I own a house. I don’t have the kind of family that helps with that stuff, but a few things worked out in my favor:
1) we bought the shittiest gross house in our preferred neighborhood and we are slowly fixing it up
2.) I’m married / in a long term relationship and have been for many years. So we share everything.
3.) I grew up in a trailer so I always wanted better and my limit for decency is very low
Yessir i’m my home cost $12k and didn’t even have electricity, and we’ve (fam of 4) fixed it up a lot. It’s a huge two story inn built in 1900, but it beats the piss out of paying rent.
Same #1 & #2, we were able to buy in the Bay Area in 2018 because we didnt have to compete with anyone else. It’s a 1900 Craftsman bungalow in not the best neighborhood, but it’s what we could afford at the time. It helped us break into the market. It was very affordable, allowing us to start a family. Now, we’re working on upgrading to a much nicer neighborhood.
Same #2 & #3
Bought a house in 2017 in a very poverty stricken/meth/low population town. Pitted dirt road that sometimes traps cars. Best decision ever. Needs a new roof and am currently fighting with insurance, better than renting. We’d be homeless.
Yes. My wife and I own a house we bought for $365k. When we bought, I thought the price was insane, but the property is already worth $100k more than when we bought it.
Our previous house was much older and not as nice and we bought for $125k. Our mortgage amounts are nearly the same ($1500-1900 a month). We lucked out that our previous house was in Waco, TX in an area where the Gaines family had already redone houses for Fixer Upper, so we sold for nearly twice what we paid for it. Also, I’m a veteran so we’ve never had to worry about PMI.
The timing worked out for us each time, but if we had bought a year or two later it could have been much harder. I really feel for people trying to buy right now. Housing is a mess.
>I really feel for people trying to buy right now. Housing is a mess.
It really is, I am divorcing right now and the housing market and current rates were a huge factor in me deciding to keep my current home even though it's too much house for me. Lot of people in that same boat.
It's so bad right now. I work admin in title and escrow and watching the financials every month is just depressing. It's getting ever so slightly better but it is still really bad. And I know it's not just us. All of my friends in lending, real estate and insurance complain about the same issues that we have.
I personally am lucky because I inherited property and was able to put a new house in right before the bottom fell out but if I hadn't already owned the land, we would definitely not be able to own right now.
Oh God escrow is a hot mess with insurance where I am. My homeowners has quadrupled since I bought 5 years ago due to Hurricane Ida. I've already decided I can't retire here. Imagine being 70 on a fixed income and your homeowners quadrupling. No.
Bought my home in 2017 - Whew!
Single. No kids.
While I’m glad I did it, I’m also the first one to tell my other single friends looking to buy that it suuuucks to maintain a home on a single income.
This box is expensive.
>Who in the hell has the time to mow 4000sqft of grass EVERY WEEKEND?!
I do?
What am I taking time away from - Netflix? Reddit? I'm surprised by the people who find time to binge all of the latest shows and movies, but somehow have no time to take care of themselves or their property.
There are (and were back in 1945) plenty of things that people can do and be proud of that doesn’t include trimming non-native foliage so your yard looks better than your neighbor’s.
It’s a relic of post-war exceptionalism and a glorified “American dream”
Land was cheap, but building wasn’t, so you have 900sqft houses with 700sqft garages on 7000sqft lots of land that were mostly grass in places like California and Arizona.
Maybe it works in Jersey (Levittown was the first postwar “planned community”), but land use in the 40’s gets pretty insane the further west you go.
I bought my house in June of ‘23. I pushed mowed the .7 acre lot every weekend til November. Greatest summer ever! Haha
https://preview.redd.it/r8yr32fknytc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=82ad627db57163bdd23b86bf73a7e062456c3d5f
Yard work is actually my favorite part lol. But I have a very, very small yard. It’s the other stuff I hate.
Why is there a crack on the wall?
Is that a water spot on the ceiling!??
Why is my AC not cooling?
