
Oh, and especially, avoid mobile homes like the plague. Avoid any kind of home where you dont own any key part of it. There is an important psychological difference between townhouses and neighborhoods. Townhouses, the owners are usually away, you never see people outside, living in their homes. neighborhoods, people are outside a lot, people know each other, kids can feel safe in other peoples yards and houses. You can leave stuff you're using outside and know its unlikely to be stolen, ever. (for example, right now I have my e-field antenna stuck to a camera tripod so I can figure out the best spot, moving it around. I could never do that in a townhouse neighborhood. Also, although some people here hire gardeners, it would bug me to be forced to pay for one. Thats a lot considering that several months of the year you likely don't need any gardening at all.
I would consider a well built and maintained slightly older wood home that was built in the era when homes did not consist of so much plastic.
Some kinds of homes are just really nice to live in. Others, no.
My friend has atwo story townhouse that was in the Bay Area and cheap. I would make an exception for that. A $200k "townhouse" in the Bay Area (around what she paid around 15 yrs ago=really good deal.) I suspect even now, in NC, not really that much. Again unless you already know people you like there.
Try to get out and check out open houses to get a feel for what exists and what it costs. And again, dont think of it as an investment, think of it as your potential home for a long time. Then you'll make the best decisions. Also, look for area that have a diverse community - they often are the best in terms of value and investment too. Communities near colleges tend to be better places to live too. Also look at public transportation. If you drive a lot, sometimes you may want to take the bus when its convenient instead of driving. The further you get from the/an urban center the nicer it is to have a regular bus going in.
Some (big) cities you absolutely do not want to drive into. I can be in midtown of one of those cities in a bit more than half an hour from where I live without driving and its great.
Again this varies a lot from town to town. Light rail or train connections are better than bus connections (easier to read or get work done, more predictable, as no traffic) and having a choice between both is the best.
cdev:
Will 2008 "US crisis" repeat?
IMHO, you can almost bet on it if this passes.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version