This is what i was thinking. The property is relatively cheap compared to most but on the same token im a low income earner with 4 kids. So its a pretty big deal which i hope will benefit me in the long term.
Thanks for the feedback guys.
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It is indeed a great sighting. But unfortunately the apartment itself ain't that great :(
Now that does give hope! Just hope that the apartment I buy will one day become a good investment...
I don't think its worth starting a new thread. So I'm gonna continue venting here.... Its very frustrating that there is hardly anything decent out there atm. There just seems to be a mass of crappy apartments that have been on the market for way too long. And what makes it even more frustrating is that when a nice one comes into the market you get these impulse buyers who think more with their heart then their head and they offer way more then its worth and they make it way to easy for the real estate agents. They think that just coz they've got the 1st home buyers grant they have more to spend or they can borrow more. Its ridiculous! Don't even get me started with the chinese international students who have craploads of money from their rich parents overseas and for whom price doesn't matter.
I recentley bought a place, paying about $850 a fortnight on repayments, and will do for the next 30 years. Doesnt leave me with alot, but I will still buy tfs, just not as many :p
I pay the mortgage, my fiance pays for most other things, and hopefully she will get more hours soon. And I will hopefully be getting a higher paying job as well.
I's tough, but I'm sure you'll be right :)
Bought the Watchmen on Blu-ray only to find out we didn't get the directors cut! What a pile of crap! that'll learn me to buy local!
I saw this and thought I'd share it with the other potential home buyers
http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/lease.png
The last article I read said that the Director's Cut isn't coming until later in the year. The trick is not to buy a DVD too early. I'm still waiting on a Director's Cut of Kill Bill to come one day.
I made the mistake of assuming we'd get it since it was released in the US. They only got the DC on Blu-ray and DVD, no theatrical cut. It seems the UK also got shafted, we just got the same disks as them, shame. I guess I'll wait for the uber 4 hour cut and import that :(
On the topic of housing vents, I just ferried over from Tassie yesterday to check out houses for a few days, I get into Deakin uni Burwood about half past 11, see a great house ad being put up ($110 a week inc. bills and internet - bargain and according to the guy putting them up it's not even that overcrowded!) and call the landlady, only to find out it's just been filled.
If only I hadn't just missed the bus from Box Hill, if only my friend who lives next to Burwood campus had been able to put me up for a few days, if only I'd come over one day sooner...if only if only if only.*sigh*
On another note it's my turn to vent: :p
Have you ever felt that sometimes a person you thought of as a friend maybe doesn't quite feel the same way as you? Anyway I felt silly because I bawled my eyes out last night to the other half - that was how much it hurt me. And it didn't help that I was an ultra sensitive person and being a girlie too I reserve the right to be in that category. :D
Let's call him the random kid in school. You don't really know him well but you chatted on a few occasions, he gives you his lunch sometimes when you have no money for food and says that you can pay back later. You thought hey, that's really nice of him and you actually start to think of him as a friend, you ask about his school stuff, you chatted about the car he's buying and a bit on his personal life etc...
Then something happens, the random kid runs into some trouble. He suddenly stops communicating, you wonder what's wrong.
Then of course in every school there's Mr.P and Mr.I, is every person's best friend because they are always helping anyone in need, and to put people back into perspective when they are wrong. No harm in doing that at all, but maybe just sometimes they don't realize their tone might come across as somewhat targeting and over powering. But then again, everyone's used to it and understand what they mean anyway ;)
Anyway back to the story... And so Mr. P and Mr. I tried their best to help the random kid solve his trouble, but no one heard from the kid himself and so of course misunderstood Mr.P and Mr.I for wanting to make decisions on his behalf. At first I guess I sounded a bit offensive when I finally talked to the random kid. Then over night I thought it through and think to myself hey he must have some problems and won't be so harsh, so I contacted him the next day and told him to sort his trouble out in the way that works for him.
I also gave a gentle note that Mr.P and Mr.I might be trying to make decisions on his behalf as I didn't know better, I finally asked him later if there was anything wrong at school or personal life and was he ok. Never got a reply or whatsoever. Not that I wanted any acknowledgment or whatsoever, hell no! I didn't do anything. But I just felt like the dumb fool who tried to care and never even got any word back. Just plain naive I guess, something I should have learned ages ago...
Anyway this is not in anyway to dig anyone, it's a topic for venting and so a venting is just what I'm doing. ;)
As for me Im single as well, but Ive mapped it out well ahead that I got most of what I wanted in my collection (g1s) before I delve into the mortgage flow. It has indeed impacted in my collecting as half my salary automatically goes to my mortgage, but instead of a ball and chain as kup has said , I treat this as my biggest acquisition and is my pride and joy to own my own house. I made sure i got a lot of advise and help from my relos as it can get pretty stressfull for first home buyers. Not to mention everything looks rosy or scary at the same time. So an objective eye from a close concerned relo helps bring out points you may miss out in looking at houses. Dont settle for anything less. i almost did, good thing most of my relos were there to point it out. I had a look at 12 houses before finally deciding and spotting this one Im living in right now and am very very pleased with it. Got it for a lower price as well coz one of my relos kinda has a way with persuasions. :D
best make a list of what you expect and things you need to expect - plumbing, elctrical outlets, hot water system, rooms, any carpets etc. A lot of houses for sale are "cosmetically" enhanced to sell... learn to look past the new paint job and see what is underneath, are the cracks somewhere, any molds in the insides of cubboards , check under the sink etc..