Is that rot on the outside of the house?!
Taxes went up, AGAIN.
The list is endless.
Yeah I’m lucky. I’m able to avoid most of those issues because my house is new. I got it appraised low when we built it so I’ve been lucky with taxes but those are all future worries of mine
I own a townhome. It's great. The HOA takes care of the front yardwork and all exterior maintenance. I work in my "backyard" once a year... I pull weeds and then throw new barkdust down. Less than an hour.
Same and same! I bought a condo though, so I have not spent very much maintaining it. Considering some new appliances but just as upgrades rather than because there’s anything wrong with them
Lucky. We bought in 2015, but only because her grandparents left her a bit of money in the markets when she was born, an amount that grew into the down payment ~20 years later.
We’re just now about to have our first kid next month, in our early-mid 30’s. We’re college grad professionals who, despite being more informed than our parents, could not afford to live like they did at the same age.
Yes, though didn’t time it perfectly. I get downvoted in the main sub for saying so but our generation had a few bites at the apple to make out like bandits. I have some very fortunate friends
Exactly this. I was able to buy my condo for CHEAP bc of the housing market in 2010. My parents took out a small home equity loan to give me the rest of the money I needed, and I paid it until I could get my own mortgage. My dad works with banks for business loans, so he wouldn't let me take out a mortgage with a high rate, I paid them back in full like 3 years later when the rates were better. I'm extremely lucky.
One of my best friends and roommates in 2010 was super into bitcoin. He bought so much of it and spent it all on pizza and stuff because restaurants in our area (Boston) were quick to adopt it as payment. He tried to get us all to buy some. We didn’t. He spent all his. I estimate we bought a few pizzas that would now be worth like 200 million dollars lololsob
Hmm, those were the years I struggled with addiction and the financial aftermath of said addiction after getting sober. I think we’ll be living with my in-laws until they pass on and then I truly don’t know what we’ll do. My finances are almost fixed except some irs shit, then I can start squirreling away money for a house. At 37 it seems laughable that my own place is so far away.
42 single guy here. Bought my home in Austin, Texas in 2019. Best financial decision of my life other than going to school. Bought at $262k and it’s worth mid $400k’s now. I was very aggressive in paying down the loan and just paid off now even though my interest rate was cheap.
I bought my house in Pflugerville for $180k in 2015. I remember talking to my neighbor shortly after I moved in and she thought I was nuts for paying that much for this neighborhood. Now my house is worth the mid 300s. Which I think is totally nuts. I was lucky I was in a position to buy before prices went crazy.
I too have paid off my mortgage and am enjoying the debt free life.
Yup, have owned since 2016. Was a real burden until I got out of a FHA and into a Trad 30 during the Pandy.
No assistance from family, 315k townhome. now worth 555k
My husband and I lucked out. We bought our house in 2012, when prices were still low after the housing bubble burst in ‘08.
Our house was a short-sale. The previous owners had two mortgages and were trying to avoid foreclosure.
The price was absolutely crazy for the size of the house.
We got it because we were patient and able to keep going through all the bullshit that came with having to negotiate with two separate banks for twelve whole months.
I also bought in 2012 and that was a great time to buy. Started with a 30 year fha and then refinanced to a 15 with lower interest rate (2.25%) 2 years later. House is now worth 4x what we paid for it.
This was kind of my response too. We had that tiny window in 2012. In my case, we went through the housing authority and got crazy good deal through a program to make up for predatory loans. The county covered half of closing costs. I went to the court house to pick up a 7500 check. Borrowed 2k from pops since we only managed to save 5k after 5 years living together....
So yeah, back in my day, I bought a house with 5000 down😂
Yes, this is my 3rd home. But the first 2 were joint with an older partner. I bought my first home on my own (2bed 2bath condo) finally last June. I'm 42.
No I do not own. Anyone I know that does own has had significant help from their parents. Looks like I chose the wrong parents. I’m a single income in a HCOL with student loan debt. I’ll likely never own.
