http://www.governing.com/topics/mgmt/gov-metros-where-wages-are-lowest.html
Nothing like moving to a city where the average wage is pitiful compared to home prices!
Needless to say, I don't think we'll be rushing out to buy a house immediately.
http://www.governing.com/topics/mgmt/gov-metros-where-wages-are-lowest.html
Nothing like moving to a city where the average wage is pitiful compared to home prices!
Needless to say, I don't think we'll be rushing out to buy a house immediately.
Buying a house is overrated anyway. (And I say this as a current homeowner.)
I don't get why people think a house is an asset. Assets make you money, not cost you money. That's a liability.
Even on a 15 year note, a $100,000 house costs you north of $200,000 and it might be worth $120,000 at the end of the loan. And that excludes all other maintenance/repairs. It's also not liquid.
What horrid interest rate are you paying to spend that much over the price of the house? Doing the math with current rates and a 100k house over 15 years is $155k in payments.
As to why buy vs rent... Rent where I live is far higher than the mortgage on an equivalent house. I plan to be here for quite a few more years too. And when we leave and are able to sell, in theory we'll get some of our equity back vs renting where it's just money pissed away to the landlord.
PHeller, as long as your wage is where it needs to be, I wouldn't worry about the wage disparity. Given that it's driven by tourism and seasonal employment (like it is here) means there's opportunity for people who do stay year round. Bonus if you build a small MIL apartment in the backyard and rent it out.
z31maniac wrote: Buying a house is overrated anyway. (And I say this as a current homeowner.) I don't get why people think a house is an asset. Assets make you money, not cost you money. That's a liability. Even on a 15 year note, a $100,000 house costs you north of $200,000 and it might be worth $120,000 at the end of the loan. And that excludes all other maintenance/repairs. It's also not liquid.
One of the big things about buying vs. renting is that come retirement time it's quite possible to sell a house and 'downsize' into a smaller house that's paid for. That right there can easily save $1k a month, nothing to sneeze at when planning a retirement.
Some people sell $500,000 houses in the Northeast then buy a $150,000 house down here and put the rest into their retirement accounts.
skierd wrote: What horrid interest rate are you paying to spend that much over the price of the house? Doing the math with current rates and a 100k house over 15 years is $155k in payments. As to why buy vs rent... Rent where I live is far higher than the mortgage on an equivalent house. I plan to be here for quite a few more years too. And when we leave and are able to sell, in theory we'll get some of our equity back vs renting where it's just money pissed away to the landlord.
Sorry, wasn't thinking. I was including the property tax and insurance costs as well.
But I don't really see how selling something for $120k that you paid $155k is "getting equity" back. You're getting money back from a negative interest rate loan essentially.
SVreX wrote: Doesn't your wife work in the non-profit sector? Getting a job in Flagstaff should be easy.
Social services, although she's not a licensed social worker.
Among my partner's notable traits is her ability to forgo just about anything of value. Lived a happy life on $10,000 a year for two years. Makes 4x that now. Her total living expenditures are probably still under $10k with car payments and rent. She likes having a reliable car (her Fit), a comfy bed, and a cat; but outside of that she's just about the cheapest person I know. She probably eats about $2 in food a day and she's vegetarian. If something around the house is broken, she'll do without. Most of the time she'll go to the bar and not drink. She hates shopping.
She certainly won't be a burden on me, which is a relief.
This should be a great opportunity for her to experiment with the type of work environment and job duties that make her happy. She's stuck in this rut of thinking that unless she's doing something noble, something humanitarian, that she's being selfish, but I think she'll find that doing what makes you happy is just as nice as doing what makes you Gahndi.
z31maniac wrote: Sorry, wasn't thinking. I was including the property tax and insurance costs as well. But I don't really see how selling something for $120k that you paid $155k is "getting equity" back. You're getting money back from a negative interest rate loan essentially.
Compared to what? Paying the same $155K (or more) over the same period towards rent and getting nothing back?
Datsun1500 wrote: Factor in that you are writing off @$500 of that payment, and I am not, and it really makes sense.
That's basically the exact numbers for me. Except the interest is low enough I take the standard deduction vs itemizing, because I don't have enough to write off. And I'll still get the standard deduction where I'm at now, so that's a moot point. To me at least.
In reply to z31maniac:
But that doesn't take into account taxes. For the last few years of my mortgage, the interest deduction was minimal, but the real estate taxes combined with other taxes almost exceed the standard deduction. My HSA contribution puts it well over, but that situation is uncommon thanks to my company's accounting dept...
It really varies too much to make a blanket statement about the deduction amount. Pretty much anyone living in NJ who owns a home is paying more in real estate taxes alone than the standard deduction.
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