Author Topic: What Made You Purchase Your First Property?  (Read 3589 times)

RidetheRain

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What Made You Purchase Your First Property?
« on: October 09, 2017, 09:52:09 AM »
Everyone has opinions on how/when to purchase your first property. I'm guessing most people purchased a primary residence first, but you never know! Some people say only purchase a house after marriage and others say when they had the cash and saw something profitable and just went for it!

I thought it would be interesting to see what made people here take the leap into real estate - for rental or personal use. Was there a beautiful house for the cheap or did you have a kid and decide it was time to settle down, or - as this article says - are you a millennial with a dog?

clarkfan1979

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Re: What Made You Purchase Your First Property?
« Reply #1 on: October 13, 2017, 03:12:04 PM »
The layout was perfect.

I ignored that there was 10K of cosmetic repair needed.

ketchup

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Re: What Made You Purchase Your First Property?
« Reply #2 on: October 13, 2017, 03:27:19 PM »
I wanted to move out of my parents' house, and my girlfriend wanted to move across the country.  Girlfriend also wanted to bring along girlfriend's sister and girlfriend's sister's boyfriend.

I found the cheapest house within 10 miles of my parents' house (I don't recommend this strategy) and it seemed good enough.  500 square foot 1 bedroom 1 bathroom house for $18k at the bottom of the market in 2012.  Viewed the house with the listing agent, plunked down $3500 down (brought in literal cash to the closing because I was an idiot) and paid the rest over five years to the seller (owner financing).  I was 20 (GF was 19).  The four of us lived there for just over a year, and good times were had by all as we figured life out.  Now a rental and paid off.

Second house is more of the "millennial with a dog" situation.  3bed/1bath ~900 square foot house for just GF and I, along with our dogs.  We were 24/23 at this point.

The first house was lucky since I had no idea what the hell I was doing.  For the second, I knew what I was doing, and did the whole "normal" realtor/30yr mortgage route.

Rcc

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Re: What Made You Purchase Your First Property?
« Reply #3 on: October 15, 2017, 06:54:08 AM »
Factors on choosing our first and current home:

1. Sale price was 2.13x my salary at the time. Banks were trying to get me into mortgages 4-5x my salary at the time

2. It was located less than 5 minutes away from my employer

3. It’s located less than 10 min away from most employers in the RTP area ( IT, my field, along with halo like employers for my skills ) gave me the confidence I wouldn’t need to relocate.

4. More space than we needed (1950 sq ft) so the upgrade temptation never infected us.

Full context, bought in 2000. Factor 3 & 4 have held up very well. Four employers later, and I’m still <20 min commute (if I choose to go in at all!)
« Last Edit: October 15, 2017, 06:56:45 AM by Rcc »

thedayisbrave

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Re: What Made You Purchase Your First Property?
« Reply #4 on: October 16, 2017, 09:08:13 AM »
The numbers worked.  My eventual goal was to build up a portfolio of rental properties, so my 1st made sense cash flow wise.  I house hacked for a few years - lived in one bedroom and rented out the other 3.  Then when it came time to move on, I rented out the whole unit and bought another place :)

BJacks

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Re: What Made You Purchase Your First Property?
« Reply #5 on: October 16, 2017, 10:27:49 AM »
I started house hunting after my ex fiancé and I broke up and I moved back in with my parents. I was 24, in a solid career, minimal expenses, and had almost 30k saved up. I don't care for other people much and wanted my own house with my own yard and neighbors spaced appropriately far away.

I found a foreclosure that needed a bit of work (tile laid but no grout, no trim downstairs, no switch plates, needed paint and updating). It had all of one horrible picture but also said '1.24 acres' so I went and looked at it. As soon as I hit the gravel road and saw that it was fully fenced with a gate I knew it was the one for me. I didn't even care about the house (it actually has a really weird layout that my husband can't stand). I moved it 8 months after I bought it after fixing it up and painting the entire inside.