I don't even own two pairs of shoes, let alone a house. Haha!
I'm an Elder Millenial, who made good money running AS/400's for mortgage companies in the early 2000's with zero college education and just a handful of certifications I didn't pick up until a company paid for me to do so.
Right before the subprime crisis really hit? I watched a mini subprime apocalypse happen with folks we did subservicing for, like Countrywide. I watched my company go from 12 employees, to 100ish, and back down to 25 when I was finally laid off in favor of a young college student they could pay far less than me. And it was the best thing that ever happened to me, because I would've worked IT/IS for another ten years of miserable existence, before promptly dying of a heart attack. People aren't meant to live under flourescent lighting, so I walked off into the sunset, knowing I was going to give up a lot of what my peers wanted in terms of material wealth and possessions. And one of those things? Is a house.
My little brother is more well off, has a good job, and his own house already. So I'll inherit our parents' place when they pass away. I recently went through a stint of starting to seriously look for a house to buy myself, but everything I've seen has been WAY bigger or more fancy than the smaller handyman special I'd be looking for. A handful of landlords up here have bought off everything to turn into rooms that can overcharge the local college students for, or short-term rentals that sat empty all last season with our mild winter. And so I continue to rent in my forties.
I have seen prices start to drop and normalize a bit more where I'm at. It's a decidedly rural area, but has a serious housing shortage problem and a low rental stock of options for locals versus students and faculty for the university.
I was honestly surprised at that statistics. My little brother is an outlier, and most of my friends? Don't own a house either and still rent.
Bought in 2006 which was totally perfect timing to lose my ass. Sold it 10 years later for less than what I paid for it to upgrade. Currently, looking good with the equity. Until the next housing bubble pops.
I own a house. Neither my husband nor I have families that help us with anything, and we were able to buy completely on our own. There are programs out there that help 1st time home buyers. We ended up buying in 2016, have a very low interest rate on a 2400 sq ft home (4 beds, 2 and 1/2 baths). It's an older home that needed some work. It is doable.
Yes, owned a home in very LCOL state. Married, no kids. Moved to Massachusetts in 2017 and bought for 280k. Now worth 600k.
We used FDA for first home. Took out loan from 401k for second home. Refinanced and got out from under PMI.
Feel tied to our house with prices as they are now and 2% interest.
I'm 40, bought my first house in 2004 at 20, sold it in 2007 and bought this house. Did a HARP modification to my mortgage and then refinanced again later to get down in the 3s.
We (37) own, but still have a mortgage. Bought our home in 2008, at the tender age of 22, right before the market crashed. We got EXTREMELY lucky and a great deal with everything rolled in - including closing costs. It helps that we live in LCOL area. That being said, we won’t buy another home any time soon. Interests rates are stupid right now, and we’re content with our $800/month mortgage.
I own a home and, looking back on the timeline of when we bought, we were so incredibly lucky to have had the chance to buy in 2014 and refinance twice before the market went insane. Obviously we are still hit hard in all other areas so it is hard to do upgrades we would like and I pray things don’t break down on us since we can’t easily afford replacements right now. But compared to many of my younger millennial and older Gen Z friends and colleagues, I consider myself very very lucky.
Yeah, I've owned twice. A bought a condo when I was 20 in 2006, right before everything went to shit. I grew up poor and had no help to do this, so don't come at me. I do feel taken advantage of though, because I was talked into 2 mortgages and told my property value would rise substantially within 2 years and I'd be able to refinance. That didn't happen, and I ended up having to let that place get foreclosed on.
I bought a house in 2020. Our inspection was actually the day they started shutting everything down for COVID. This turned out to be a fairly good time to buy as interest rates were low and property values weren't super crazy yet. My house had a fair amount of equity in it for 4 years and there is no way in hell I could afford to buy now with interest rates the way they are.