My perspective comes from someone who is completely alone in this regard and intends to remain single for life. I have no relatives, or contacts so everything would have to be done by myself. Then I have to work for 20+ years to pay off a mortgage at great cost to my enjoyment of life. Once the house is paid off I find myself as an old man and as I grow older I probably would have to consider selling the house so that I can go to some retirement village as there is no one to take care of me.
Now if I don't go for a mortgage and rent, I have the flexibility of living wherever I want based on my wage and able to put much greater savings into my account than if I had a mortgage. I continue renting for 20+ years with enough money to enjoy my life and contribute to my savings. By the time I get old I have enough money saved up to go to a retirement village to live the rest of my life confortably.
The way I see it from someone who is completely single, no family and has no interest in having lots of investments (where would it go after I die?) - both methods get me to the same ends but one gives me a richer stress free life with more freedom to enjoy life while the other makes me more of a slave to the mortgage.
Now I understand that I could be completely narrow minded on this so I would very much appreciate someone who can enlighten me and who can give me me their point of view on why one of these ways is better:
a. Work your butt off for a mortgage at the cost of your enjoyment of life and then having to sell the house at your old age to retire to a retirement village but with good money in the bank to support you until the end.
b. Having enough financial freedom to enjoy your life as much as well as contribute strongly to your savings and then have more than enough money saved up to retire to a retirement village with more than enough money to sustain yourself until the end.
Naturally method 'a' would give me much greater 'riches' in the sense of what my state is worth but at the cost of much of my life as I have to dedicate many years to a mortgage which the investment will mostly stay in the bank anyway and doesn't impact my standard of living all that much. The other method gives me the same standard of living but with less riches in the bank but still enough to live the rest of my days confortably and not disimilar to the guy in method 'a'.
Edit: Keep in mind that my way of life does not include anyone else. So when I die it all goes up in smoke as there is no one to 'leave' anything to so it doesn't matter what my investments are worth.
Kup, did you just spontaneously appear on earth one day? Am i reading it right, you have no family at all?!
You're gonna be working your butt off no matter how you break it down, so it's just a matter of what you want to spend it on.
At least if you have a partner you can share the wealth/costs. And if you have a partner, your needs change - i've been renting for 5 years and we're readying to buy a house soon - the mortgage cost won't be a whole lot more than our rent. Some people's enjoyment comes from having a house and living a family life, so it's not necessarily at the cost of any enjoyment like you say. And lord knows i need more space for shelves and shelves of toys!
It's not that I don't literally have no family, its that they are no longer part of my life and very far away from me where they should stay. Long story and the outcome is for the better.
Also keep in mind that my psychology is very different from what would be deemed as normal. I don't care for companionship and happier when alone.
Well you won't meet Mrs. Right with that attitude! :)
That's the point - I don't have that need so I am not looking for Mrs Right as I don't care to find her. I understand that its difficult for most people to relate but I am the type who doesn't need companionship to live, I don't have that instinct.
I am more interested in someone who can point out a flaw in my reasoning regarding a single person who is completely solo getting a mortgage instead of renting and saving.
Turn your sarcasm meter up a notch, i was only kidding about Mrs. Right!
I don't think there's a flaw in whatever you decide to do. If you don't need a house, you don't need a house....
And what exactly are you saving for if not a house? I have 2 jobs and my wife another - if we weren't looking to get a house, we'd have a shitload of $$$ in the bank that is ultimately just 'security' blanket - multiple times as much as we'd need to rent and enjoy ourselves. And like you said, eventually it'd be worth nothing to no-one when we die, if we don't have kids. Who cares, you'd be dead!
I have to save to be able to retire comfortably but that's long term saving. Short term savings for me are generally things that I enjoy including traveling overseas like visiting historical places in Europe and so forth - explore the world and of course TFs :)
Sorry - that was my own frustration with people always telling me crap like "don't worry the right person will show up" when they ask if I have a girlfriend and I say no. They assume that I am looking for one or that I am feeling sad for not having one as if that matters to me.Quote:
Turn your sarcasm meter up a notch, i was only kidding about Mrs. Right!
Kup, first of all, good on you for being content in singleness, its trully a blessing that not many people can take on.
Regarding you question/comment about mortgage vs rent. Well this is the way I see. Whilst yes you are correct in that if you get a mortgage you will spend years paying that off. But at the same time if you plan to rent for the rest of your life, you're effectively paying for someone elses mortgage.
