Forum Replies Created
-
AuthorPosts
-
CoronitaParticipantI really have to ask here.
What does a $500k improvements include?
The only reason why I ask is because back when my wife and I moved in to our place, there were a few things we "needed" to do, a lots of things we "wanted" to do.
After all said and done, all the wanted+needed ended up being close to $150-200k with a good contractors and materials.At that point, we looked at the home which was a 2600sqft, and the lot size which is about 4700sqft. And we said to ourselves "are we fvcking kidding???"$200k renovations on this tiny home on this tiny lot, we're not going to recoup half of our renovation if we were to resell it.
So in went: new carpets (for hygentic reasons), a dishwasher to replace a broken one, flagstone to replace cracked bricks, a new toilet (to replace a stinky one), some coats of paint inside that I put on myself , a few coats of paint outside that some guy put on for $3k, replacement of all worn faucet fixtures free of charge ( courtesy of Moen's lifetime warranty),1 mirror closet door in one room to satisfy my wife's occasional vanity, and a portable $300 bbq grille that I bought seperately to allow me to rotisere a turkey.
And out went things we wanted: new hardwood to replace the old hardwood, crown molding, new staircase, new granite countertops, new cabinets, new bathtub, new showers, custom entertainment center, sound proof glass retaining wall, epoxy garage floors, custom garage cabinets, planter boxes, built in barbeque and fountain.
My first question is. Do you really "need" to spend that last $15k now, or can you wait? Second, while I believe that there are definitely things that need to be done when you first move in, was the entire $500k spent on needs?
I'm only asking because unfortunately I don't think it would be reasonable to expect that you can even recoup even 1/2 of your remodeling costs if you were to resell. What you might perceive as something preferrable, someone else might hate it and want to take it out the first time they move in.
That said, I'm assuming this is your primary home. My personal rule of a primary home. NEVER THINK OF IT AS AN INVESTMENT. Unlike some people on this board, I plan to stay in my primary home if the house price increases or if the house price decrease. It doesn't make money for me, it's a money drain, no different than my car. It satisfy my material needs and it allows me to do whatever the hell I(and wife) want to my (our) liking , as long as i don't piss off a very loose HOA. Some people on this board can move in and out of a primary home and capture some gain on the appreciation. That's great. I can't do that. I'm more emotionally attached to my primary home like I would be to a sports car versus say a normal car. However, I can afford to slightly indulge in this lack of financial prudence.
The question you need to ask yourself is: what do you want to get out of your primary home?
1) Is it/will it satisfy you and your husband's emotions? All said and done, if you now have the home in a state that you and your husband like..just enjoy it from this point on, provided #2 and #3 isn't an issue.
When I bought my Audi 8 years ago, the damn thing broke down 3 miles once I got out of the dealership. It had to be flatbedded back to the dealer, and then 2 weeks later the same thing happened…And then 1 month later the damn thing happened again. I hated the car, and swore I would sell the damn thing at a loss just to get rid of it. But once fixed, and after all the things said and done, I love this car and won't get rid of it. Cars aren't the same as homes, so it's not a fair comparison..But you get my point. You've pretty much already done of the fixing/remodeling the two of you wanted anyway. It would be a shame that you neither of you wouldn't be able to enjoy it.
#2) Can the two of you afford the current $950+500k loan balances? Please tell me you got a 15 or 30 year fixed rate mortgage.Seems like the two of you make pretty good salaries. And you said you can make the payments. Provided you aren't bleeding anywhere else, you should be able to afford this …. Savings will be tight. You or your husband might need to penny-pinch a bit. Less eating out, less shopping, delay car purchases. Skimp of cell phone plans, skimp on just about everything. If you exercise financial prudence elsewhere, it should help a bit with this predicament. The question is whether you AND your husband are willing to exercise this financial prudence elsewhere.
#3) You and your husband need to agree that if bought of you decide to keep the house, neither of you will talk bitterly about it moving forward …..EVAR. It's not worth fighting over frankly. You have many more important things to fight over (inlaws, parenting,etc) 🙂 The best time to talk about this would be right before and/or during…uh, never mind.
