Just wanted to get some more input from people that may have been in my situation. I am currently at the rents crib but with the gf finishing school and not having an apt anymore its gonna be nec. to move out. We both have jobs in the same area, a fairly big township/city about an hour from detroit.

I have been looking for the last few days at renting apts and they are all in the 1k a month range and not all that nice. In better shape than my college places but not by much ie. the kitched is the standard shitty college look. On top of that many dont have covered parking and I just bought my dream car and would love to park it out of the sun/snow.

Today for shits I started looking at condos for sale in the area and there are quite a few in the 100k range that from the pictures look like something I would enjoy more. Many have a small garage or at least covered parking and are bigger/nicer on the interior. The downside is none of the utilites would be covered and HOA dues would probably add about 2k or so a year. The way I look at it is 12k/year for a shitty apt or grab a 10 yr mortgage or something on a 100k place and actually have something to show for that money down the line.

This has been a fairly rambling post because I just started thinking about it but I figured there were a number of people here close to my age range(25) that may have been in similar situations. The only downside I can see is theres a chance in a year I want to move for another job which would be easier if I had an apt.

Cliffs
-need to move out from rents
-12k/yr for shitty college type apt
-many nicer 100k condos
-what should swizz do?

greatest brag post of all time

here is what you need to figure out:

How much is the property tax?
How much is home insurance?
How much is the interest on the Mortgage?
How much are condo fees? (What do they cover?)
What kind of potential home repairs/upgrades will you do in the first year?

Add those numbers together and divide by 12. This number is your break even number that you can spend per month and it does not matter whether you rent or buy.

Edit: Obviously not counting any potential profit made from increase in value of condo.

Buy, renting is just throwing money away.

 

Originally Posted by rucka

not use third person cause it sounds douchey?

LOL it was in the cliffs as a joke. Post less.

The mortgage would be in my name with the gf chipping in monthly.

SLKS ill try to figure some of that stuff out, its early in the process though. Not sure I understand your math. Assume the condo stays the same ie i buy for 100k now and could sell for 100k in two years.

So it would be 12k for apt vs all that stuff u mentioned right, and if they are the same the condo would be the better deal?

 

Originally Posted by MilBestDrnkr

if it's Waterford, don't rent/live there.

Im looking anywhere in the livonia, northville, plymouth, novi area.

Get pre approved before you get your hopes up. But ya dude if you can buy a Condo certainly go that route especially if you get it in your own name and have a hot lil roommate to help out with the mortgage. GL.

Yea please tell the people that are upside down in their house (owing more than its worth), which I believe nationally is like 30%, that buying is cheaper than renting. IN this uncertain economy, I would be renting from many reasons. Portability (be able to move without selling a house), possibility of housing prices still going down are the 2 main ones. Even if house prices start going up again, it will be a very slow process (no more bubbles), so you wont be missing out on any bargains. gl in whatever you chose.

 

Originally Posted by swizbeatz

LOL it was in the cliffs as a joke. Post less.

The mortgage would be in my name with the gf chipping in monthly.

SLKS ill try to figure some of that stuff out, its early in the process though. Not sure I understand your math. Assume the condo stays the same ie i buy for 100k now and could sell for 100k in two years.

So it would be 12k for apt vs all that stuff u mentioned right, and if they are the same the condo would be the better deal?

If the cost of all the stuff mentioned Interest, Insurance, Condo Fees, etc. is greater than 12 k than it is better to rent if you are staying short term. B/C those are extra costs associated to ownership. But if the place is a lot nicer you can factor that into your decision. Basically the costs i mentioned are "Like" rent costs b/c they dont go away and you have to pay them every month. Obviously the interest will eventually end but i dont see you staying in the condo for more than 10 years.

Edit: And yes to your question but you are still taking a risk the Value of the condo can go down. But my view is that if the value of the condo goes way down during your course of ownership..........then i would just keep it in your portfolio as a rental unit and rent it out to folks that are in the same boat you were in when you bought it. And your girlfriend paying rent adds a nice little incentive b/c she is paying off your mortgage for you.

If you can afford everything that comes with buying with comfortable room for extra savings, then I say buy. Renting is an absolute waste of money unless you are staying for the very short term (2 years or less or something like that)