Quote of the Day
We bought our wreck 21 years ago and all our worst fears (which you enumerate succinctly) came true. We are hostages, no, slaves, to this energy-devouring century-old heap, which delights in torturing us from its devious old mechanical heart to its leprous, flaking exterior. It has sucked every penny of disposable income from our combined…
We bought our wreck 21 years ago and all our worst fears (which you enumerate succinctly) came true. We are hostages, no, slaves, to this energy-devouring century-old heap, which delights in torturing us from its devious old mechanical heart to its leprous, flaking exterior. It has sucked every penny of disposable income from our combined labors while continuing to deteriorate before our eyes. We have made every imaginable mistake in attempting to “renovate” it, mistakes from which we seldom learn anything, because the next mistake arises from a totally different and unprecedented sort of calamity. Our so-called “investment” has kept us house-poor and chronically overwhelmed for what we laughingly call the “prime” of our lives. And unless someone gives us, oh, say, half a million dollars, it will never get any better. Needless to say, we love this pile of wretched wood and pipes with a passion so tender that to gaze upon it sometimes brings tears to our eyes, at least until a piece of woodwork or roofing falls off in plain sight.
— by Brenda from Flatbush (whose 2009 Prospect Park calendar is now available here) in First Time Homeowner Anxiety
i’ve owned and owned, and yes, there our countless problems no matter what, and more so with a house over a condo. my biggest piece of advice is to waterproof the hell out of your place – this includes backyard drainage, sump pumps, working gutters and basement walls that can “breathe.” with all that said, i really prefer owning, and would not want to go back to renting. i am personally, incredibly particular, and it doesn’t pay to do to a rental what you want to do with property that you own. for one thing, you get to enjoy it while you live there, and i have had success selling because of the work that i’ve done – especially with high end window treatments (i know, seems silly, but does work), and lots of built-ins/storage.
also, if you are unsure, a small investment in a decorator, even for just paint + wallpaper (huge fan of this right now), pays off huge too.
Hi folks;
Well, it seems that all’s well that ends well!! From the further info that the Op has provided, it seems that they are in good shape. I have to respond to Dylanfan’s post, however.
Dylanfan, whether you realize it or not, your message is indeed “you can’t lose in real estate”, and your Jersey City story only reinforces the point. That story is the equivalent of my stock broker calling me and telling me that if I had only gotten in on the ground floor of Google, I’d be rich now. It’s a classic sales pitch, used by all brokers (I’m in sales myself). Millions of people believed that pitch, and they are now headed for foreclosure.
I’m not trying to put you down, but I really suggest that you take some courses on personal finance. The book I’d most recommend to you is “The Millionaire Next Door” by Stanley and Danko. In particular, note what they have to say about the wealthy’s budget practices wrt real estate, and the real source of wealth.
I’m the 14% interest rate poster quoted above, and my message definitely was not, You can’t lose in real estate.
There was no Brownstoner blog to consult before buying back then and we were young and stupid. Though neither of us held an MBA, we were intelligent enough to sense that 14% rates and 10 points provided a powerful disincentive to buy, but we plowed ahead. We wanted to make a “home” for ourselves and our kids. Were we scared to death the day after we closed, as we sat at the kitchen table rolling our change? Yes. Did we buy to make a killing in real estate? No. We slowly made that place a home and spent some of the best years of our lives there. We hung on through economic downturns, hostile takeovers, several airline bankruptcies (my husband flew their planes), and more.
But, and this too is not to say, You can’t lose in real estate, because of course you can, do you think that first brownstone my parents bought in Jersey City in 1948 for $7,800 will ever cost that again? I sure hope so!! Thanks to that first ill-advised purchase, I’ll buy up a dozen of them, and pay cash.
I thought I’d post this here too–
OP Here–I think I did everything right. I am not exceeding 25% of my gross income, I got a 5.25 mortgage rate, I put a a good amount down. Yet, I am still filled with terror. I am hoping to have the same experience as most of you–that it will pass with time. I know the fears are both rational and irrational and that change is hard. I guess that I was thinking it was going to be much easier. Everyone says that home-ownership means pride and control and I thinking of renting as carefree. Also, after all that saving, it is scary not to have months of expenses sitting in the bank right now. I worry about rebuilding the emergency fund while saving to redo the bathroom and kitchen. It all seems so much! Thanks to all of you for reminding me to breathe and be patient.
Anyone want to share recos on a good handyman?
I can’t concentrate enough to write a coherent post on account of divavillage dot com.
I loved Brenda’s post. it was scary and funny at the same time.
benson- i appreciate what you’re saying re advice, but I’m not sure what anyone can say to a cyber-aquaintance who seemed to be looking more for support from others who have gone through what he is going through, than an assessment of his decision. realistically, and as you said, without details no one could make a realistic assessment. But hte OP wasn’t looking for that so much as looking for comfort and reassurance.
I would never have perceived Brenda’s post or others’ in response to the OP as telling him to go ahead and buy, he can’t lose. All anybody was saying was, yep, it IS stressful to own a brownstone especially the first year. If the OP needs specific financial advice then he could and should have provided his financial information. But he didn’t.
brenda did you get your government coupon yet toward a digital converter box? this february you can only view QVC if you have one!!
*(rob*
benson wrote: “If someone had told these folks two years ago to cut and run while their head was still above water, they would be in a different situation right now.”
benson, i guess what I am not understanding about your point is what this person could do. Are you suggesting that absent other information they would be better off walking on their mortgage? the people you mention above could have cut and run two years ago when the selling was still good but now it is doubtful that the OP (or any other person selling, myself included) would be able to get the same amount for the house that they themselves just purchased. SO I guess it is not so much that we are disagreeing as that I don’t see the point of your warning.