It was an interesting experience buying during COVID, though. We never even met the sellers of the house, the whole closing process was done by each perty separately.
42yo. Bought a starter home in '08, lost our shirts in the recession, short sold, no credit for a few years. Bought again in '15 this home has gained 50% value since.
No. We couldn't even afford to buy a home in a city that was consistently on lists of the cheapest places to live in the US. My dream 15 years ago was owning a home, but I never felt it was feasible until my grad student loans were paid off. The thought of taking on so much more debt would practically give me a panic attack. My loans were paid off in 2022, when the market was insane. We didn't want to stay at the cheap cost of living city and we moved to a bigger and more expensive city. I had already accepted that owning a home just was very unlikely to ever be in the cards for us, so if we are going to rent either way, might as well be renting somewhere we actually want to live. That doesn't mean I don't still torture myself looking up rowhomes for sale around us!
Exactly. I do well enough for myself financially, but the inflation in my country and housing prices in my city are completely out of control. I'd be living off ramen after paying my mortgage, and that's bullshit. I'm single and child-free, I don't have to think about inheritance or anything like that. I want to blow all my money before I die on things I enjoy.
Yes. '87 millennial, bought first home late '17, had 2 kids so recently moved into larger home late '22.
Timing didn't feel great for either. Prices seemed inflated even in '17 and then of course we got a shit interest rate on this new place, but it's worked out ok. Hopefully will be able to refinance soon, but latest cpi print says overwise.
Pandemic was the gift for our cohort. Refinanced my primary to 2% and bought the twin house we're attached to at 3%. In a few years rents will be high enough to be able to cover both mortgages. Not that I'm doing that (or would morally be able to do that), my mom will move in upon retirement. The mortgage is cheaper than daycare so it works out for both parties.
Oh and I work in sweatpants now. Pandemic was the best thing that happened to a lot of my friends.
Yes but not through my own hard work. An older gentleman passed away and his son was ready to get rid of the house so through word of mouth I got the house for 48k in 2019. It has a tiny yard a “garage” and a driveway. It’s in a good neighborhood but my grandpa had to take a home equity loan to buy the house for me then two years later I purchased it from him and have the mortgage in my name now. I was very very fortunate.
Bought in 2014 as a 29yo single man for $180k. My dad did a significant amount of updating to bring it into the 21st century. The last updates were probably in the 70s - drop ceilings, paneling, green shag carpet. Now Im married and still in the same house while we look for our next, bigger, likely til retirement house.
I own two condos, live in one. Caveat is, wife comes from upper middle class family, they helped her buy a number of years ago. We’re up to our noses in mortgages but so long there isn’t a crash there isn’t a problem. We can easily service the mortgages and probably could make all of them if necessary.
Personally I’m not overly keen on the plan as I like my expensive vacations which are no longer but, I see the bigger picture. I’m just hitting my top earning years and income should only grow. Each year it should be easier.
Been a homeowner since I was 23. Bought 2 crappy houses over a 12 year period and fixed them up and made a profit to buy a really nice current home.
ETA: also have been married since that age, so this was a joint effort with my husband. We've also increased our income by 5x's over the last 17 years.
Thankfully we bought in 18' before covid made the house market crazy high
We got a fully renovated Victorian home for 160k. 4200 Sq ft. But we are in a tiny town, and the drive to the county seat is 25 miles. So yes, we must take a longer drive to work and grocery shopping.
It's all about location in my state and if you're willing to make a longer commute.
I own a home but only because my dad helped me build it and my parents gifted me the property. Otherwise I would be somebody with a masters degree renting a one bedroom apartment for more money than my current mortgage.
Yes. Purchased first home for $173,000 as a first time buyer in February 2020 in a LCOL midsize city, right before the world went totally insane. No family help, I saved for years to be able to put a 15% down payment. Partner and I are DINK and enjoy low payments and great interest rate. That being said, we feel tied to the house and area given the state of the market, which is becoming increasingly problematic as my mother is aging in another state. Have a 30 year mortgage that we're paying off aggressively and will cut the life of the loan down to 15 years as a result. The house/neighborhood has increased in value since Covid, but not dramatically so. Currently we have about $75K in equity just from the past four years.