Lastly, I think there's an important lesson to be learned here by prospective first time home buyers. Every home has an economic threshold at which home improvements just don't make sense anymore. Because those upgrades just don't "fit" with the house's profile.
Good luck with this. And if Rustico is reading, yes I know I need to get a life. But I have an excuse today. I'm jetlagged.
CoronitaParticipantI really have to ask here.
What does a $500k improvements include?
The only reason why I ask is because back when my wife and I moved in to our place, there were a few things we "needed" to do, a lots of things we "wanted" to do.
After all said and done, all the wanted+needed ended up being close to $150-200k with a good contractors and materials.At that point, we looked at the home which was a 2600sqft, and the lot size which is about 4700sqft. And we said to ourselves "are we fvcking kidding???"$200k renovations on this tiny home on this tiny lot, we're not going to recoup half of our renovation if we were to resell it.
So in went: new carpets (for hygentic reasons), a dishwasher to replace a broken one, flagstone to replace cracked bricks, a new toilet (to replace a stinky one), some coats of paint inside that I put on myself , a few coats of paint outside that some guy put on for $3k, replacement of all worn faucet fixtures free of charge ( courtesy of Moen's lifetime warranty),1 mirror closet door in one room to satisfy my wife's occasional vanity, and a portable $300 bbq grille that I bought seperately to allow me to rotisere a turkey.
And out went things we wanted: new hardwood to replace the old hardwood, crown molding, new staircase, new granite countertops, new cabinets, new bathtub, new showers, custom entertainment center, sound proof glass retaining wall, epoxy garage floors, custom garage cabinets, planter boxes, built in barbeque and fountain.
My first question is. Do you really "need" to spend that last $15k now, or can you wait? Second, while I believe that there are definitely things that need to be done when you first move in, was the entire $500k spent on needs?
I'm only asking because unfortunately I don't think it would be reasonable to expect that you can even recoup even 1/2 of your remodeling costs if you were to resell. What you might perceive as something preferrable, someone else might hate it and want to take it out the first time they move in.
That said, I'm assuming this is your primary home. My personal rule of a primary home. NEVER THINK OF IT AS AN INVESTMENT. Unlike some people on this board, I plan to stay in my primary home if the house price increases or if the house price decrease. It doesn't make money for me, it's a money drain, no different than my car. It satisfy my material needs and it allows me to do whatever the hell I(and wife) want to my (our) liking , as long as i don't piss off a very loose HOA. Some people on this board can move in and out of a primary home and capture some gain on the appreciation. That's great. I can't do that. I'm more emotionally attached to my primary home like I would be to a sports car versus say a normal car. However, I can afford to slightly indulge in this lack of financial prudence.
The question you need to ask yourself is: what do you want to get out of your primary home?
1) Is it/will it satisfy you and your husband's emotions? All said and done, if you now have the home in a state that you and your husband like..just enjoy it from this point on, provided #2 and #3 isn't an issue.
When I bought my Audi 8 years ago, the damn thing broke down 3 miles once I got out of the dealership. It had to be flatbedded back to the dealer, and then 2 weeks later the same thing happened…And then 1 month later the damn thing happened again. I hated the car, and swore I would sell the damn thing at a loss just to get rid of it. But once fixed, and after all the things said and done, I love this car and won't get rid of it. Cars aren't the same as homes, so it's not a fair comparison..But you get my point. You've pretty much already done of the fixing/remodeling the two of you wanted anyway. It would be a shame that you neither of you wouldn't be able to enjoy it.
#2) Can the two of you afford the current $950+500k loan balances? Please tell me you got a 15 or 30 year fixed rate mortgage.Seems like the two of you make pretty good salaries. And you said you can make the payments. Provided you aren't bleeding anywhere else, you should be able to afford this …. Savings will be tight. You or your husband might need to penny-pinch a bit. Less eating out, less shopping, delay car purchases. Skimp of cell phone plans, skimp on just about everything. If you exercise financial prudence elsewhere, it should help a bit with this predicament. The question is whether you AND your husband are willing to exercise this financial prudence elsewhere.
