I Want To Buy A House, Advice?

[Dratj 0]

Beautiful house. Perfect inside and out, great location, no renos needed, a dream home. 859k Canadian. It's about 250k more than I want to spend. Can I afford a 859k house? Yes. Will the bank lend me money? Yes. In fact, the bank will lend my wife and I up to 1.2 million but I don't want to push it that much. I originally only want to spend about 500 to 600k on a house, have small mortgage payments and be very stress free financially. Mortgage payments will be about 4k a month which we can afford but will be a big jump from the 800 dollars a month that we pay now on our condo with we bought four years ago for 232k. There's no stress at all in paying 800 dollars a month. However, I really love this house. Worse comes to worse I can always sell it right? Tell me I'm stupid or tell me I'm making the right choice by buying this place.

[chrozzo 19]

go far it if its what u want, u deserve itgood luck

[Dratj 0]

go far it if its what u want, u deserve itgood luck

Thx Chrozzo.

[hblask 1]

There are few things in life that are more rewarding than having a house you love.Having said that, it's very possible to love a smaller house.I've been all over the map financially in my life, from living cheap to way over-extended, and life is much happier when you are not over-extended.On the other hand, a house is an investment you live in. And based on the fact that the bank will lend you much more, you probably wouldn't be too extended with this house. So if you plan to stay there more than, say, 7 years, you'll be financially much better off with a more expensive house, and will have the added advantage of a house you love.Overall a close call. This one is about your priorities in life. What will you have to give up? Is that worth it? I mean, REALLY worth it? (And not in the "our friends will be so jealous we'll have big parties" kind of way. Worth it to *your family* on a day to day basis).

[Janfor99 0]

Beautiful house. Perfect inside and out, great location, no renos needed, a dream home. 859k Canadian. It's about 250k more than I want to spend. Can I afford a 859k house? Yes. Will the bank lend me money? Yes. In fact, the bank will lend my wife and I up to 1.2 million but I don't want to push it that much. I originally only want to spend about 500 to 600k on a house, have small mortgage payments and be very stress free financially. Mortgage payments will be about 4k a month which we can afford but will be a big jump from the 800 dollars a month that we pay now on our condo with we bought four years ago for 232k. There's no stress at all in paying 800 dollars a month. However, I really love this house. Worse comes to worse I can always sell it right? Tell me I'm stupid or tell me I'm making the right choice by buying this place.

My only advice:1. Don't make yourself house poor...2. Have a large enough down payment to avoid 'pmi insurance' (if applicable to Canadian market)3. Banks always willing to lend you enough rope to hang yourself . Don't let their numbers make you think you can afford it.4. "I can always sell it" ...depends on the market5. GL lol

[Dratj 0]

There are few things in life that are more rewarding than having a house you love.Having said that, it's very possible to love a smaller house.I've been all over the map financially in my life, from living cheap to way over-extended, and life is much happier when you are not over-extended.On the other hand, a house is an investment you live in. And based on the fact that the bank will lend you much more, you probably wouldn't be too extended with this house. So if you plan to stay there more than, say, 7 years, you'll be financially much better off with a more expensive house, and will have the added advantage of a house you love.Overall a close call. This one is about your priorities in life. What will you have to give up? Is that worth it? I mean, REALLY worth it? (And not in the "our friends will be so jealous we'll have big parties" kind of way. Worth it to *your family* on a day to day basis).

I guess 7 years is the time needed to have the house appreciate enough to overcome the selling costs? What will I give up? Nothing. It's just that now, I have no stress at all financially. I have only 50k left in my mortgage now that if I wanted to pay it all off, I could. Our 2 cars are paid off, no other debts.

[scram 1]

You can afford a $4000 monthly mortgage if you have $24,000 set aside in your emergency fund strictly for emergency mortgage payments.

