Mix I like both of them two… Mo is a little bit 20/20 hindsight to me though. He always talks about what moves his company did prior to whatever the market did… yet I still listen to him now and then. Ray is cool as well. My wife and I have been to one of the free seminars they did. Also my wife and I have visited their offices a few times in the past 3 years. I think I got Rick Plum kind of bummed at me… About 1.5 years ago we were at the office talking to him and he was talking about the new home he bought in Blossom Valley. I didn’t really say anything but then he asked me what I thought of the market and I told him… He was sure that his market wouldn’t be affected… I didn’t want to get into it with him so I just said we’ll see what happens…. Ray on the other hand sold his RB home in the last year.
Trey sorry bout sidebarring the thread. I think you are doing fine. I know saving for a dp is a real chore. Also if in the next few years interest rates go up AND underwriting restrictions tighten up, that will put even more pressure on first time buyers to come up with a bigger dp. Even with that said, 401k and any sort of tax deferred vehicle where you can defer gains is just such a darn good deal. I think a financial planner can run numbers for you to see if seeding a home dp account rather then maxing these other vehicles out is a rational thing to do for a few years.
I am maxxing out my 401k, and plan to a ROTH IRA and invest the balance after bills in CD, money market and liquid assets until real estate drops more in San Diego. I may even buy in Texas after my lease is up in end of 2009 but just depends on what happens in San Diego.
mixxalot I am all for buying in texas if it makes sense to you, but one thing to consider is that you never consider a home an investment in that state. The reason being is that there is no end to how far out someone will build. In the greater Dallas area, Mckinney, and Wylie and places further out, have had a ton of building. What this means to you is that as long as people are willing to move to the next outer ring (and if course they are) that you don’t get the appreciation elsewhere. So by all means buy in Texas because you work there and enjoy it, but I wouldn’t buy there as an investment.