#3) You and your husband need to agree that if bought of you decide to keep the house, neither of you will talk bitterly about it moving forward …..EVAR. It's not worth fighting over frankly. You have many more important things to fight over (inlaws, parenting,etc) 🙂 The best time to talk about this would be right before and/or during…uh, never mind.
Lastly, I think there's an important lesson to be learned here by prospective first time home buyers. Every home has an economic threshold at which home improvements just don't make sense anymore. Because those upgrades just don't "fit" with the house's profile.
Good luck with this. And if Rustico is reading, yes I know I need to get a life. But I have an excuse today. I'm jetlagged.
CoronitaParticipantYes for a communist country they do take to capitalistic ways like fish to water.
I recently took my 4th trip there. My first trips were to the big cities and my impressions were the same as yours: consumerism is on the rise; however, now I've started visiting outlying areas and much of the country still lives without many of the things we take for granted. It would be interesting to see the wealth and income gap between the rich and the poor.
Recently I went to the Guanxi region in the southwest, bordering Vietnam. Although there are major tourist areas (Guilin being the biggest tourist attraction to Chinese) most of the areas are dirt poor.
Didn't you find that, even though the price tags were high, the cost of everything is negotiable?
Of course they were nicer to you: you've got beaucoup tourist bucks! The most important phrase I learned was: bu yao la! (I don't want it) used to fend off the peddlers of kitschy trinkets and crap.
Nostradamus,
I wasn't referring to the doo-dads that are sold on the street being expensive. BTW, if you are interested in that crap, you should be paying around 10-20% of what they are asking. And as far as them being nice. Well, unfortunately, I look chinese (being chinese american). So they weren't so nice to me, as they were to,say, caucasians. When dealing with service related issue, I simply found it more convenient to speak english, because then they would know I wasn't a local and ended up getting better service. Of course when it came to negotiating price, I took the standard, rude, "what are you joking…That expensive for that piece of crap" attitude.
What I meant mainly in the early posting was regarding the sheer purchasing and consumption that's generally going on in China. It was amazing. The amount of business and the overall spending and consumption that normal chinese people are doing. Everyone I saw had cell phones, some pda/game device, and the latest camera gear. Considering these items are as expensive as they are here in the states (sometimes even more), what struck me interesting was how much average middle class chinese folks spend on these items relative to their income. For example, I saw so many digital SLR cameras. With a low end DSLR being around $600USD, that's a good percentage of a chinese upper middle class income (say about $30-40k USD). Cell phones are $100-$200USD( yes, we're spoiled here because usually we can get one for free with 2year service, but in china, people pay a lot for the phone and have very cheap phone service). Gasoline is about $2.5/gal. For the average chinese upper middle class to be able to spend this disportionate income on these things to me means (1) they are willing to consume (2) they other basic cost of living allows them to spend this way.
To me, it's a symbol of growing wealth. It also seems like there is some opportunity to make some money off of the chinese middle class. On one hand it's alarming relative to our standard of living. On the other hand, it does seem like there is a lot of opportunity for people to do business with the chinese consumer.
 Of course, I also have seen the poor countryside in China too. The wealth gap in China is enormous. I'm curious to see what the Chinese government is going to do to bridge this gap moving forward.
CoronitaParticipantYes for a communist country they do take to capitalistic ways like fish to water.
I recently took my 4th trip there. My first trips were to the big cities and my impressions were the same as yours: consumerism is on the rise; however, now I've started visiting outlying areas and much of the country still lives without many of the things we take for granted. It would be interesting to see the wealth and income gap between the rich and the poor.
Recently I went to the Guanxi region in the southwest, bordering Vietnam. Although there are major tourist areas (Guilin being the biggest tourist attraction to Chinese) most of the areas are dirt poor.
Didn't you find that, even though the price tags were high, the cost of everything is negotiable?
Of course they were nicer to you: you've got beaucoup tourist bucks! The most important phrase I learned was: bu yao la! (I don't want it) used to fend off the peddlers of kitschy trinkets and crap.
