Quote:
Originally Posted by DreamN
Fucking hate California for how overpriced homes are. I have cousins near the east coast. Paid something like $350k for something that pretty much resembles homes than would sell for nearly a million out here. It's nuts.
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It all comes down to location. My girlfriend and I were very fortunate to have found the property we bought. 1000 sq ft 2 bed/1 bath, 6000sq ft lot, huge front/back yard with a long driveway and a wide two car garage. $240k. Also very lucky to have ended up in the best area in the city. Super quiet, well kept/maintained homes, no fences around the front lawn. Drive through LA, nothing but chain link fences and door bars. Good indication of where not to live.
It did need work, but we've invested roughly $30k or so on our remodel so far. Interior/exterior completely redone, new stucco/window trim, interior completely refinished, new bathroom, new kitchen, furniture, plumbing, etc. Didn't exactly cheap out on the remodel either, just got really good deals from family friends on the labor.
Right now, the property value is back up to $315k based on the previous condition(which was horrible). Homes similar to ours with a fresh remodel are priced around $360k and at its peak was worth $450k.
Our mortgage is below $900/month (taking into account the down payment we had) and our monthly expenses are next to nothing. So, there's no need for us to earn loads of money to enjoy our lives. We have plenty left over at the end of the month that we apply toward the principal of the mortgage. Can't beat paying off a 30 year mortgage in 7.
But, yeah. Having worked in banking, I saw first hand how people buried themselves into these ridiculously large mortgages and high monthly payments. My thought process was pretty simple going into my home purchase. I'd better be damn sure I can afford this payment for the next 30 years.