[meservery 0]

Beautiful house. Perfect inside and out, great location, no renos needed, a dream home. 859k Canadian. It's about 250k more than I want to spend. Can I afford a 859k house? Yes. Will the bank lend me money? Yes. In fact, the bank will lend my wife and I up to 1.2 million but I don't want to push it that much. I originally only want to spend about 500 to 600k on a house, have small mortgage payments and be very stress free financially. Mortgage payments will be about 4k a month which we can afford but will be a big jump from the 800 dollars a month that we pay now on our condo with we bought four years ago for 232k. There's no stress at all in paying 800 dollars a month. However, I really love this house. Worse comes to worse I can always sell it right? Tell me I'm stupid or tell me I'm making the right choice by buying this place.

I puked a little reading this... nice brag post.

[hblask 1]

I guess 7 years is the time needed to have the house appreciate enough to overcome the selling costs? What will I give up? Nothing. It's just that now, I have no stress at all financially. I have only 50k left in my mortgage now that if I wanted to pay it all off, I could. Our 2 cars are paid off, no other debts.

No giving up vacations, expensive toys, etc? If not, and you expect to stay a while, go for it.Oh, and the 7 years is a good rule of thumb for when you will *definitely* get your money out of it, and probably a profit. It's usually less than that (frequently 2-3 years), but count on 7 to be safe. If you read the posts by the housing scare guy in OT, you won't get it back in our lifetime if you buy now....One more thing... I'm assuming with your 800/month payment, you are putting away tons of money in savings, etc. So if you give up nothing else, at least take that decreased savings into account. Would that money instead lead to early retirement? What is that worth to you? More than living in a dream house now? I always think that's the hardest balance in life -- which is worth more, to retire a couple years/decades early, or to live well now? Each person has to find their own balance. If I had to do it over from college, I'd find the crappiest, cheapest place I could right out of college and pretend my salary was only half of what it is and save the rest until the earnings on my savings could support the lifestyle I want. Buy the lifestyle, work a couple more years to be safe, and retire by age 40. Of course it's easy to say that now that I'm in my 40s....

[bdc30 0]

I puked a little reading this... nice brag post.

This is the worst disguised brag post in the history of Fcp.

[socalpoker_j 1]

Let's see some pictures of this house.

[mk 11]

This is the worst disguised brag post in the history of Fcp.

[Dratj 0]

This is the worst disguised brag post in the history of Fcp.

It's seriously not a brag post. A brag post would be like the guy that actually posted a picture of a house that he bought with his poker winnings. I'm not saying I have the money upfront to buy it. I have to mortgage a large portion of it. It's nothing to be proud of saying that I have a big mortgage. Now a nice house with no mortgage, that's bragging.

[Dratj 0]

No giving up vacations, expensive toys, etc? If not, and you expect to stay a while, go for it.Oh, and the 7 years is a good rule of thumb for when you will *definitely* get your money out of it, and probably a profit. It's usually less than that (frequently 2-3 years), but count on 7 to be safe. If you read the posts by the housing scare guy in OT, you won't get it back in our lifetime if you buy now....One more thing... I'm assuming with your 800/month payment, you are putting away tons of money in savings, etc. So if you give up nothing else, at least take that decreased savings into account. Would that money instead lead to early retirement? What is that worth to you? More than living in a dream house now? I always think that's the hardest balance in life -- which is worth more, to retire a couple years/decades early, or to live well now? Each person has to find their own balance. If I had to do it over from college, I'd find the crappiest, cheapest place I could right out of college and pretend my salary was only half of what it is and save the rest until the earnings on my savings could support the lifestyle I want. Buy the lifestyle, work a couple more years to be safe, and retire by age 40. Of course it's easy to say that now that I'm in my 40s....

Ok, yes I would likely be more frugal with vacations and buying other stuff. With the 800 a month payment, it's very easy and nice. If I do get the 4k a month mortgage, I think I might feel a litttle stress. Regarding your last statement, if you had bought the most expensive place you could afford 20 years ago, wouldn't the capital gain on that property be fairly significant? I'm 34 years old now and can't see myself retiring at 40 even if I don't move.

[kers2 0]

This is the worst disguised brag post in the history of Fcp.