Nostradamus,
I wasn't referring to the doo-dads that are sold on the street being expensive. BTW, if you are interested in that crap, you should be paying around 10-20% of what they are asking. And as far as them being nice. Well, unfortunately, I look chinese (being chinese american). So they weren't so nice to me, as they were to,say, caucasians. When dealing with service related issue, I simply found it more convenient to speak english, because then they would know I wasn't a local and ended up getting better service. Of course when it came to negotiating price, I took the standard, rude, "what are you joking…That expensive for that piece of crap" attitude.
What I meant mainly in the early posting was regarding the sheer purchasing and consumption that's generally going on in China. It was amazing. The amount of business and the overall spending and consumption that normal chinese people are doing. Everyone I saw had cell phones, some pda/game device, and the latest camera gear. Considering these items are as expensive as they are here in the states (sometimes even more), what struck me interesting was how much average middle class chinese folks spend on these items relative to their income. For example, I saw so many digital SLR cameras. With a low end DSLR being around $600USD, that's a good percentage of a chinese upper middle class income (say about $30-40k USD). Cell phones are $100-$200USD( yes, we're spoiled here because usually we can get one for free with 2year service, but in china, people pay a lot for the phone and have very cheap phone service). Gasoline is about $2.5/gal. For the average chinese upper middle class to be able to spend this disportionate income on these things to me means (1) they are willing to consume (2) they other basic cost of living allows them to spend this way.
To me, it's a symbol of growing wealth. It also seems like there is some opportunity to make some money off of the chinese middle class. On one hand it's alarming relative to our standard of living. On the other hand, it does seem like there is a lot of opportunity for people to do business with the chinese consumer.
 Of course, I also have seen the poor countryside in China too. The wealth gap in China is enormous. I'm curious to see what the Chinese government is going to do to bridge this gap moving forward.
CoronitaParticipantYes for a communist country they do take to capitalistic ways like fish to water.
I recently took my 4th trip there. My first trips were to the big cities and my impressions were the same as yours: consumerism is on the rise; however, now I've started visiting outlying areas and much of the country still lives without many of the things we take for granted. It would be interesting to see the wealth and income gap between the rich and the poor.
Recently I went to the Guanxi region in the southwest, bordering Vietnam. Although there are major tourist areas (Guilin being the biggest tourist attraction to Chinese) most of the areas are dirt poor.
Didn't you find that, even though the price tags were high, the cost of everything is negotiable?
Of course they were nicer to you: you've got beaucoup tourist bucks! The most important phrase I learned was: bu yao la! (I don't want it) used to fend off the peddlers of kitschy trinkets and crap.
Nostradamus,
I wasn't referring to the doo-dads that are sold on the street being expensive. BTW, if you are interested in that crap, you should be paying around 10-20% of what they are asking. And as far as them being nice. Well, unfortunately, I look chinese (being chinese american). So they weren't so nice to me, as they were to,say, caucasians. When dealing with service related issue, I simply found it more convenient to speak english, because then they would know I wasn't a local and ended up getting better service. Of course when it came to negotiating price, I took the standard, rude, "what are you joking…That expensive for that piece of crap" attitude.
What I meant mainly in the early posting was regarding the sheer purchasing and consumption that's generally going on in China. It was amazing. The amount of business and the overall spending and consumption that normal chinese people are doing. Everyone I saw had cell phones, some pda/game device, and the latest camera gear. Considering these items are as expensive as they are here in the states (sometimes even more), what struck me interesting was how much average middle class chinese folks spend on these items relative to their income. For example, I saw so many digital SLR cameras. With a low end DSLR being around $600USD, that's a good percentage of a chinese upper middle class income (say about $30-40k USD). Cell phones are $100-$200USD( yes, we're spoiled here because usually we can get one for free with 2year service, but in china, people pay a lot for the phone and have very cheap phone service). Gasoline is about $2.5/gal. For the average chinese upper middle class to be able to spend this disportionate income on these things to me means (1) they are willing to consume (2) they other basic cost of living allows them to spend this way.
To me, it's a symbol of growing wealth. It also seems like there is some opportunity to make some money off of the chinese middle class. On one hand it's alarming relative to our standard of living. On the other hand, it does seem like there is a lot of opportunity for people to do business with the chinese consumer.
 Of course, I also have seen the poor countryside in China too. The wealth gap in China is enormous. I'm curious to see what the Chinese government is going to do to bridge this gap moving forward.
