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  • June 3, 2007 at 5:42 PM #9199
    davidt1
    Participant

    Hi,

    Great forum! Being new to RE, I have been reading and learning like crazy. I have 100K to buy a primary residence and will be moving to Houston soon. I am trying to decide if I should buy a townhouse or a house. My plan is to buy and live there (at least 5 years) while it’s still reasonably cheap and wait until the CA market gets better for buyers before I even think about moving back. I won’t buy anything expensive. If I buy a townhouse, I want to keep it under 100K. I might spend slightly more for a house, but not for than 120K. Basically, I want to pay cash for it. I hope you can answer some questions for me.

    1. Is it true that it is harder to sell a townhouse/condo than to sell a house?

    2. Does a house appreciate faster than a townhouse?

    3. Does it make sense to pay cash for a property?

    I appreciate your thoughts and commends. Thank you.

    June 3, 2007 at 7:11 PM #56255
    patb
    Participant

    My opinion

    1) it’s harder to sell a condo or townhouse then a house.
    mostly because condo’s are so much alike and townhouses
    often have weird covenants.

    2) Houses tend to appreciate faster ten any other single family residence.

    3) I’d never pay cash for a property, why tie up the money if you can
    get a decent mortgage

    June 3, 2007 at 7:11 PM #56276
    patb
    Participant

    My opinion

    1) it’s harder to sell a condo or townhouse then a house.
    mostly because condo’s are so much alike and townhouses
    often have weird covenants.

    2) Houses tend to appreciate faster ten any other single family residence.

    3) I’d never pay cash for a property, why tie up the money if you can
    get a decent mortgage

    June 3, 2007 at 7:21 PM #56259
    NotCranky
    Participant

    1)If you by a condo make sure it is a newer, quality building on a good location. Buying a house over a condo might come down to personal choice based on lifestyle likes and dislikes. Five years is a pretty long time to be somewhere that doesn’t mostly suit you.
    2)Don’t know
    3) Talk to a mortgage guy…just kidding …talk to your tax person. Maybe you do your own taxes? Maybe your mortgage guy does your taxes? The interest tax write off might be helpful. Being debt free is great and paying cash you save all kinds of fees and interest however, you might be able to build on that capital faster than you are paying out interest to the bank . Personally ,I would pay for the house in that price range as long as there are other reserves/investments.

    Or..you can earn 6k a year towards rent in a CD with 120k.
    I think 6k goes a long way in Houston and be certain that you have the 120k to come back to San Diego?
    Best wishes

    June 3, 2007 at 7:21 PM #56280
    NotCranky
    Participant

    1)If you by a condo make sure it is a newer, quality building on a good location. Buying a house over a condo might come down to personal choice based on lifestyle likes and dislikes. Five years is a pretty long time to be somewhere that doesn’t mostly suit you.
    2)Don’t know
    3) Talk to a mortgage guy…just kidding …talk to your tax person. Maybe you do your own taxes? Maybe your mortgage guy does your taxes? The interest tax write off might be helpful. Being debt free is great and paying cash you save all kinds of fees and interest however, you might be able to build on that capital faster than you are paying out interest to the bank . Personally ,I would pay for the house in that price range as long as there are other reserves/investments.

    Or..you can earn 6k a year towards rent in a CD with 120k.
    I think 6k goes a long way in Houston and be certain that you have the 120k to come back to San Diego?
    Best wishes

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