Is anyone skipping their "starter home"?

[JMapleton]

I personally plan to skip buying what many consider a "starter home." It seems there is a sense that home ownership is equal to success and many young people as soon as they quality will go out and buy the first house they can afford after they get their first job with a 30 year loan and little money down.

Me personally, I plan to wait a few more years to save up as much as possible to buy a house that I personally will never need to upgrade (in terms of size or location). I just don't see the point in having to mess with a house when it's not necessary to have one, although I understand that some people have families early and need a house to put them in.

Anyone else doing this?

 

[jlee]

I'm not buying one for a few reasons- one, real estate here is ridiculous..two, I'm planning on moving in less than 3 years.

I actually found a house a couple of years ago that I considered buying, but it's a good thing I didn't because I was laid off and ended up moving..and my current 15min commute is better than an hour! 🙂

 

[Riceninja]

I will build a house out of old computer parts.

 

[Saga]

We have been saving and currently have 25% for a down on what is considered upper class here (3,700 square feet). We did not do the starter home, we simply chose economical 1-bedroom apartment living and saved. However, now that we have the appropriate funds, we're still patiently waiting for the market to bottom out as there is no point in buying a depreciating house when that is the one thing that is supposed to do the opposite.

Oh my. Typo of the year. 3700 square feet. A lot of which is spent on my server/electronics room which will have it's own dedicated hvac. <3

 

[jlee]

Originally posted by: Saga
We have been saving and currently have 25% for a down on what is considered upper class here (5,700 square feet). We did not do the starter home, we simply chose economical 1-bedroom apartment living and saved. However, now that we have the appropriate funds, we're still patiently waiting for the market to bottom out as there is no point in buying a depreciating house when that is the one thing that is supposed to do the opposite.

wtf are you going to do with 5700sq ft? Have sixteen kids? 😕

 

[JMapleton]

Originally posted by: Riceninja
I will build a house out of old computer parts.

LEDs lights in the toliet? 😀 :thumbsup:

 

[Slew Foot]

Originally posted by: Saga
We have been saving and currently have 25% for a down on what is considered upper class here (5,700 square feet). We did not do the starter home, we simply chose economical 1-bedroom apartment living and saved. However, now that we have the appropriate funds, we're still patiently waiting for the market to bottom out as there is no point in buying a depreciating house when that is the one thing that is supposed to do the opposite.

Exactly what we are doing but were setting out sights a bit lower, 5700 sqft is a fraking mansion.

 

[jlee]

Originally posted by: Slew Foot

Originally posted by: Saga
We have been saving and currently have 25% for a down on what is considered upper class here (5,700 square feet). We did not do the starter home, we simply chose economical 1-bedroom apartment living and saved. However, now that we have the appropriate funds, we're still patiently waiting for the market to bottom out as there is no point in buying a depreciating house when that is the one thing that is supposed to do the opposite.

Exactly what we are doing but were setting out sights a bit lower, 5700 sqft is a fraking mansion.

That's too much cleaning. 😛

I'd like to get ~2000sq ft with a decent garage (2-3 car) and find a good roommate or two.

 

[JMapleton]

Originally posted by: Saga
We have been saving and currently have 25% for a down on what is considered upper class here (5,700 square feet). We did not do the starter home, we simply chose economical 1-bedroom apartment living and saved. However, now that we have the appropriate funds, we're still patiently waiting for the market to bottom out as there is no point in buying a depreciating house when that is the one thing that is supposed to do the opposite.

Although that is far more space than what is needed, you would be surprised as to how easy it is to get "used to" that amount of space.

 

[JMapleton]

Originally posted by: JLee
That's too much cleaning. 😛

I'd like to get ~2000sq ft with a decent garage (2-3 car) and find a good roommate or two.

Do you plan to have a family? If so that is not a lot of space unless you have only one kid and keep things tidy at all times.

 

[Saga]

It was a typo. =(

We do not intend at this time to have children, though I know she'd eventually like to and I'll probably come around in a few years. However I need a large (see: 3 car) garage to fit tools and non four-wheeled things, and I need at least one large room, or preferably a large furnished basement area that will be segregated to it's own isolated HVAC for server/media/electronics. Entire house will be controllable (video, audio, security) and networked so the woman of the house can listen to whatever strange music she wants to while cooking, cleaning, gaming, or just reading.

