Home Owner Thread

[David.]

Really depends on market, those web sites are garbage.

Do you work a W2 job, issue buying where you dont work you just dont get to call a place a primary because its your only house. Also rates are high right now, maybe 7.5 percent right now, higher and points if you buy your aunts house, and if you move, job history becomes an issue

1099 for now but could change

 

[Lee]

1099 for now but could change

You will need 2 years tax returns and your net income on line 27 of your schedule c....hard for a 1099 employee to qualify

 

[inliner311]

I'm busting a stump with an ax. Very hard good exercise. This is one of those spending $2000 dollars of my time to save 400 on the machine that will do it

This was the most interesting way I found for someone getting rid of a tree stump. Not going to be safe if it's too close to a house or any structure but it seem real easy.

 

[AllforOne]

Tell me where I'm wrong

I pay 1800 a month to rent and that is going to raise 6% every single year.

Mortgage on a 450k place, let's call it 2500.

I'm down 700 a month (and shrinking) for a handful of years until like 7 years from now when my mortgage would be less than my rent at that point, and I'd have equity should I buy.

I'm losing a lot of money not buying right?

1. Your mortgage payment will go up every year. Yes, the principal and interest will remain constant (unless you do an ARM), but you also have property taxes and insurance, and those will only go up. (Extreme example: we have a home on the oceanfront, and since a hurricane hit the area three years ago, our homeowners insurance has gone up substantially, and our flood insurance has doubled).

2. Remember that rent is the MOST you will ever pay that month for housing, whereas a mortgage payment is the LEAST. If you’re a homeowner, and you need a new roof/fix the HVAC/replace the refrigerator/a hundred other things, it’s coming out of your pocket. If you’re a renter, you call the landlord. You need to factor that in to your analysis (and it’s easy not to, because that maintenance is variable and harder to quantify).

I agree that in the long term, you probably want to own. In the shorter term, renting buys you time.

 

[Randolphkeys]

I agree that in the long term, you probably want to own. In the shorter term, renting buys you time.

To piggyback, you also have to factor in the lifestyle you want to live.

One guy I'm friendly with bought a house in Houston as a single guy for the financial investment. After living there for two years he hated it. The suburbs aren't great for a single guy compared to a condo downtown, for example. So now he rents out the house and rents an apartment closer to the nightlife.

I was a happy renter downtown for a long time. No shame in that.

 

[inliner311]

To piggyback, you also have to factor in the lifestyle you want to live.

One guy I'm friendly with bought a house in Houston as a single guy for the financial investment. After living there for two years he hated it. The suburbs aren't great for a single guy compared to a condo downtown, for example. So now he rents out the house and rents an apartment closer to the nightlife.

I was a happy renter downtown for a long time. No shame in that.

Also the single person who buys a house may not see the same stuff as a family or couple looking for a house. They might miss parts that make a house desirable to a family and it might not be as good as of an investment because of that.

A single person who buys a downtown condo will most likely be the demo that will buy that same place in the future. They will most likely value the same things and it will be easier assess how desirable it will be in the future.

 

[Marcus]

Didn’t go into the weekend anticipating that I’d be buying a new fridge, but here we are.

In reality I should be grateful - we knew it was up there in years when we bought the house and got almost two years out of it (19 total!).

 

[Cavatt]

This was the most interesting way I found for someone getting rid of a tree stump. Not going to be safe if it's too close to a house or any structure but it seem real easy.

This is a good idea and I have considered it. It is pretty close to my house.

I would have used charcoal to get a hot ass ember first. You can see how long this can burn though.

Biggest thing I am missing is a drill that will go through the stump. That is strong drill he has there. I can't use a bit that large on my drill and get into the wood.

 

[inliner311]

This is a good idea and I have considered it. It is pretty close to my house.

I would have used charcoal to get a hot ass ember first. You can see how long this can burn though.

Biggest thing I am missing is a drill that will go through the stump. That is strong drill he has there. I can't use a bit that large on my drill and get into the wood.

I think a smaller hole would still work, you just need to get a long enough drill bit. I drill through metal all the time and a sharp bit get through going slow and with enough pressure.

