Thursday, July 14, 2011

House Hunt

I picked out 11 houses to look at tomorrow. My realtor looked them up and said 4 are short sales which means that it can take months for an offer to be approved. The rest of the houses are in different states of disarray. There is one that I liked the most because of it's big back yard but there are no pictures of the inside. The realtor for that house said that it is "a pit". Hmmm...that should be interesting. Unfortunately it is the most expensive at $80,000 so it doesn't sound promising. It's been a really long week though so taking half a day vacation to go look at houses, even if they are ugly, sounds great to me. This should be fun!

Also, I am taking my latest dog to work and someone wants to meet her at 10am. Then, if that doesn't work out, another friend is going to foster her so one way or another I will be minus a dog tomorrow. Maybe a dog or two will be adopted this weekend and I will finally get down to my goal of 7 dogs. It's gonna happen sooner or later.

9 comments:

Dave said...

I am amazed at how cheap housing is in your area. In my area, a co-op studio apartment such as mine would go for around $100k, a 1-bedroom for $120k. No wonder many people move from here to Arizona where housing is cheap.

Lizzie @ her homeworld said...

You are goingt o need plenty of outside space but $80k is a lot differnt. I would rather make some concession on size if you are only oging to live there for a couple of years anyway. Enjoy your tour!

Anonymous said...

Hi Daizy - rather than take on more debt (unless I missed something and you're buying with cash, in that case WOOHOO), why don't you wait out the renters in the house you own, then move into it yourself and get a roommate? Perhaps I've missed something -- is the paid-for house not close to work? In a bad area? No yard?

If you're looking to expand your rental empire, you could pile up and pay cash for another house in a few years, and in the mean time have assumed no additional risk.

With no debt, you're options remain open.

Thanks for letting us follow your adventures here -- best of luck on getting some rain. We sure could use some here in Texas.

Britta

Anonymous said...

Gotta disagree with Britta stating no risk buying homes for cash. There are lots of risks doing that. By the time Daizy saves up enough cash to buy a house prices could be a good bit higher. We'll probably not see interest rates this low again for at least another generation. A roommate's rent would very likely cover the mortgage in the price range she is looking. Each month she works she can save several months of mortgage payments, putting some in a low risk account and investing the rest with higher reward/risk ratios.

I personally am more concerned about the thinly veiled path of dollar devaluation the Fed is taking (Bernanke confirms that there could be a QE3 if the economy begins slowing significantly). With big inflation on the horizon nothing would make me more comfortable than having some big loans that can be paid back over many years with more and more worthless dollars.

T

Daizy said...

Dave, yes the housing is cheap again. It was this way in 2004 when I bought my other house too. We only have to put up with the annoying heat in the Summers!

Daizy said...

Lizzie, that $80k house was too big. I'd rather have more yard and less house anyway.

Daizy said...

Britta, my rental house doesn't allow more than 2 dogs. haha...I just made up that rule. actually, the potential rent of my rental house is $1,000 or so and the mortgage for a little house that I would be buying now would be around $450. A roommate with the new house would be more economical as long as my rental is actually rented. Also, the backyard of my rental is really small and the neighbors are close. Plus I don't want my dogs destroying my rental.

Daizy said...

T, it does seem to make more sense to get in on the good house deals and low mortgage rates now. I mean, I want to build on my property but with building material prices going up and lenders only wanting to lend for existing homes, might as well get in on it. With careful planning the house can be another asset for my retirement income.

Anonymous said...

I so enjoy the conversation here! I understand what y'all are saying about low housing costs, inflation, etc, but T, I would still contend that piling up cash to buy a house and NOT having any debt are still better than taking a mortgage -- you never know if you'll be able to rent out a house, or if your renters will pay, or if you'll be able to get and keep a paying roommate, or keep your job, etc. Those are the risks I'm talking about. And those are risks that are real and persistant, regardless of what the Fed does.

Daizy has worked so hard to get to her Debt Free state -- and had renter struggles along the way -- why go right back into bondage?

Aha! Maybe y'all don't see debt as bondage! Maybe it's just me (and Dave Ramsey) that think debt, even mortgages, are to be avoided. I'm working like crazy to get out of mine. Daizy, I hope you'll keep yourself free, too.

Regardless of what you choose, Best of luck!

Britta in Texas