Too bad it's too expensive to RFID myself to have my audio/video selection follow me throughout the house, so the movie I was watching would follow me into the living room and then the bathroom as I moved around. Oh my, I have mighty expensive dreams of being lazy. Too bad I'll probably never see it happen. =(

 

[caspur]

Having more space is definitely worthwhile, as it allows certain features not available on smaller houses. For example, the cathedral ceilings and the grand staircase are simply not found on smaller homes. Also, I found in my current home, to fit certain recreational facilities (professional pool table and wet bar) requires room sizes that are only found in larger sq ft buildings.

You can easily get into the 4-5000 sq foot range for a house that may only have 5 bedrooms. So it doesn't necessarily scale up, ie. the larger home may still only accommodate the traditional 4 person family, it just has some additional "dedicated" rooms, such as a library or a game room.

 

[jlee]

Originally posted by: JMapleton

Originally posted by: JLee
That's too much cleaning. 😛

I'd like to get ~2000sq ft with a decent garage (2-3 car) and find a good roommate or two.

Do you plan to have a family? If so that is not a lot of space unless you have only one kid and keep things tidy at all times.

I grew up in a family of 7 in a ~2000sq ft house. Not everybody is rich. 😛

 

[JMapleton]

Originally posted by: JLee

Originally posted by: JMapleton

Originally posted by: JLee
That's too much cleaning. 😛

I'd like to get ~2000sq ft with a decent garage (2-3 car) and find a good roommate or two.

Do you plan to have a family? If so that is not a lot of space unless you have only one kid and keep things tidy at all times.

I grew up in a family of 7 in a ~2000sq ft house. Not everybody is rich. 😛

I did not grow up in a large house either (less than half the size of yours in my early years but half the family size), but many of my wealthy friends whom I went to high school with had very large (5,000 to 9,000 sqft, although not regal looking mcmansions) and I found it to be very comforting to have such a large house and I found it would be nice to provide the same for my own. Growing up in a small house is not fun.

 

[TallBill]

I don't plan on getting a "starter" house or a "nicer" house. I'm currently and will always be residing in a place that meets my minimum requirements for the lowest price. Currently that happens to be renting a 700 sq ft apartment.

 

[erub]

Notice the many "we" in this thread. I'm assuming that means husband and wife. I've read that single women are much likely to buy houses than single guys. Among my single friends this is true (in ATL and PHX), although at my age (25), most people are renting or living with their parents (and yep, they have good jobs). I know a girl who just bought a house here, 25 years old, just graduated from college...but no job. Good thing her mom is definitely paying her mortgage.

I am happy that my friend bought a house though, he's renting me a bedroom (3000 sf or so). 😛

 

[Red Squirrel]

I want to go straight to a decent house that can support family. At this point I have no plans to get a GF yet alone kids but that's the inevitable and it will happen, so I rather be ready. Sucks to live with parents when 22, but I will thank myself in the future once I'm in a half decent house. I've also had thoughts of buying property and getting it built. By spring I hope I can afford something decent.

 

[JMapleton]

Originally posted by: RedSquirrel
I want to go straight to a decent house that can support family. At this point I have no plans to get a GF yet alone kids but that's the inevitable and it will happen, so I rather be ready. Sucks to live with parents when 22, but I will thank myself in the future once I'm in a half decent house. I've also had thoughts of buying property and getting it built. By spring I hope I can afford something decent.

Don't build a property, buy one especially in this market.

 

[spaceman]

keeping normal home
next goal:
a camp

 

[rh71]

Have to consider the costs. I don't know how people here afford starter homes anymore on LI (but everyone we know is here in downstate NY so there was no doubt we wanted to stay). We had to loan a little from parents to make the 20% down payment back in '02 (2 years after getting full-time jobs)... starter homes back then cost near $300k for something decent. The house now is $400k (w/ $6k taxes, 3br 1 bath, 1800sqft). Our next upgrade will be in the $600-650k range (w/ higher taxes, 4-5br 2 bath) so there is no way people skip starter homes here unless they've been working quite a few years... quite a few.

I would be shocked if a young couple buys our home at value in these times. My cousin down the road has been trying to sell her place for over 2 years now and have only gotten lowball offers of less $50k asking price and believe me she wants to leave, but she can't give the house away either. As a result, people are staying in their starter homes longer and just building up.