October 30, 2007 at 11:10 PM in reply to: 10% population in SD county are millionaires (exclude Primary RE)?! #93467CoronitaParticipantWhen I run a simple case on the numbers for money needed to retire, I am not surprised.
Plugging in a generous but reasonable current income of $200k, for a 35 year old, retiring at 62 on 65% current income, I get a required nest egg of more than $4M.
It's not surprising that 1 in 10 people in one of the richest county's, in the richest state, in one of the richest countries are millionaires–all denominated in dollars, I might add. Now a million Euros, that's real money! ;^)-one muggle
It will be much closer to 10million, particular if healthcare continues on the trend. There is a reason why I still brown bag some of my lunches. It's not going to look pretty 30 years from now, i fear.
October 30, 2007 at 11:10 PM in reply to: 10% population in SD county are millionaires (exclude Primary RE)?! #93501CoronitaParticipantWhen I run a simple case on the numbers for money needed to retire, I am not surprised.
Plugging in a generous but reasonable current income of $200k, for a 35 year old, retiring at 62 on 65% current income, I get a required nest egg of more than $4M.
It's not surprising that 1 in 10 people in one of the richest county's, in the richest state, in one of the richest countries are millionaires–all denominated in dollars, I might add. Now a million Euros, that's real money! ;^)-one muggle
It will be much closer to 10million, particular if healthcare continues on the trend. There is a reason why I still brown bag some of my lunches. It's not going to look pretty 30 years from now, i fear.
October 30, 2007 at 11:10 PM in reply to: 10% population in SD county are millionaires (exclude Primary RE)?! #93509CoronitaParticipantWhen I run a simple case on the numbers for money needed to retire, I am not surprised.
Plugging in a generous but reasonable current income of $200k, for a 35 year old, retiring at 62 on 65% current income, I get a required nest egg of more than $4M.
It's not surprising that 1 in 10 people in one of the richest county's, in the richest state, in one of the richest countries are millionaires–all denominated in dollars, I might add. Now a million Euros, that's real money! ;^)-one muggle
It will be much closer to 10million, particular if healthcare continues on the trend. There is a reason why I still brown bag some of my lunches. It's not going to look pretty 30 years from now, i fear.
October 30, 2007 at 11:08 PM in reply to: 10% population in SD county are millionaires (exclude Primary RE)?! #93461CoronitaParticipantI read a statistic once that said 25% of Americans believe Elvis is alive… Just thought I'd share that with you.
He's dead? Next thing you're going to tell me is that Santa Claus doesn't exist. 🙂
October 30, 2007 at 11:08 PM in reply to: 10% population in SD county are millionaires (exclude Primary RE)?! #93495CoronitaParticipantI read a statistic once that said 25% of Americans believe Elvis is alive… Just thought I'd share that with you.
He's dead? Next thing you're going to tell me is that Santa Claus doesn't exist. 🙂
October 30, 2007 at 11:08 PM in reply to: 10% population in SD county are millionaires (exclude Primary RE)?! #93502CoronitaParticipantI read a statistic once that said 25% of Americans believe Elvis is alive… Just thought I'd share that with you.
He's dead? Next thing you're going to tell me is that Santa Claus doesn't exist. 🙂
CoronitaParticipantThere is also an unofficial list maintained by CBS8, that includes other areas beyond Rancho Bernardo, in case you've missed it.
The link is here.
http://cbs8.com/misc/fires_oct_07/homes_destroyed.html
If you are one of the folks that have been affected, my deepest sympathy.
CoronitaParticipantThere is also an unofficial list maintained by CBS8, that includes other areas beyond Rancho Bernardo, in case you've missed it.
The link is here.
http://cbs8.com/misc/fires_oct_07/homes_destroyed.html
If you are one of the folks that have been affected, my deepest sympathy.
CoronitaParticipantThere is also an unofficial list maintained by CBS8, that includes other areas beyond Rancho Bernardo, in case you've missed it.
The link is here.
http://cbs8.com/misc/fires_oct_07/homes_destroyed.html
If you are one of the folks that have been affected, my deepest sympathy.
-
AuthorPosts