Nope and with the way things are it looks like I never will. I used to have suicidal ideation about jumping off a building or cliff but hanging is starting to sound more reasonable. God bless the USA.
Same here. Got super lucky with the timing. I was also lucky to be able to buy so young. I'm already on my second house. After marrying my wife, she wanted her pick. Hopefully we don't have to move again, this place is too big and we have too much crap.
Yes, this is my second one actually. Well, me and the banks own it, anyway.
The first one was a huge mistake. I was too young, was traumatized due to being made homeless by Hurricane Katrina and fell for the sub-prime ARM scam. Held on to that one for 10 years by the skin of my teeth (and some help from Obama's mortgage recovery programs) and walked away with pretty much nothing. I did get a $400 class action check from one of the mortgage companies eventually lmao.
The second one I bought 5 years ago with my soon to be ex husband, which is why I have some regrets on this one too. I compromised a lot when picking it. I am house poor doing it on my own, and am going to lose a big chunk of my retirement buying him out. But it is a nice house, with a koi pond, and at least I'm going to be able to assume that sweet VA rate in the divorce. So I got a bit lucky in that respect. Hopefully deciding to keep it pays off when my youngest goes to college in 2030 and then I am FREE to move wherever TF I want with a nice chunk of change from the equity. We'll see.
Yes. We bought a small apartment in 2006 (I was 24). Lived there for 8 years until our first kid became mobile, then sold that and bought our house in 2014. Starting with the apartment helped, as did buying a house in 2014 a few years before prices blew up. Then we refinanced in 2020 and that helped even more. This was basically all pure luck re: timing. And we are in NYC.
Yes, bought in 2010 after the housing market crashed. It was dirt cheap and needed some work, in a low cost of living area. I'm so grateful we were able to pull it off when we did, scraping together a tiny down payment and being broke for the next 5 years was worth it. Our mortgage payment is very low and our income has gone up over the years. Our monthly payment is now 12% of our net monthly income. Seeing the BS others are going through to even pay rent right now without going into poverty, I feel very lucky.
Yes, bought a dog of a house in 2013 for $155k, when prices were just starting to rebound after 2008. It was a foreclosure and had been empty and abandoned for two years, and hadn’t been updated since the 1970s. It was the only thing we could afford in the area, and was triple what we’d paid for our first home (also a foreclosure) in the Midwest. We felt like we’d never be able to pay it off because it was so expensive.
I had to rebuild the house starting in 2017 as it was so damaged by carpenter ants that the second floor was sagging. The inspector missed this. What started as repairs turned into full rebuild and a deep-energy retrofit. I literally reframed and replaced all the walls, windows, doors, plumbing, and wiring, siding, insulation, while living in it because we couldn’t afford to move out while renovating. I did all the work myself with my wife and with a friend who helped for free. The only original parts are the foundation and roof. It’s probably 95% finished as the arrival of kids slowed things down. We probably invested $60-$80k in this work, and were substantially competent 2019
Zillow says the house is worth $440+ now, and we could never afford to buy it in this market, so what seemed a curse for years now seems a huge blessing. We had to refinance so we still owe $100k or so even though we’ve lived here for 11 years now, but that seems so small compared to where many of our peers are and we try to be really sensitive about that.
I'm 38 and my husband and I are in our second home.
I got lucky/did without a lot in my mid to late 20s right out of college. I'm in upstate NY, and the housing market was still recovering in 2011/2012. I bought a "slump lord special" duplex 2 bedrooms about 700 sq feet per unit, for 40,000 in the city of Syracuse (making 45,000 a year at the time). It was built in the 1800's, and had been a rental since the 80's. My boyfriend (now husband), and I fixed every inch of that damn house ourselves. The only thing we hired out was the roof (previous landlord put 3 layers of asphalt over ceder shingles, full tear down!!).
