Hey government! (An edited for clarity rant)

[First]

This is the ideal time to buy a house, jumbo loans now go up to $600K+ if you have good credit, put down 20%, and have had your job a minimum of 3 months. Don't know what that rant was about, at least 80% of those gov't actions have been in effect for a good 100 years (federal taxes, local tax subsidies, etc.). So unless you want to roll back to the 19th century, I'd get used to the idea that you can't control every penny of your income, some of it is simply going to Uncle Sam no matter what.

 

[BoberFett]

Originally posted by: heyheybooboo
A quarter acre 'lot size' or disturbed area is roughly 10k SF (150x67).

A 2-story frame house around 2,500 SF would have a building envelop no bigger than 50x40 feet. If your well is placed in one corner of the disturbed area and your drain field is a minimum 100' from the well you could establish up to 5 lines 60 feet in length (probably more if your drain lines worked on a partial 'diagonal' ). That should give you more than enough room for the drain lines (on 12' centers) and a repair area.

You are looking at around $250 SF for a 2,500 SF home at $600k.

Not exactly a McMansion but a long way from an 'EconoBox' ...

$600K is a lot for 2500sqft. We just wrote a PA on a 2800sqft place in the 'burbs of Minneapolis for $270K. Granted, location is everything, but between my wife and I we make a decent six figures and we certainly wouldn't dream of looking at something in that range.

 

[sandorski]

If you must buy something and only spend 5 years there, buy a Condo. It's cheaper and you should be able to get one closer to your Work.

 

[AreaCode7O7]

Originally posted by: BoberFett

Originally posted by: heyheybooboo
A quarter acre 'lot size' or disturbed area is roughly 10k SF (150x67).

A 2-story frame house around 2,500 SF would have a building envelop no bigger than 50x40 feet. If your well is placed in one corner of the disturbed area and your drain field is a minimum 100' from the well you could establish up to 5 lines 60 feet in length (probably more if your drain lines worked on a partial 'diagonal' ). That should give you more than enough room for the drain lines (on 12' centers) and a repair area.

You are looking at around $250 SF for a 2,500 SF home at $600k.

Not exactly a McMansion but a long way from an 'EconoBox' ...

$600K is a lot for 2500sqft. We just wrote a PA on a 2800sqft place in the 'burbs of Minneapolis for $270K. Granted, location is everything, but between my wife and I we make a decent six figures and we certainly wouldn't dream of looking at something in that range.

The 600k figure isn't for building on the existing lot - thanks to the environmental restrictions, that's probably a year or two out from being possible. The 600k is a pre-built house, and it takes into account that we've still got the housemates and have that to add to the monthly mortgage, and our min becomes 3000 sq ft.

 

[fallout man]

Originally posted by: AreaCode707

The 600k figure isn't for building on the existing lot - thanks to the environmental restrictions, that's probably a year or two out from being possible. The 600k is a pre-built house, and it takes into account that we've still got the housemates and have that to add to the monthly mortgage, and our min becomes 3000 sq ft.

Do you live on a freaking commune or something?

Perhaps I'm not understanding the situation fully, but why the hell aren't you going to charge rent to your "housemates" who will be living in your brand new home you just bought for 600k?

You could probably break even on the freaking Playboy mansion if you moved in with 4 extra heads and charged rent for their share...

 

[AreaCode7O7]

Originally posted by: fallout man

Originally posted by: AreaCode707

The 600k figure isn't for building on the existing lot - thanks to the environmental restrictions, that's probably a year or two out from being possible. The 600k is a pre-built house, and it takes into account that we've still got the housemates and have that to add to the monthly mortgage, and our min becomes 3000 sq ft.

Do you live on a freaking commune or something?

Perhaps I'm not understanding the situation fully, but why the hell aren't you going to charge rent to your "housemates" who will be living in your brand new home you just bought for 600k?

You could probably break even on the freaking Playboy mansion if you moved in with 4 extra heads and charged rent for their share...

lol, yeah, we're practically a commune. The whole nudist idea got nixed though.