BTW, renting in the interim is killer if your goal is to save up. You better have mom & dad for a while. My brother out in SD bought a foreclosed home for $350k and is both living there and renting rooms to his friends so his monthly out of pocket is lower than what ours ever were.

 

[Deviant Grasshopper]

I bought a starter home in ~2005 in Atlanta. I got a fantastic loan, and could've bought something a lot nicer but didn't want to push my income possibilities.

I've gone through a few phases with my home:
2005-2006: loved it. Felt it was the best purchase ever, helping my credit, etc.
2007: Got new job which is 44 miles away. Regretted buying the house, wish I had spent more money. Wish I didn't live in a neighborhood. Wish I didn't have a yard. Wish I hadn't bought a huge 4 bedroom house. Seriously considered selling.
2008: Dad moved in, economy went to hell. Started liking the house again.
2009: Forcing myself to like it. Made some changes and upgrades which helped make it feel a bit more like home and less like an investment property.


If I sold it right now I'd still make about 10% back, so overall it was a good investment. I really wish I had waited a bit longer (I purchased it when I was ~19) because I thought I knew exactly what I wanted ('decent' neighborhood, nice garage, nice yard, plenty of bedrooms) and in reality I really didn't have a clue.


I'd say wait until you're 100% sure of exactly what you want in a home (do you want a condo? townhome? big yard? big rooms? lots of rooms? kitchen size? ok with close neighbors?) because you're going to be in it for at least 5 years. I had lived in 3 apartments and 2 townhomes (all rented) before buying my home and I wish that I had waited and purchased something that I'd be happy with over a 20 year period. In hindsight I could've done it in my price range.

 

[sdifox]

Originally posted by: JMapleton

Originally posted by: Riceninja
I will build a house out of old computer parts.

LEDs lights in the toliet? 😀 :thumbsup:

nixie tubes... LEDs would be cutting edge.

I plan to die in my current house. I insisted on spending less than 300k and having 1/4 down payment.

Not sure my wife will agree to that... Wait, she might just bump me off and fulfil my wish...

 

[rivan]

Originally posted by: JLee

Originally posted by: Saga
We have been saving and currently have 25% for a down on what is considered upper class here (5,700 square feet). We did not do the starter home, we simply chose economical 1-bedroom apartment living and saved. However, now that we have the appropriate funds, we're still patiently waiting for the market to bottom out as there is no point in buying a depreciating house when that is the one thing that is supposed to do the opposite.

wtf are you going to do with 5700sq ft? Have sixteen kids? 😕

That IS a lot of space (and cleaning).

My wife, two kids and I are in a 3-bedroom, ~2300 s.f. home and have plenty of space.

Both my wife and I bought homes young (before we ever met - and not exactly starter homes, just homes more suited to singles/very small families); we both did very well financially with them and ultimately used the proceeds to purchase our current home.

In my case, I bought a duplex in a cheap part of the City (instead of the burbs). Initially, after rental income, my portion of the mortgage was ~$150. Within a few years with minor investments to fix the rental up, it's income was paying for the building (and my renter was doing upkeep in exchange for no increases in rent... keeping the lawn, some painting, etc).

Sure, being a landlord is sometimes, uh, adventurous, but financially it was totally worth it. I sold the building after 8 years, for just shy of triple my purchase price.

In my wife's case, she bought in a super-charming neighborhood near a nationally top-ranked University, worked her landscaping magic on the place and took overall good care of it. Doubled her purchase price after owning it for ~7-8 years.

Much of those gains had to do with the market trends over those years, and might not be repeatable now. That, your "first-home" or "until-kids" timeframe, and a gazillion other factors make it a totally personal decision.

Good luck 🙂

 

[xanis]

I just want a place of my own. I plan to live at home for a little while until I pay off the last of my student loans (about $35K) then use the $8K or so I have saved up to get a nice apartment of my own.

 

[Fritzo]

I'd recommend against it.

1) You don't know what you want until you've owned a house. You may think you do, but you have no idea. If you buy one and plan on it being your only house, you're going to find that there's other things you need that you didn't plan on, and I guarantee you're going to end up moving again.

2) A fixer-upper gives you home ownership experience. Everyone should know basic plumbing, electrical, and contruction skills. Your first house allows you to screw these things up as you're learning, that way your next house is perfect.

3) The purpose of the starter house is to fix it up, sell it at a profit, and then use the profit as a downpayment on an upgrade. You typically want to do this 1-2 times before you get to your "keeper house."