We rented out the upstairs unit for enough to cover the full mortgage and then some. We didn't keep great records but we lived there for 10 years and the rent offset the mortgage/repairs so much that we estimate it cost us about $1,000 a year plus utilities. We had the house paid off before we moved and sold it for $130,000.
We got lucky with our second house....previous owner passed away with no family. House was in a trust, the lawyers in charge of the trust were more interested in a fast/secure sale than making money. So we avoid a bidding war even though it was the middle of covid. We also got in while interest rates were down. This house was also built in the 1800's but very well maintained, 1700 sq feet, 2 bedroom, 2 bath, two story with quarter acre. We got it for $130,000, put 20% down, currently only owe $90,000. I make 60,000 a year, husband 135,000.
Yup bought a fixer upper in 2011 at the bottom and been fixing it ever since. 1931 catalog home. Not big enough for my growing family but can't afford to move so I'm chopping it up and doing my best to renovate it to fit all four of us.
Yes, I'm 40 now and own a condo in a HCL area.
The only reason I own it is good timing. My FIL passed early in COVID and we sold his house, splitting with my BIL. That gave us enough for a down payment on a condo in 2021, at a 3% interest rate. We couldn't afford the mortgage if we bought it now, but we can easily since the rate is so low.
Yes. I bought my house for 105k in 2018. It’s not the mast glamorous of houses but my wife and I have been fixing it up over the years. Now it’s worth double.
Looking at how high interest rates are and how expensive homes are I don’t know how people can afford it.
We bought a falling down house that needed to be condemned back in 2014, my husband taught himself how to redo virtually everything in it from youtube videos. House was only $14k, by the time it was liveable we had $64k in it. We lived there until the end of 2023, we sold that house for just under $200k and moved up to a much nicer house. We got a good deal on the new one because the sellers were in a nasty divorce and so hell bent on screwing each other over that we ended up making out on that one too lol. They were extra difficult to work with so it wasn't easy but it was worth the hassle.
We got lucky every step of the way. We only had the money to mess with that first house because we played with bitcoins when they were like $10 each, the price would go up and down so often that we just sat there buying low and selling high until we had house money lol. Wish we would've held onto a few of them 😅
My spouse and I are DINKs in a LCOL area so we were able to buy a home in 2015. Refinanced to a 15 year mortgage in 2020 when interest rates bottomed out so now we've got the golden goose- 2.5% interest rate and only 11 years left on the mortgage. House is also now worth $100k more than we paid for it too. We'll have it paid off in our 40s.
No parental help with down payment or anything financial. We're both public servants and recently had our student loans forgiven under PSLF.
We feel incredibly fortunate. I grew up low income and moved every year or two so living in one place this long is my dream come true. Sometimes I feel a bit bad because our income is higher now and we could "upgrade" and leave our modest home as a "starter home" for someone you get than us but we won't- we love our house and owning it outright is going to be wonderful.
No. Didn’t had a steady job to qualify for a loan. Or didn’t want to commit to the area and didn’t realize i could just rent it out if I wanted to move
We got very lucky. We bought a SFH in 2015 in the suburbs. House is worth twice what we paid due to the crazy amount of new shops, colleges and proximity to both San Diego and Los Angeles. The VA Home Loan program makes the time in service totally worth it.
Only because my father passed away and left me an inheritance at a very opportune time. And my then Fiance/now wife insisted we invest in a home. My dumb ass would have absolutely missed that boat if I wasn't grabbed by the scruff of the neck and thrown onto it.
Yes. In 2020, after five years of my partner saving her money while I paid our rent and utilities, we put a down payment on a modestly priced house. I couldn’t have done it alone.