So it comes down to:
* Rent - Pay someone elses mortgage and don't own your own home
* Mortgage - Pay your own and own your own home.
I would say mortgage is the much more attractive option even if you are single. Keep in mind that rent does fluctuate just as interest rates fluctuate.
I realise its very simplified, but i think you get the idea.
Thanks for your views.
I understand that rent means paying someone else's mortgage but it also allows me more money to live as the rent is always much lower than a mortgage. I am not materialistic so I don't care about having properties or anything of the sort as long as I am happy and with enough money to enjoy life the way I see it. I feel that given the currently over inflated property prices, getting a mortgage will impede that as for a single income it will always be the over bearing aspect of my finances limiting what I can do and more into what I can't do.
My point is that for someone who is single and does not care about having lots of investment and money in the bank, the outcome after retirement of having a mortgage and renting for life seems too close together as far as the standard of living is concerned with the exception that I haven't spend 20-30 years of my life working to pay it.
I understand where kup is coming from. Some people just don't want the tether of a mortgage. I used to work with a lady in her 50s who had never married or had kids, nor did she had any intention of ever doing so. She'd move around a lot, was quite content with the family she had (siblings, neices, nephews, etc), and simply found that renting gave her both the disposable income and flexibility she wanted.
Not owning a home is a stigma born in the USA and exported to Australia. Europeans do not suffer from this, but granted they have considerbly greater protections as renters.
A home is a 30 year financial investment. Depending on the climate of things and your own financial status, a lot of times it is not the best investment.
The house I rent in Melbourne costs me a bit under $1800 per month. To purchase this house would cost me double, $3600 per month in mortgage alone. Let's not forget that as a renter, I'm not concerned with rates, building insurance, renovations, maintenance or countless other expenses, of which as an owner, a mortgage is only the first.
If I can successfully put away that remaining $1800 in more lucrative investments, at say 10% per annum, and in most cases, I'm actually going to do better than a homeowner, and if I actively participate in my investments, have much greater control and ability to move with the market. Another nice thing is, that if for whatever reason I can't put away that extra $1800 this month or this year, I don't lose the roof over my head.
And there's the great freedoms that renters have that homeowners do not. Like Kup says, he can work and live any place he wants. Renters can finish up a lease, go travel the world for 6 months to 6 years, come back and not have lost anything in the process. I'm moving to QLD in 6 months. I only plan on living there about 5 years and the moving somewhere else, possibly even internationally. These would not be options with a mortgage.
Unlike Kup, I have a family, and still, I do not see the economic sense in home ownership for my situation either. That's not to say that no one should own a home. It's just pointing out that it's a lot more complex than this:
Don't know if I can point out a flaw here as I hate debt, have none and wouldn't like the thought of being tethered to a mortgage...
...BUT...
my brother and I...
(1) I don't have a mortgage, have much more disposable income, cash on hand and savings than him.
(2)He is around 100-150,000 dollars wealthier in real terms than I am and if he sold up now he'd be in the same position as me except with that decent amount more in the bank than myself because he chose to get a mortgage.
It's not a bad investment and one you needn't feel truly tethered to as you can sell when you want.
I don't think a mortgage is a bad thing. At the end of it you have a property which is yours and you can do what you like with it including selling it.
I have a mortgage which I'm paying off at double the minimum rate set so instead of being tethered to it for 25+ years I should be free of it within 6 or 7 years (fingers crossed). After that point if my income stays around the same mark the amount going into the mortgage will free up and I can look into other investments. Short term pain long term gain.
It could also work the other way around. You may find yourself in the position that when you move to QLD and find that perfect place to rent, the owner may one day all of a sudden decide to sell (for whatever reason) to someone who doesn't want to rent and you'll have to move even if you don't want to.
Its happened to me before and it wasn't the most convenient of circumstances given how tight the rent market was at the time.
There are inherent advantages and disadvantages in both renting and mortgaging. What it comes down to is what best suits your situation.
Crappy! I'm gonna have to work weekend again. That or work late weeknights. :rolleyes: :( :mad:
Well i got a call today saying the offer i made on the house and land was accepted:). Thats cool so i head down to my local broker to organize some finance only to be informed that a whole bunch of lending policies have changed since my last visit at the beginning of the year:eek:. Must have had my head in the sand or something as all the changes occured as of July 1. So now Im in a predicament in that i have to raise a substantial amount of money if all is to go ahead. Bugger it all- i hoped it would all run a little smoother than this. :confused:
Gotta get the house inspected too (havent told the agent yet) because the house is old and has been a bit neglected. We a re hoping to live in the house until my missus finishes uni (about 3 years) and then renovate it. So if the building inspector says stay away then the house will go back onto the market. The big thing that is luring us to this place is the large 2 acre block it is on and the houses old design (high ceilings/ roof, traditional style).
With four kids we need a lot of room!:D