I was a single woman moving into a house that was way bigger than what I needed but 6 years and two kids later I can have another two and still not feel like moving. I have a huge backyard with toys for the kids, a garden, the beginnings of my orchard and a chicken coop. I love my gate and fenced yard because I can let the kids and dogs roam freely and not worry.

I bought at the bottom of the market and my house has more than doubled in price since I bought it. Houses that I would be willing to move to are over $500k now (again - don't care about the house but would be getting more property 5-20 acres). I have no problem staying where I'm at for the foreseeable future.

Cwadda

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Re: What Made You Purchase Your First Property?
« Reply #6 on: October 16, 2017, 10:54:08 AM »
I had done a ton of research about doing the FHA 3.5% down multi family deal and was definitely ready for it. Best financial decision I've made to date.

jac941

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Re: What Made You Purchase Your First Property?
« Reply #7 on: October 16, 2017, 11:06:13 AM »
We were renting the second place in a row where the landlord was being foreclosed on. We decided if we were going to have to deal with that headache again, it should be because we’re not paying the mortgage — not the landlord ;-)

On the day the foreclosure was supposed to go through, we made a short sale offer for well below market. We’re in a tenant friendly city - it’s basically impossible to evict a tenant unless the owner is moving in. A bank can’t move in, knew selling with a tenant would be a pain, so they accepted our offer. And that is how we ended up owning an affordable house in one of the most expensive real estate markets in the USA.

Our place is worth at least 3x what we paid only 5.5 yrs ago. We do occasionally entertain selling and FIREing elsewhere. Or selling, investing the gains, and renting - the more financially sound decision (the buy vs rent is heavily in favor of rent). But my spouse likes his job, we like our place, and we have perpetually low housing costs, so we stay even though it’s not the most financially lucrative option.

Fishindude

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Re: What Made You Purchase Your First Property?
« Reply #8 on: October 16, 2017, 02:01:09 PM »
Location and price. 
It was a rural little three bedroom home in the area of the county where I wanted to live.  We bought it for $25k, added on and did a few upgrades ourselves then sold at a decent profit and bought our forever home just s couple miles away.

KarefulKactus15

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Re: What Made You Purchase Your First Property?
« Reply #9 on: November 07, 2017, 09:40:38 AM »
I had done a ton of research about doing the FHA 3.5% down multi family deal and was definitely ready for it. Best financial decision I've made to date.

Wow, at your age your off to a great start.

Lmoot

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Re: What Made You Purchase Your First Property?
« Reply #10 on: November 07, 2017, 03:37:34 PM »
I like that it was a little house on a big lot, close to downtown. Close to parks and a fancy historic district....so I got access to the same venues the next neighborhood over (literally 3 blocks), at 1/4 the property tax and half the crime. In fact, because of the size and the shape of the range of the fancy ZIP Code, I am actually closer to hotspots than a lot of the properties in that neighborhood.

And it was close to a natural water source. That was important to me, because I enjoy having wildlife in and around my property.

And no HOA. Never have lived with one, and never ever will. Codes in my area are sufficient enough.

Also it was the middle of the recession, short sale, fixer upper (magical trifecta),plus I got the full 8K tax credit (well $7900). So I got a property that sold for $130k a couple years prior, for $71,000. At 33 I have $40k left on my mortgage, which is about $350.  I was making half of what I make now when I bought this house at age 25, at my lowest income. I am glad I got it out of the way. The property has doubled in value since I bought it 8 years ago. My peers are buying houses for the first time, with a lower downpayment rate, and nearly 3x the cost I paid, granted they are purchasing bigger, newer houses. But you couldn't find a shed on a postage stamp lot for what I paid in 2009.
« Last Edit: November 07, 2017, 03:54:58 PM by Lmoot »

calimom

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Re: What Made You Purchase Your First Property?
« Reply #11 on: November 07, 2017, 09:39:16 PM »
I started house hunting after my ex fiancé and I broke up and I moved back in with my parents. I was 24, in a solid career, minimal expenses, and had almost 30k saved up. I don't care for other people much and wanted my own house with my own yard and neighbors spaced appropriately far away.