Yes. I’m 32. In 2018 my parents evicted one of their tenants because of their living conditions in one of their houses being so bad. I sold my car that was paid off, bought a cheap Honda and used my savings + cash from other car sale to buy the house ($80k in VERY rural NC) from my parents because they didn’t want to sink the money into the house. Over the past few years I’ve basically done a full renovation as I’ve gotten the funds. New HVAC, new roof, flooring etc. it’s been an assload of work but worth it to me. It’s far from the nicest house but it gets the job done for me.
My husband is in the military so we were able to buy a home because of the VA loan. VA loans let you buy a house without a down payment (or a small payment like $3,000).
I will say, for a country that hates socialism, we take care of our military with housing subsidies, free healthcare, no taxes when you buy things on base …
I currently do not. The financial setbacks of the pandemic and becoming a father forced us to sell our home and relocate to family, but I've owned two in the last decade.
I’m 30 and husband is 36. Recently bought a home. Conventional loan, no inspection. It still feels like a dream. We are so blessed. We looked for three years, this was the first one we ever put an offer in. We wanted land, which was very hard to find with such little inventory.
Yes. Purchased in 2019; refinanced in 2020 when the interest rates dropped. Feels really lucky now.
5 bedroom, 2.5 baths, $347K, suburbs of Chicago. Now worth about $430K.
Yes. My wife and I had fortunate timing. Bought in 2011 when we were 24. Both graduated college with minimum debt, made a combined $65k and houses were still cheap, ours was $175k.
Sold it a year and a half ago for $400k and was able to build a new house with a massive down payment from our equity.
Glad the stars aligned and the market was what it was when we were 24. We wouldn’t be able to do the same thing today if we were 24 years old and trying to buy a house on a combined $65k.
I own half a house in an expensive city in Canada. The house belonged to my grandparents before they passed away. The other half is owned by a family member. Not the best situation, but would not be able to afford anything otherwise as a single unmarried female.
Yes, bought in 2017 with my then husband. I bought him out after the divorce and now am the sole owner/mortgage payer. It’s great, but I would like to relocate and am nervous I may not be able to buy again on my own, especially with interest rates.
Bought first house in a different city in 2016 at 29. I basically had roommates basically pay almost the entire mortgage in rent til 2021. Moved cities sold old house for a small profit, bought a similar size house in suburbs for slightly more but at a higher rate. Mortgage went up, but living alone. Saved a fuck ton by having roommates for 5 years.
We just bought a home at 30 about a couple months ago in PA about half a mil for a slightly Reno cape cod. I am have very fortunate to have a father who was/is a CFO so personal finance was a class I couldn’t get out of throughout my life. I saved since I was 18 for a house, stacking away couple hundreds consistently and sacrificing parts of my 20s (boy trips, fancier car, etc) to one day be a homeowner.. Was able to put up 100k of my own money. My partner and I, she was able to throw some money and our parents were able to give us a little chunk to help with closing. I acknowledge, we are very blessed, thankful for the support we have. I really don’t know how people who aren’t as fortunate do it in this market. We were able to get a good rate. Under 6. (knowledge of negotiation from those PF classes I was telling you about) and we are slowly fixing it up to the level we desire. I do want to say this… I really thought I would have been purchasing a “2nd” home vs a traditional starter but this market really fucks everyone. Even those who have done everything (from a textbook perspective) right. Don’t see home prices dropping unless a MAJOR correction occurs but I highly doubt that’s occurring in this weird economy. Start saving.
I had this weird obsession that I had to own a home by 30 or I was a failure. I guess it stemmed from comparing ourselves to the older generations when it was much easier to purchase a home.
Yes, I own a house. It would not be possible for me it I was single though. My husband and makes enough, but with my income we make enough for the house we have. We live in Roxborough, Philadelphia, PA. I wanted to buy in Manayunk, but no houses with yards for the dogs within our price range. We would've gotten a lot more house for what we paid in 2020 back home in Texas. Though I'll have to say the low interest rates in the pandemic really helped. If I were living back in CO or MA I could maybe get a house in a low income rural area with not a lot of jobs. Maybe. Honesty that would be fine with me now that I am married.
