I’ll tell ya this. I bought my house for right at the county appraised value. The previous owner put in some 20k worth if remodeling and it was a perfect move in ready. Plus I got the seller to pay ALL of the closing costs and put in a brand new $2000 radon mitigation system as a condition of the sale. And finally a $5000 down payment grant
The private appraisal came in at $45k more than the county. If someone knocked on my door tomorrow and said I’ll buy this house from you for anything close to what the bank appraisal said, I’d be like "let me start packing.
Bought a house 33 years ago for $110,000, putting down 10%. We’ve refinanced a couple times and taken out $80,000. Today the house is worth $725,000 and my mortgage is 1/3 of what it would cost me to rent a house like mine. Of course have to also take into account that over the years we’ve put out money to reroof, paint, new windows, a/c unit, remodeled kitchen, new floors, etc.
150,000 and a 3 hour drive to work.
just taking a fast look at most of those listing are in the middle of no where in small rural town.
I don’t know many Canadian who want to drive on two lane highways in the winter for more then an hour.
Never rented a day in my life. Went straight from living at home to a small house at the age of 26. Yeah I know, a bit late. I knew a lot of people that rented. Whether it was an apartment building or a two story house, I hated the idea.
OP must be a realtor. They always think its the right time to buy and think everyone should.
I bought a house in MD in 1999 and sold it in 2003 when I moved to texas. IT was GREAT -Built up investment. It was the right decision!
I bought a house in Texas in 2003 and sold when i had to move in 2005. TERRIBLE choice. Should have rented. Thought i would be there longer - house prices in TX move so slow and the laws there make everyone THINK their house is worth more then it is.
Moved to CA - Rented. Almost bought -Thank god i didn’t!!! I had to move in 2008 again and at that point, the market had crashed and any house i bought would have lost a TON of money. I would have had to short sell Im sure.
Moved to VA in 2008 - Bought a house. But got divorced. Still own that house and pay 1/2 the costs and will get 1/2 the equity when the house sells (Required to sell in 5 more years). It worked out well.
But I got remarried and me new wife and I decided to Rent. The money we save from renting goes straight to other investments and has worked out pretty well for us.
So - whats the point of all that? The point is saying “Everyone should buy” or “Everyone should rent” is 100% bad advice. It depends on the person, the area, the situation, the plans, the cost difference, the market, and their budget.
It really depends on each situation. I’m renting at the moment.
I’m buying a house trailer soon. I’m inheriting a nice house (and three other rental trailers) so no need for me to get trapped in the housing market.
I’ve got my eye on a nice repo trailer for a very reasonable price. Only about four years old. Doesn’t need any work other than removing stains from the ceiling and removing the carpet and replacing it with different flooring material; the evicted couple smoked in it so the ceiling is stained and there are a few burn marks in the living room carpet. Easy work that I used to do all the time. Other than that, it’s pretty flawless.
Might not he such a bad idea to start looking for a realtor and figure out where, how much house you want, and what features they want in a home.
However, towards fall and winter, when fewer individuals/families are looking may be a better time to buy. Sellers may be more open to lowering their prices as they’re not seeing as many potential buyers.
Many families with children in particular tend to buy towards the end of spring in particular, and prices go up with demand. We moved into our house In May of last year, started the purchase around March or early April. That home would have sold for more had we waited until the end of the school year.