I found a foreclosure that needed a bit of work (tile laid but no grout, no trim downstairs, no switch plates, needed paint and updating). It had all of one horrible picture but also said '1.24 acres' so I went and looked at it. As soon as I hit the gravel road and saw that it was fully fenced with a gate I knew it was the one for me. I didn't even care about the house (it actually has a really weird layout that my husband can't stand). I moved it 8 months after I bought it after fixing it up and painting the entire inside.

I was a single woman moving into a house that was way bigger than what I needed but 6 years and two kids later I can have another two and still not feel like moving. I have a huge backyard with toys for the kids, a garden, the beginnings of my orchard and a chicken coop. I love my gate and fenced yard because I can let the kids and dogs roam freely and not worry.

I bought at the bottom of the market and my house has more than doubled in price since I bought it. Houses that I would be willing to move to are over $500k now (again - don't care about the house but would be getting more property 5-20 acres). I have no problem staying where I'm at for the foreseeable future.

This is a great story and glad you've done so well! But wondering how someone who "doesn't care for other people much" ended up with a husband and a couple of kids and plans for more. More details, please :)

Prairie Gal

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Re: What Made You Purchase Your First Property?
« Reply #12 on: November 08, 2017, 08:26:24 AM »
We bought our first home with $5000 borrowed from a relative, an assumable mortgage and a second mortgage. We may have put a bit of our own money down, but precious little (we didn't have much). But, it had a basement suite which paid a good chunk of the mortgage, a large corner lot and was in a good neighbourhood for young families. My boys spent many happy hours playing street hockey and riding bikes with the neighbourhood kids. I have many fond memories of that house.

Cwadda

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Re: What Made You Purchase Your First Property?
« Reply #13 on: November 09, 2017, 05:54:41 PM »
I had done a ton of research about doing the FHA 3.5% down multi family deal and was definitely ready for it. Best financial decision I've made to date.

Wow, at your age your off to a great start.

Never too late if you're still able to get an FHA loan. You only have to owner occupy for 365 days.

sailinlight

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Re: What Made You Purchase Your First Property?
« Reply #14 on: November 09, 2017, 06:23:15 PM »
PITI was about the same as we were paying in rent, so it made sense as a place to live. We got lucky that after we had a kid and needed a bigger place, it turned out to be a good rental.

TheWifeHalf

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Re: What Made You Purchase Your First Property?
« Reply #15 on: November 10, 2017, 10:35:45 AM »
This was 37 years ago (I was 22, husband 24):
We bought this 1915 4-square with Craftsman interiors because the oak woodwork had never been painted, it had one owner, and they never had any children, and the 1 acre lot was beautiful and could never be built behind.

My Dad and fiance knew how to DIY practically everything. Good thing, mortgage interest rates were 12%!, but I do think that is why no one else looked at the house. That plus the fact that the partial invalid who lived here was going into a 'home' and the home required the money and her cats used the bottom kitchen cabinet as a litter box. We paid $45,000, including contents (it was like some one from 1915 still lived here.) A year after buying, we got married.

The country school system is the same I, and my Dad went to, and then my 3 kids. The golf course is 10 minutes away (I don't golf but it's very much a part of our lives) and 30 minutes to shopping.

I have been known to say "I love this house!" The 90 yr old lady that lived here was in the hospital a few years later, and my sister was her nurse. When she said who she was, the lady asked "Are they taking care of my house?" 

So, I guess we bought it because of the house and land, the area it was in, the price, and its potential for making it our own without ripping out a bunch of previous repairs.

