what's the contingency plan then

[NAD]

Now that's a solid investment! I'm hoping to be on the right side of that some day, but this market isn't California Style (yet)

I'm pretty happy with that part. But it took some work and proper timing. Lots of offers and searching over a 2 year period, and probably 10 years of saving up $$$ for a downpayment (whilst most of our money went toward rent). We found some awesome $200k houses but those disappear with cash buyers within a day or two of being listed. And those prices don't come up often in my area, which is not exactly a "hot" part of California.

If we had to buy our house today, we couldn't afford it. I have no interest in the whole buying/flipping thing which is how most middle class folk survive the California housing market, so we timed it to buy as close to the dip as possible (which we missed by a lot, but definitely avoided a peak).

I learned from my parents and mother-in-law. They scrimped and saved and bought a house and then...........lived there for decades. They never bought into that move-every-5-years-into-a-bigger-crap-shack illness that plagues this land, so I follow by example. Maybe not very exciting, but it's the only way to live a modest life instead of being strapped for taco cash at all times. Plus I like my house. We have mulberry trees and a yard big enough for a large insane dog, and it was built in the '70s so even in subUrbia we have actual privacy.

Apologies for the most adult post I've ever made. I'll get shitfaced and make a Slayer poll soon, hopefully.

 

[NAD]

IMO, a house is a home not an investment. There are other things for that.

It's both, to me. I bought a home but some day if I move (5 years? 25 years? never? who knows), I'll be cashing in on my biggest investment. And then moving far, far away from the madness that is the California Housing Market.

 

[Krilons Resa]

Cuz contingency plan, right?

 

[MFJ]

IMO, a house is a home not an investment. There are other things for that.

I mean, I agree with you. Our realtor has been up our ass since DAY 1 with the whole "I dont think this is a good investment for the future" or "You should consider this place because it's a good investment". Fuck off with that, I'm just looking for a comfortable place to live in and I'm making these decisions based on the property as a whole. If I like the place, then I don't care what someone else may or may not think about it in the future. If I can make some money when I sell then that's great, but I'm looking to be here for 10-20 years and future gain isn't the point.

 

[NAD]

Cuz contingency plan, right?

Ohhhhhh snap this thread just went full circle.

 

[Krilons Resa]

Haha, exactly.

 

[SonOfNun]

A house is the last piece of the puzzle for me. We've been shuffling through different apartments for 12 years for different school and work opportunities and it's tiresome. I live in a major metropolitan area now and I hate it. I grew up rural and that's where I want to be. I want to grow my own food. My family has hundreds of acres of land near a small town and I want to put a house out there. The only question is if I can get a job close enough to make that feasible. If not, I'll have to get a house somewhere else after I finish school and try to get there later on.

 

[Nico]

Seems like everyone's going hard on the grown-up nonsense. Same here - bought a place with my wife in the middle of the desert (in the biggest town within a 1500km radius, but still pretty small). We've been renovating it for 3 years and just knocked down the chicken coop. It's a 2-bedroom Californian bungalow in a duplex, but with a surprising amount of yard space. Previous owner had installed a few garden beds and a giant bird enclosure and a beehive and it was all a bit poorly thought out, so we've just had some landscapers come through and flatten everything. Hoping to move the bees to a less aggressive spot, put in 9 or 12 new raised beds, a small grove of citrus and stonefruit and a native bush medicine bed. Might rethink the chicken situation but pretty keen for a break from them to be honest. There's a free-range farm less than 10 minutes from here for fresh eggs, and they also breed and sell goats (though you've gotta kill them yourself, which is fun), so we've got most of our needs well taken care of within stone's throw.

 

[MFJ]

Welcome back my man!

 

[einride]

need new ancient wind records tapes plz

 

[einride]

While I admire your dedication, my wife and I are unable to work from home so I don't think we have enough time for a project on that scale.

oh, please don't misunderstand, i don't have enough time for it either

if i had known when i was a big dumb house baby in 2014 what i was getting myself into i would not have done it probably. that being said i am in it for life now so im just rolling with the punches



also let me just state for the record that i completely agree that houses are for living in, not for investing in. obviously it is good for refinancing the mortgage etc if the banks think my house is now worth more pretend money but i'm not going to worry about it that much because i'm not selling.

like if i invest this much time and effort into a house, i'm going to get to fucking live there when it's done. i don't do this shit for fun, it's a means to an end. no one else is going to reap the rewards of all this fuckin work. no way.

 

[Tide In Mind Out]

Got an appointment next Saturday to see a place just outside of downtown.

That was today. Did it, got it, moving February 27th. Now I just have to worry about staying employed. Gonna try living with the husband again. This is a 3 bed/2 bath apartment, so at least I'll have plenty of space to myself.

 

[Krilons Resa]

Did you two take a "break?" I'm sorry if I don't recall.

 

[Tide In Mind Out]

Yeah, we separated in February. I was starting to get used to being on my own, and then covid hit. I ended up moving out of the nice apartment I was in and got a cheap/shitty place, just in case I lost my job or something. I cannot wait to get out of that hellhole. I won't get into the details of why we separated, but we're gonna give it another go, this time with some new protocols in place.

 

[Krilons Resa]

Nothing worthwhile in life is easy. Hopefully you both can enable personal growth in each other. I wish you guys the best of luck moving forward.

 

[Tide In Mind Out]

Thank you

 

[NAD]

I hope that it works out. Space is good!

After almost 15 years with the same woman there have been a few serious "we should get divorced" moments. Fun fact: the 7 year itch is a real thing. NOT SO FUN FACT: there is also a 14 year itch.

 

[Nico]

After almost 15 years with the same woman there have been a few serious "we should get divorced" moments. Fun fact: the 7 year itch is a real thing. NOT SO FUN FACT: there is also a 14 year itch.

We rebranded it to the 7 year cwtch and sailed through pretty smoothly. Duly noted on the 14 yearer though, will make contingencies.

 

[NAD]

We rebranded it to the 7 year cwtch and sailed through pretty smoothly. Duly noted on the 14 yearer though, will make contingencies.

Oh wow, that's pretty great. I'll have to keep that in mind for Year 21 unless she has justifiably murdered me by then.

 

[Demilich]

Wait how do you guys get women to put up with you for multiples of 7 years?