I just bought a house

Did you pay cash? If not, no, I am not jealous.

Good for you, OP. No jealousy here.

I'm not envious, but cool story

What, are you 12? Or poor?

I just sold mine.

What an odd thread!

Is it on the prairie?

What about a zoo, OP? Hhmmm?

I bought a house, too. It cost me 30 bundles of wood, 3,000 rupees and I had to sleep with the very flamboyant Bolson, who runs Bolson Construction.

Even though my asshole still hurts, it was worth it to get this very nice little house.

Just the one house dearie?

Hell, no. I just sold one and went back to renting. The constant maintenance, taxes, arguing with the appraisal board about said property taxes was too much.

Why would I be jealous of you for something I already did 20 years ago?

Me, too! Here's mine.

I'm trying to decide if I should ditch mine. I've been here for 33 years. Retired for the past 10. I don't have any heirs, so why die with a huge asset? Maybe better to sell it and rent? I could afford something MUCH nicer if I rented.

Congratulations!!!🎉

To answer OP’s infantile question, “nope.”

Well done for buying before values plummet like a rock. I hope you had a big deposit and a LONG timeframe to hold onto it.

I would have to know something about the house to be impressed (or not.)

I have one too. Not jealous. 20 years of maintenance, rising taxes, a major repair or replacement every few years has me getting ready to sell and move into a condo.

What is a house?

I will never not love Darfur Orphan.

I live in Northern Virginia. Though I have a Masters degree, I will never be able to afford a house. Hell, I would barely be able to afford a tiny, one-bedroom condo at $350,000.

I can see why you'd brag about it.

I bought a house twenty-two years ago that's worth five times what I paid for it, OP.

So, um, "No," not jealous at all.

No, not at all!

R21 I will not disagree with you.

Your insanely bad timing? Sure. Congrats.

R14 - I don’t understand people who maintain a house without a mortgage in old age. It’s like saving your whole life - so you can die rich. Makes no sense. My house is my retirement fund. At 60, I cash out and use that money to live for 20 years. Slaving away in a job to save money to die rich is illogical - unless you are one of the few people who really love the stress, hassle and demands of your job.

r28 I agree with you ... but then if you don't have a house, you're not protected from rent increases. What are the best options? Here's my situation (roughly.) 67. No heirs. Monthly take home pension around $6500. (No Social Security.) I have health insurance. My house is worth around $500K, paid for. I have a rental property worth around $600K, mortgage around $100K. Cash savings around $500K. Investments (stock + untapped 401(k)) around $700K. What would you do?

Congrats OP, it is a great feeling. But remember, you never own a house, the house owns you. Don't know what that means? you'll find out.

That's one way to do it, R28. For me I prefer to own a house outright. It's certainly very easy to buy when it's a cash purchase, and by not stretching to something I can't afford in cash seems prudent and frees up money to enjoy other things now. When my work income stops, I'll have a house that I paid cash for, that is easy to maintain (financially and otherwise). If unexpected circumstances left me pressed for money I could sell it and rent as you suggest, but the real estate appreciates at least as well as conservative investments for late in life. It's just another form of money in the bank.

[quote]you never own a house, the house owns you.

That depends on a lot of things. I notice there are more than a few people on DL who go to bits if a roof needs replacing or a even a toilet drain needs to be repaired. They might be better renting, and keeping the management company's contact details at the ready. Some people are like me and would rather pay for maintenance and repairs and design changes to not feel they were simply borrowing the use of their home on a monthly basis.

Ask me again when you buy a zoo.

I wish I hadn't.

[quote]What would you do?

Suck your dick for the rest of your life if you leave it to me.

r34 Put it in writing, bitch!

Yeah, I used to worry about every little thing that went wrong ... but now I don't sweat it. I just had to fork out $800 just to get the pad under my AC unit replaced. Just the PAD. Nothing was wrong with the AC. And my property manager just told me I had to shell out for a new fence and a new garage door opener on my rental property. Oh, well -- I'm not spending my money on anything else these days, so what the hell?

I feel the same way, R36. When all you can buy is groceries (I won't buy clothing online), what else is there to spend it on besides the house?

Can't go out to dinner. Can't go on vacation. Could buy a car but don't need one. Fixing stuff at home is about all that's left.