OT - Buying a House | Page 10 | The Boneyard

OT - Buying a House

Fishy said:
How does this turn into an 11-page thread?

Find a house you like that you can afford and buy it.
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It's the boneryard, you can only talk so much about pizza.
 
whaler11 said:
If you buy a house in Connecticut you are buying a share of the state retiree debacle.

When the music stops, you hold the bag.

Whatever hypothetical equity is wishcasted has that anchor tied to it.
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Similar in NJ. Interestingly, the head of state senate, a Dem, today called the new gov, a Dem, a nut job in that the state couldn't afford all his new programs. The new gov is a former Goldie guy, and should know better. What's that tell you??? As I've said befor, NJ and CT (according to news) are in a race to the bottom - stay tuned - and get out while u can.
 
Fishy said:
How does this turn into an 11-page thread?

Find a house you like that you can afford and buy it.
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Would you rather no one came to this site to post? Don't answer that question...
 
whaler11 said:
As an old person I feel some responsibility to your generation.

Buying a house in Connecticut in 2018 comes with a negative expected value.

Unless you’ve got a spouse and kids combined with two solid well paying jobs do not invest in a house in Connecticut.

If you’ve got a spouse and children buy in a top 15 school system, that will limit your losses and you’ll get some ROI from the schools.

If you aren’t married and aren’t making incredible money get the hell out of here.
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There will be a time when the market in CT comes back. I think most young people would be wise to wait for signs of life in the CT economy before buying a house. We are near the end of this economic cycle (a good cycle even though Ct isn’t seeing the prosperity). During the next recession, the CT market should get even worse. That will be the time to buy. I am hopeful that as CT continues to work through the economic messes that face it, there will be light at the end of the tunnel in 4-7 years. For now, I think this kid should rent. There is just no benefit to buying a house in CT that you don’t want to live in for many years.

If I was buying in the 250k range up there I’d look for an updated , older farmhouse or cottage type home 0n 1 or more acres in a place like Ellington, Somers, Suffield, Portland, East Hampton, Marlborough, East Granby/Granby, Barkhamsted etc. Those houses will always have some appeal for the land and character. I’d plan on enjoying my house and land but not the bar and restaurant scene in town. You’d have to drive 15-20 minutes for a lot of options but each town usually has a few spots for drinks/food and watching a game. Build a firepit, join a softball league, play in the town men’s basketball league, golf, fish etc. If you make it big, all of those towns have beautiful, more expensive homes to upgrade to.

Otherwise, rent and live where the action is. Do not buy an ugly shoe box in an ugly town. That’s how a lifetime of living in an ugly shoebox in an ugly town begins.
 
It's funny to read this thread in light of all the friends I have that left CT but are low looking to come because it is CHEAP (relative to where they moved after college).

When everyone says sell, maybe it's a good time to buy.
 
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WestHartHusk said:
It's funny to read this thread in light of all the friends I have that left CT but are low looking to come because it is CHEAP (relative to where they moved after college).

When everyone says sell, maybe it's a good time to buy.
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Sort of. I left and I look around all the time both online and when I visit. Right now, it is relatively cheap compared to other more prosperous areas, but it isn’t a healthy market and economic factors indicate prices will drop in the relatively near future. It just can’t possibly be rock bottom yet. Give it a couple of years.

However, I wouldn’t fear buying a lower priced home with land and character. I think those will be ok. You might also do well on a large home that was left behind due to corporate relocation. The companies tend to eat losses on those. No way would I go to Simsbury or Avon right now and buy what I’d want to buy. Whaler11 is spot on with his observations of where this is heading.

CT is generally an afterthought to the rest of the country. Right now, people are actually talking about it nationally because of the fiscal situation. When I tell someone I am from CT originally, which is almost every day, they often comment on the situation because they see it in the news. It is not good for perception and perception drives markets.
 
Give me 3 reasons why someone would want to return to CT to retire?
 
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CTBasketball said:
@Deepster

Goal is to stay there for 4-5 years minimum. The hard part is finding a house that needs a little bit of work (floors, paint, roof), but not too much to where they price it outrageously high.
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At five years how much principal will have been paid off? Unless you buy a fixer upper and do the work yourself, I don't see how it would be a good move financially.
 
Buying a lower priced home in a good neighborhood, and fixing it up is a formula to make money or at least not lose your shirt especially if you can do some of the labor. And when a housing crunch happens which it always does, the lower price points are the first to sell.
 
Jaker said:
Give me 3 reasons why someone would want to return to CT to retire?
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Amazing beer.
Great food (read: pizza)
As stated...easy access to sound, ocean, mountains, NYC and Boston.
 
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Jaker said:
or cold damp winters from hell
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with 2 foot snow storms.

That's how they stay young. Shoveling that stuff.
 
I’d return to CT solely because it is who I am. Deep down, that’s who I’ll always be. I’ve been gone for 19 years and it is still home even though none of my family remains there. I was getting a haircut yesterday and a guy waiting was wearing a “Basketball Capital of the World” T-shirt. I paid, turned to leave and poked him on the shoulder and said, “Go Huskies”. He looks up, and says “You bet your a** brother, we’re back”. That’s something you can only enjoy regularly when you are home. It was a thrill to have that happen 1500 miles away.
 
Well, he means the mountains to the north, but trust me, CT has mountains after you’ve lived somewhere with small hills or no hills at all.
 
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Yeah, I still long for NE during the fall months when the colors turn, but the other 10 months of the year I will pass on.
 
Hoophound said:
I’d return to CT solely because it is who I am. Deep down, that’s who I’ll always be. I’ve been gone for 19 years and it is still home even though none of my family remains there. I was getting a haircut yesterday and a guy waiting was wearing a “Basketball Capital of the World” T-shirt. I paid, turned to leave and poked him on the shoulder and said, “Go Huskies”. He looks up, and says “You bet your a** brother, we’re back”. That’s something you can only enjoy regularly when you are home. It was a thrill to have that happen 1500 miles away.
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That doesn’t happen here.

Nobody would talk with or touch some rando.

If you touched someone and said ‘I’m going to give you a million dollars’ they would respond ‘Did you just touch me?’
 
I could see myself buying a summer lake house in an area like Coventry, live there from Memorial Day to Labor Day. No heat, no A/C. Just nice summer days.

But no way for year round residency
 
Jaker said:
Condo's are ok until some major defect is uncovered and the entire community gets stuck with a huge assestment to make repairs.
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Or, potentially after less than savvy condo purchasers or someone with a clue failed to scrutinize a condo community's overall physical condition, prior pattern of financial management, particularly capital reserves, etc. before purchase. Sounds like boog204 had a clue, some luck, or a bit of both ...
boog204 said:
Higher than average, a little over $300... However, the HOA covers landscaping, snow removal, trash, recycling, pool, clubhouse, and various other things and it's a nice complex. Even though the HOA fee is on the high, they are always making improvements and putting that $$ to good use. We have new patios, newer decks, siding, etc.
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