I’m an introvert. Yes I go out, but that only makes coming back to a nice home all the more important.
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Yeah you definitely can’t compare living in a $1,000,000 McMansion that you own to living in an $800 a month run-down apartment that you rent and only look at the money.
You’re getting something intangible from the McMansion that you’re not from the run down apartment.
The McMansion still might be the better deal, but if you don’t capture the value that an individual puts on having a higher quality home to live in then you’re failing to capture everything.
And there are very few $1,000,000 McMansions available to rent.
(For some people having the nicer home may have very little value. That’s ok. They’re less likely to be better off buying the more expensive home than someone who enjoys it.)
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Fair enough. I like to live in neighborhoods where I can walk to places (stores/restaurants/pubs if in the city or local store/nature trails/cycle paths if away from the city). Given the demand for such places, prices are higher so I will get less square feet for my money. When I go away, coming back to a nice neighborhood (rather than a nice house) is important.
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Safety costs money. In higher home prices (keeping out the rabble), higher taxes going toward a more visible police force, etc.
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We don’t disagree there.
I live in an expensive city, so when I say 1-2 mil it does not necesarily mean a 3500 sqft 5 bedroom house.
But many on this board have houses that are worth <500k, which is safe to say they probably don’t live in walkable areas and or big/new houses.
You seem to have gathered a lot of information in such a short time.
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I think of my house as consumption, not as savings. But boy was i happy during the lockdowns to live in a nice spacious house with a nice yard in a nice airy neighborhood that’s pleasant to walk around in.
So many people either were lonely as fuck or got on the nerves of the people they were jammed in with. We had 3 adults and a cat in enough space for each of us to close a door on the others if we wanted to, and to spread out our crap. I had room to work out with weights. My daughter could watch movies online with friends away from us.
There are a lot of intangible benefits to a nice home.
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My home is barely sub-$500k, probably not “walkable” in terms of what @Dork means. There’s plenty of neighborhood to walk around but it’s a few miles to the nearest grocery store, or any kind of store.
But it’s big enough, at least. Around 1600 square feet finished and another ~300 + 2-car garage + massive shed unfinished, on an acre abutting an orchard and the woods.
Once we finish a little fence this spring, we’re basically in 100% privacy unless we’re on the far back of our property ( a couple hundred feet out the back door) and so is a neighbor. I probably wouldn’t sunbathe nude in the back, but I’ve walked out in undies more’n a few times when I notice I left those tongs out by the grill or whatever.
Would rather have this than be IN a city. City life is nice for some purposes, I wish I could just go for a stroll and pick up takeout. But I like the quiet life here.
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I have a big house in the suburbs and have to drive to get anywhere. I am in a pretty car dependent city, so that is unlikely to change unless I move cities. It was just under 500k when I bought it back in the housing dip in 2009. I’d probably budget 1M if I were to move today, but look for smaller/nicer/closer rather than bigger.
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Eh, it is a little of both, though it is someone else’s savings if you plan never to leave.
I think about how much my house is worth every time I go wine tasting up in Central Coast. Then I decide I do not want to live in a mobile home that costs $500K+ just so I have an easier commute to great wine. (Also, it rains more up there and the winters are actually cold.)
OK, “Kicked Out Or Forgot Your Password” guy!
And people absolutely go through phases. Some of that is because the grass is greener. Some of that comes with age or being bored of the familiar. Our hobbies change. Our health changes too and clubbing means less to us.
Having access to a diverse selection of authentic food is a nice perk, but nowadays I mostly cook at home anyway. Eventually, I’ll probably move farther away from the city. Everyone seems to have a similar idea though, as even 20 minutes outside of a nice city will still cost you in the upper mils
Let’s not alert the authorities.
A possible alternative to house upgrade is also “vacation home” with or without a downsize of the current place.
If you can afford both…that’s hard for most people unless your “vacation home” is also old and small and in a undesirable area. Two mortgages or one mortgage after retirement is probably unrealistic even on an actuarial salary.
Pay cash
no, i’ve never done this, but i did pay of mortgages early. don’t maths me - i just don’t like being in debt
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Right…I’m sitting on a pile of cash now that I could either use (in a few years) to pay off my current home, put towards the next home, or buy a property elsewhere. @3% interest, I’m not too worried about letting the mortgage ride out and accumulate savings.
Of course, college tuition will take out an unknown portion of this.
I doubt that it’s much of a “vacation home” if it’s in an undesirable area.
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That’s what I’m saying. The vacation home is by definition more of a “dream home”, so having one in addition to your current home means you need even more money than just simply switching homes.
Disagree. Maybe true if you haven’t managed money well or stayed in an EL role without passing exams for your entire career.
My mortgage is going to be finished from 2018-2031… if I merely continue on my modest overpayment of $1,000/month atop my $776 mortgage.
But good chance I decide to finish it off in 2027 for a total 9-year mortgage because I stupidly refi’d to an ARM in 2020. Financially, my mortgage is a drop in the bucket. For a vacation home, I would rather pay cash at the current interest rates, but if they went back to sub-3% I could definitely see riding out a 30-year mortgage in retirement.
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