Yeah... I know

FYPWhere is that fuckin nastradamous wannabe maloof to warn you about buying a house? I figured he'd already have 7 of the first 10 posts and about 24 links

[bdc30 0]

If it wasn't a brag post...1) Why for the love of god post this question at www.fullcontactPOKER.com?and 2) At least convert the dollar amounts to BB or something (ie. I'm thinking of buying a house. My mortgage will be 200 bb/month---if you were a 50/100 player for example--)

[Wandigo 1]

where do you and your wife work and are they hiring?

[meservery 0]

2) At least convert the dollar amounts to BB or something (ie. I'm thinking of buying a house. My mortgage will be 200 bb/month---if you were a 50/100 player for example--)

I like what you did there.

[Tiltinagain 973]

where do you and your wife work and are they hiring?

QFMFT

[quadaces 0]

where do you and your wife work and are they hiring?

Well he said 859K CANADIAN so thats like 95K USD

[Dratj 0]

If it wasn't a brag post...1) Why for the love of god post this question at www.fullcontactPOKER.com?and 2) At least convert the dollar amounts to BB or something (ie. I'm thinking of buying a house. My mortgage will be 200 bb/month---if you were a 50/100 player for example--)

1) Some of the posters here are older and more mature. For example, the only person that has given some good advice in this thread is Hblask and he's in his forties. All you other guys with smart comments are likely early twenties or even younger and haven't thought of buying a house yet. Although I can't say I'm surprised by some of the responses on here. 2) I'm not a great poker player, I rarely play now but I like to surf this site and read up guys on guys like JC and looshle.

[David_Nicoson 1]

If living in a nice house is how you want to spend your money, then do that.If you think you're making an investment, I'd say forget it. Housing markets go down sometimes. Interest is expensive. Repairs are expensive. Moth and rust corrupt.Do you have property taxes? Those can be pretty awful in the U.S.

[hblask 1]

Regarding your last statement, if you had bought the most expensive place you could afford 20 years ago, wouldn't the capital gain on that property be fairly significant? I'm 34 years old now and can't see myself retiring at 40 even if I don't move.

This is sort of drifting from 'house buying' into 'life philosophy' now. The reason I say I'd get something cheap is because $10,000 saved when you are 21 is worth several years salary when you are 40. When you first get out of college, your lifestyle hasn't caught up with your income. If you could keep it that way for 10 years, you'd have a boatload of money saved away. If you buy an expensive house, you are always chasing house payments. Cheap rent, in a sense, compensates for the opportunity cost of investing in a house. At times, buying is cheaper than renting. When that happens, you just have to analyze your stability (chance of staying employed in the same area) to determine which choice to make. If your first $10,000 saved goes into a cheap house that still allows you to save a big chunk of your income when you are young, you've done doubly good. But I still think the key is to be able to live WAY below your means when you are young until you have a huge nest egg that you don't have to touch. Having something to fall back on and knowing that if you keep living within your means your job is optional is a wonderful thing. Would a house be a better investment? Sometimes, sometimes not. But the house does a number of things. The main one is it sucks you onto the treadmill -- "oh look, that one's only a *little* more, and look how much nicer it is". Then you get there, and there's always one just a little nicer to keep you dissatisfied. It's easy to become house rich and cash poor.The other thing a house does to you is sort of locks you in place. Your 20's is a time for adventure and fun. Go where the wind takes you and experience everything. There's plenty of time to be a responsible homeowner.You said you are in your mid-30's, so you probably have your philosophy of life settled, and know what you want (for the most part). You've been living within your means, apparently. At that point it becomes a personal decison for you: when is it time to declare victory on your finances and live in the house you've always wanted? When is it time to say that those vacations and toys are worth less to you than a really nice house? Only you can answer those questions, by looking at how much you enjoy each thing. When you come home now, are you proud to own a house? If not, owning a better house isn't going to do it for you. When you take a vacation, are you ready to be home after a couple days? If so, your money may be better spent on a house. Do you have lots of gadgets and toys collecting dust? If so, a new one is not going to add much to your life.For most people, if you expect to be in the same town for a long time, a house is a good investment. I don't know about Canada, but in the US we get tax breaks for the interest, so that lowers the cost quite a bit. Houses average 4% gain per year over the long run, so if you put 20% down, you are getting the equivalent of a 20% gain on your investment even without tax breaks. I think the key is to not let your house take away from the rest of the things you enjoy in your life. There is no investment worth wasting years of your life on. We've only got about 50-60 years of adulthood. If you spend a couple of it struggling with house payments to the point that you can't have any fun, that's a big chunk of your life.