A. Housemates do pay rent. However, they don't pay the down payment and their share of rent is less than our share of rent, which makes sense since we get the overall benefit of (hopefully) our money back at the point at which the house sells. If we buy, they get the roof, we get the risk.
B. We'd never buy a brand new home. Inefficient investment, since houses depreciate over time. We'd be more likely to buy a beater cheap and fix it up.

 

[fallout man]

Originally posted by: AreaCode707

Originally posted by: fallout man

Originally posted by: AreaCode707

The 600k figure isn't for building on the existing lot - thanks to the environmental restrictions, that's probably a year or two out from being possible. The 600k is a pre-built house, and it takes into account that we've still got the housemates and have that to add to the monthly mortgage, and our min becomes 3000 sq ft.

Do you live on a freaking commune or something?

Perhaps I'm not understanding the situation fully, but why the hell aren't you going to charge rent to your "housemates" who will be living in your brand new home you just bought for 600k?

You could probably break even on the freaking Playboy mansion if you moved in with 4 extra heads and charged rent for their share...

lol, yeah, we're practically a commune. The whole nudist idea got nixed though.

A. Housemates do pay rent. However, they don't pay the down payment and their share of rent is less than our share of rent, which makes sense since we get the overall benefit of (hopefully) our money back at the point at which the house sells. If we buy, they get the roof, we get the risk.
B. We'd never buy a brand new home. Inefficient investment, since houses depreciate over time. We'd be more likely to buy a beater cheap and fix it up.

If you're not interested in building a new home on the land you seem to have bought, then why does this thread exist? Not to be a prick, but it seems that you're complaining that you can't build the home you'd like on the land you bought because the government is not making it cheap/solid/legal enough for you...

If you're buying a home from someone else, buy it dirt cheap from a foreclosure or something...

Also, charge your lazy-ass roommates market prices (for the privilege of living with a friend/landlord in a great house rather than an asshole/landlord in some roach-motel). You can charge them just below market prices (if you want to be nice), cover mortgage, and even possibly make a profit.

 

[Jiggz]

Originally posted by: AreaCode707

Originally posted by: Jiggz
And I bet you also voted for Gov. Gregoire, right?

Oh hell no.

Congrats! At least you didn't contribute to the State's future demise!

 

[tw1164]

I'm so glad I don't have your life full of problems. I'm only stuck worrying about not losing my job, and providing for my family. I don't know if I could sleep at night if I had to decide if buying/building a 3000sq house is the right choice for me.

 

[Robor]

Originally posted by: AreaCode707

Originally posted by: MovingTarget
Can you afford a home? From what you've posted, it seems so, but you don't consider it a sound investment at the moment. That, I think, is part of the problem we've had in Real Estate the past few years - the whole property/house as an investment angle. Perhaps you should not think of it as an investment that is supposed to yield a return like stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc. It is something that can provide stability in you life as...quite literally...a roof over your head. You seem to have no qualms renting for the moment due to your current situation, so why the rant? Be happy with where you are making money elsewhere and having the ability to pack up/move on a much shorter notice to persue your lifestyle or change your circumstances, unlike if you owned a home. It just seems like more whining that you can't make extra cash off of every facet of your life.

Not really so worried about investment as in gaining money, but am worried about losing money since I'll have to uproot relatively soon after buying (and would then need the money to buy a permanent home). My reason for wanting to buy is simply quality of life, as I mentioned. Gardens, bees, putting pictures up, having pets, etc.

Why not find a rental that allows all or at least most of those things?

 

[Robor]

Originally posted by: tw1164
I'm so glad I don't have your life full of problems. I'm only stuck worrying about not losing my job, and providing for my family. I don't know if I could sleep at night if I had to decide if buying/building a 3000sq house is the right choice for me.

Heh... I was thinking the same thing. They just laid off 6% where I work. Our dept had 4 people and now it's got 3 to do the same amount of work. Oh well, the way we see it at least we still have jobs. :-/