Kakanui

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Re: What Made You Purchase Your First Property?
« Reply #16 on: November 11, 2017, 02:46:18 PM »
My experience was a bit different in that I started by buying investment properties. We bought first property just on 20 years ago. Had just finished uni in my late 20s, got married and moved to Japan on JET (Japan Exchange Teaching) Programme. My wife and I went from being poor hard up students to having what was for us buckets of cash so saved hard for three years while over there while most other 20 something JETs where we lived were blowing most of their income on partying and travel. Met a fellow kiwi expat in the town we lived who had invested in property while in Japan and seemed easy enough. So started looking in a small town 2 hours south of the main city my wife and I had grown up in (house prices were half our home town and wanted to be able to “retire” and have kids when we returned so not have to work full time). Ended up buying an old house that had been converted into two rentals. My parents (who had retired to the town) found it for us, we just signed the paper work when we came home on holiday to view it. Ended up buying 3 more similar properties in the three years while over there, always buying on yield and ensured were positively geared.

When we returned to NZ we moved into one of the properties and spent a few years doing it up- it was cheap and mortgage free but as it turned out a great location for young kids. Have upgraded those rentals in the years since, bought a few more, sold a few. For a few years thought I “needed” 10 properties and got up to 8 before deciding maintenance etc was a pain in the butt and mortgages getting too big and a bit stressful so downsized portfolio to 5 + our home and will keep it at that. 

For me property was always a vehicle to have the freedom to work as many or as few hours per week as I wanted, and so have done so for the past 17 years. Property has provided security and financial independence for us.

Craig
« Last Edit: November 11, 2017, 06:15:16 PM by Kakanui »

marty998

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Re: What Made You Purchase Your First Property?
« Reply #17 on: November 11, 2017, 04:13:05 PM »
I just wanted to move out of the parents place and have a bit of independence (I was 24). Government gave $7,000 first home owners grant and free stamp duty (saved $13k on the place I ended up buying).

Been searching for a place for about a year and kept getting outbid, market was taking off quite strongly. But I finally found one I really liked and I'm still here 7 years later.

limeandpepper

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Re: What Made You Purchase Your First Property?
« Reply #18 on: November 11, 2017, 06:45:59 PM »
In my case (with my partner), I think we just like having a place that is always there for us if we want it, and where we can easily have a pet. I also love the flexibility of renting, but it's nice to have a place that we can call our own. We bought it not too long ago, and it's currently rented out for 6 months while we travel through Asia. The money from rent is turning out to be nice pocket money for the trip, and then we plan to move in afterwards when the lease is up. So I'm pretty happy with the purchase at the moment because it looks decent as either a potential home or a potential investment.

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Re: What Made You Purchase Your First Property?
« Reply #19 on: November 12, 2017, 07:53:10 PM »
We were planning to move overseas but to eventually move back to our home country. We spoke with a couple who did not purchase a property before moving overseas. They ended up spending 10 years in Asia and starting a family there, only to return to find that they had been priced out of the market when they returned. Ended up in a cramped living situation for 2-3 years while they saved up enough to afford a small townhouse.

When we asked them what advice they wished they had known before moving overseas, they said, "Buy a property!" According to them, it didn't have to be a large property; it was simply to get your foot in the property market (we're from a HCOL area). So that's what we did -- bought a new build, luxury 1-bedroom condo right on a subway station, for what we thought was an obscene amount of money at the time ($240K for less than 600 square feet). We then immediately rented it out, with rent covering all expenses (mortgage, condo fees, taxes).

Turns out it was good advice. The condo is valued at around $400K now, after five years. I just checked MLS listings -- there are only three units listed for sale, and none available for rent, at the moment. With demand being so high for condos in the area, and supply so low, we are considering selling and locking in the gains.

nnls

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Re: What Made You Purchase Your First Property?
« Reply #20 on: November 12, 2017, 08:03:23 PM »
I wanted my own house and was sick of renting. I wanted a small place that was cheap and close to my family. one became available and I have lived there for almost 6 years now. I am single 

 

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