 

[Cavatt]

Didn’t go into the weekend anticipating that I’d be buying a new fridge, but here we are.

In reality I should be grateful - we knew it was up there in years when we bought the house and got almost two years out of it (19 total!).

I sold the garage fridge the guy who owned the house before me left and the next week mine went out!

It was really annoying.

I try not to buy anything new, philosophically. It isn't about price, I just don't like to add new things if I don't have to.

I went looking for a used fridge. Checked facebook marketplace and found one I liked. Guy sent me to this warehouse.

Nobody is there. I am wondering if I have been sent to be killed/robbed.

Guy shows up, but isn't the guy I talked to, the fridge we talked about isn't there. This guy is confused about who sent me.

He is actually selling fridges and other appliances though. I find one I like. He agrees to deliver it for 100 bucks or something. 800 total stainless french door Kenmore professional. He did not ask for anything up front.

He shows up with his cousin and delivers the fridge. I pay him everything is good.

My wife who is never happy that I am not buying from the show room is really happy and it looks great. Wife goes upstairs with kid, I hook up the water etc.

I'm trying to use the water and the buttons won't respond. I push water and the light comes on. I push the light and the something else goes off. I look closely at the door and can tell it is just slightly dented/doesn't perfectly match and realize this is a new door for this fridge. None of the buttons work and the light seems to be randomly coming on.

I check the model number to see what is going on. No model number anywhere. Supposed to always be in the top right. Sticker is torn off. That is a sure sign of a totaled fridge. Not supposed to be sold, no licensed repair man will touch it. Cold sweat, heart sinking.

Wife comes down. She sees my face. I say, "I'm sorry." She says, "You son of a bitch!"

I go upstairs to get some tools. When I come back down she has "reset the fridge to factory settings" and it is totally fine. We also figured out I wasn't holding the buttons long enough. Just tapping like a phone doesn't work properly.

Fantastic fridge going on 3 years no issues. I cannot for the life of me figure out the scam that the first guy was running.

 

[Cavatt]

I think a smaller hole would still work, you just need to get a long enough drill bit. I drill through metal all the time and a sharp bit get through going slow and with enough pressure.

I think I would need to put bricks around it and pretend it is a firepit. It is right in front of my front door and would constitute yard waste burning which is illegal in my city lol.

I don't have a bit that long either. My stump is about 2x this size. I am about halfway. I'll be there soon.

 

[inliner311]

I think I would need to put bricks around it and pretend it is a firepit. It is right in front of my front door and would constitute yard waste burning which is illegal in my city lol.

I don't have a bit that long either. My stump is about 2x this size. I am about halfway. I'll be there soon.

How far from the house is it? Drill bit extension should give you the length. You could always drill as deep as you can then do multiple holes on the top connection to the sides instead of just one hole on top.

 

[Marcus]

I sold the garage fridge the guy who owned the house before me left and the next week mine went out!

It was really annoying.

I try not to buy anything new, philosophically. It isn't about price, I just don't like to add new things if I don't have to.

I went looking for a used fridge. Checked facebook marketplace and found one I liked. Guy sent me to this warehouse.

Nobody is there. I am wondering if I have been sent to be killed/robbed.

Guy shows up, but isn't the guy I talked to, the fridge we talked about isn't there. This guy is confused about who sent me.

He is actually selling fridges and other appliances though. I find one I like. He agrees to deliver it for 100 bucks or something. 800 total stainless french door Kenmore professional. He did not ask for anything up front.

He shows up with his cousin and delivers the fridge. I pay him everything is good.

My wife who is never happy that I am not buying from the show room is really happy and it looks great. Wife goes upstairs with kid, I hook up the water etc.

I'm trying to use the water and the buttons won't respond. I push water and the light comes on. I push the light and the something else goes off. I look closely at the door and can tell it is just slightly dented/doesn't perfectly match and realize this is a new door for this fridge. None of the buttons work and the light seems to be randomly coming on.

I check the model number to see what is going on. No model number anywhere. Supposed to always be in the top right. Sticker is torn off. That is a sure sign of a totaled fridge. Not supposed to be sold, no licensed repair man will touch it. Cold sweat, heart sinking.