[dms26 3]

Ok, yes I would likely be more frugal with vacations and buying other stuff. With the 800 a month payment, it's very easy and nice. If I do get the 4k a month mortgage, I think I might feel a litttle stress. Regarding your last statement, if you had bought the most expensive place you could afford 20 years ago, wouldn't the capital gain on that property be fairly significant? I'm 34 years old now and can't see myself retiring at 40 even if I don't move.

I'd vote for getting something a little cheaper, maybe in the 500K-600K range. It will still be nice and an upgrade from whatever you are renting for 800 now. But it will give you more flexability and less stress. Plus it will allow you make improvements if you want.

[Dratj 0]

This is sort of drifting from 'house buying' into 'life philosophy' now. The reason I say I'd get something cheap is because $10,000 saved when you are 21 is worth several years salary when you are 40. When you first get out of college, your lifestyle hasn't caught up with your income. If you could keep it that way for 10 years, you'd have a boatload of money saved away. If you buy an expensive house, you are always chasing house payments. Cheap rent, in a sense, compensates for the opportunity cost of investing in a house. At times, buying is cheaper than renting. When that happens, you just have to analyze your stability (chance of staying employed in the same area) to determine which choice to make. If your first $10,000 saved goes into a cheap house that still allows you to save a big chunk of your income when you are young, you've done doubly good. But I still think the key is to be able to live WAY below your means when you are young until you have a huge nest egg that you don't have to touch. Having something to fall back on and knowing that if you keep living within your means your job is optional is a wonderful thing. Would a house be a better investment? Sometimes, sometimes not. But the house does a number of things. The main one is it sucks you onto the treadmill -- "oh look, that one's only a *little* more, and look how much nicer it is". Then you get there, and there's always one just a little nicer to keep you dissatisfied. It's easy to become house rich and cash poor.The other thing a house does to you is sort of locks you in place. Your 20's is a time for adventure and fun. Go where the wind takes you and experience everything. There's plenty of time to be a responsible homeowner.You said you are in your mid-30's, so you probably have your philosophy of life settled, and know what you want (for the most part). You've been living within your means, apparently. At that point it becomes a personal decison for you: when is it time to declare victory on your finances and live in the house you've always wanted? When is it time to say that those vacations and toys are worth less to you than a really nice house? Only you can answer those questions, by looking at how much you enjoy each thing. When you come home now, are you proud to own a house? If not, owning a better house isn't going to do it for you. When you take a vacation, are you ready to be home after a couple days? If so, your money may be better spent on a house. Do you have lots of gadgets and toys collecting dust? If so, a new one is not going to add much to your life.For most people, if you expect to be in the same town for a long time, a house is a good investment. I don't know about Canada, but in the US we get tax breaks for the interest, so that lowers the cost quite a bit. Houses average 4% gain per year over the long run, so if you put 20% down, you are getting the equivalent of a 20% gain on your investment even without tax breaks. I think the key is to not let your house take away from the rest of the things you enjoy in your life. There is no investment worth wasting years of your life on. We've only got about 50-60 years of adulthood. If you spend a couple of it struggling with house payments to the point that you can't have any fun, that's a big chunk of your life.

The capital gains will be offset by the interest costs per year. I'll be paying 30k in interest per year assuming a 5% mortgage. In Canada, there's no writing off of the mortgage interest. If I lived in the US. I'd get the house in a heartbeat. I'm old enough now, I've had some toys, I've paid off a 3 series coupe beamer, I've spent thousands on golf, played in a 10k Wpt, small buy in WSOP tourney, been on a few vacations, now I want a nice house. I'm still not sure what to do. Like you said there is something to be said for having financial freedom.