Wife comes down. She sees my face. I say, "I'm sorry." She says, "You son of a bitch!"

I go upstairs to get some tools. When I come back down she has "reset the fridge to factory settings" and it is totally fine. We also figured out I wasn't holding the buttons long enough. Just tapping like a phone doesn't work properly.

Fantastic fridge going on 3 years no issues. I cannot for the life of me figure out the scam that the first guy was running.

Reading this gave me secondhand anxiety.

Glad it all worked out in the end!

My outgoing fridge was a Kitchen Aid. I’m under no illusions that the new one will last me nearly twenty years, but I decided to stick with Kitchen Aid. Going from the French doors set up to French doors on the top for the fridge with a pull out freezer.

It’ll be nice to have a working water dispenser again. The old fridge would leak water whenever we tried to use it (and I’m pretty sure that leak also eventually reached the main board and finally the condenser fan this past weekend).

 

[inliner311]

I sold the garage fridge the guy who owned the house before me left and the next week mine went out!

It was really annoying.

I try not to buy anything new, philosophically. It isn't about price, I just don't like to add new things if I don't have to.

I went looking for a used fridge. Checked facebook marketplace and found one I liked. Guy sent me to this warehouse.

Nobody is there. I am wondering if I have been sent to be killed/robbed.

Guy shows up, but isn't the guy I talked to, the fridge we talked about isn't there. This guy is confused about who sent me.

He is actually selling fridges and other appliances though. I find one I like. He agrees to deliver it for 100 bucks or something. 800 total stainless french door Kenmore professional. He did not ask for anything up front.

He shows up with his cousin and delivers the fridge. I pay him everything is good.

My wife who is never happy that I am not buying from the show room is really happy and it looks great. Wife goes upstairs with kid, I hook up the water etc.

I'm trying to use the water and the buttons won't respond. I push water and the light comes on. I push the light and the something else goes off. I look closely at the door and can tell it is just slightly dented/doesn't perfectly match and realize this is a new door for this fridge. None of the buttons work and the light seems to be randomly coming on.

I check the model number to see what is going on. No model number anywhere. Supposed to always be in the top right. Sticker is torn off. That is a sure sign of a totaled fridge. Not supposed to be sold, no licensed repair man will touch it. Cold sweat, heart sinking.

Wife comes down. She sees my face. I say, "I'm sorry." She says, "You son of a bitch!"

I go upstairs to get some tools. When I come back down she has "reset the fridge to factory settings" and it is totally fine. We also figured out I wasn't holding the buttons long enough. Just tapping like a phone doesn't work properly.

Fantastic fridge going on 3 years no issues. I cannot for the life of me figure out the scam that the first guy was running.

It might not have been a scam the first guy was running. He might of had a side deal to sell stuff on his own with the owner and the normal sales people didn't know about it. He might have just gotten his times mixed up or something.

I would buy computer equipment from a warehouse like that and the guy I was buying from was a relative of the owner. I met the owner and he was basically helping his brother in law to make money while he was between jobs. The guy I was buying from was doing the legwork to sell the stuff and getting his cut. Basically the regular sales people would only deal in big lots and didn't want to deal individually. Too much inventory was building up.

The time I met the owner was when the relative had just found a new job so he was going to stop selling stuff. The owner told me to hit him up if I wanted anything in the future since I had become a repeat customer. When I needed some other stuff the employee that the owner had asked to sell to me was real annoyed by the situation and basically said this was a one time deal for whatever I needed for one last time.

 

[Cavatt]

Reading this gave me secondhand anxiety.

Glad it all worked out in the end!

My outgoing fridge was a Kitchen Aid. I’m under no illusions that the new one will last me nearly twenty years, but I decided to stick with Kitchen Aid. Going from the French doors set up to French doors on the top for the fridge with a pull out freezer.

It’ll be nice to have a working water dispenser again. The old fridge would leak water whenever we tried to use it (and I’m pretty sure that leak also eventually reached the main board and finally the condenser fan this past weekend).

Man, freezer on the bottom is awesome. Side by side sucks.