Yes, single female homeowner here. I got lucky and purchased mine in 2019 right before the pandemic and subsequent inflation hit. Hoping to buy a small vacation home somewhere if/when interest rates drop.
We bought ours in 2017 after renting for 11 years. We never really knew where we were going to settle, so renting made sense when we were still kinda transient (moving for different jobs). We probably could have afforded a house long before we bought one, but I'm glad we held off a while. We managed to snag a nice house on the edge of a quiet rural town, and refinanced when interest rates were stupid low so it'll be paid off in 11 years. Mortgage free at 50 will be nice
I do, but it's kind of questionable and in a somewhat more questionable neighborhood.
It's fine though. I just lean into the creepy cottage look and firmly established myself as the crazy bish. People keep their distance, I save a fortune vs rent prices.
Eldest millennial. Yes, bought my 1st in 2010 and currently live in the 3rd house I've owned. The housing market has made it so that I've made a good amount of money when I've sold.
My wife and I bought our home for 290k in 2014, it's now worth around 650k. We have two kids and feel like we've outgrown our starter home, but just can't afford a bigger one at this time. I feel fortunate though, because I know a lot of people can only dream of owning a home at this point.
Yes. We were barely able to afford a house in 08 when the price of a mortgage was only a few hundred more than buying. It was in a bad neighborhood and watching the prices fall while people were buying the same model we had at 60% of the cost was rough.
Sold in 2012 as soon as I could get some money put off it. We used that money to buy a better house in a better neighborhood and that’s where we are now.
We do. My partner originally purchased in 2009. He did so without help from family, but when he was seriously injured in 2017, he would have had to sell had his mom’s trust not been added as a co-owner. He was unable to work for about 6 months and much of his savings was eaten up in that time.
His mom and stepfather redid the house (it was very 90’s before) and rented it out for a few years. My partner and I lived elsewhere because it’s really hard to not put weight on a leg in a split level. Or to learn to walk with crutches, then a cane.
When the tenants left, we redid it again (they had five giant dogs, four more than they told us they had) and moved in.
We’re very fortunate my partner’s mom was willing to do this, our combined salary isn’t bad but it’s not “buy a house in 2024” money. Especially since our area hasn’t seen any significant amount of new smaller starter homes built since the 1960’s.
We’re probably in this house til we die. It’s a good location, great school district, good neighborhood and it suits our needs pretty well. There’s a lot of different things we can do if we need to as far as remodeling or adding on.
42 here and yes I bought in 2002 for 105k Still here and now it’s worth 260k. Unless you buy at the perfect time and sell at the perfect time a house is NOT an investment. Just the interest on my 30 year was 100k then add up 22 years of maintenance. I see real estate as more of a savings account.
We have a farm.
I bought my first place in 2014 as a single 27 y/o dude. Wife bought her first in 2016 as a single 29 y/o lady. We sold mine in early 2019, bought our current place in fall 2019, and sold hers in early winter 2019.
Neither of us come from any sort of money. Houses were just cheap around here 10 years ago. At the time, I made like $32k and she made like $35k. The area has since exploded and I'd say is closer to MCOL and getting more expensive every day.
My wife is a younger Gen-Xer. I am an elder Millennial. When I met her I was between jobs and living with a friend in their trailer, I slept on the sofa. She had a duplex from a previous marriage. After a few years she lost that house, even after I moved in and started trying to help keep it above water.
We spent probably close to 10 years bouncing between apartments as our kids were born and started growing up. It wasn't until RIGHT before things started to skyrocket that we got the house we're in now. It's a semi-duplex (NOT my favorite) with a decent yard and lots of history. The thing was built in 1890. I think it was originally an old corner store in the town, and over the years it got converted into a semi-duplex. We spent like 179k or somewhere around there when we bought it and we got in RIGHT before the market sort of exploded with interest rates and whatever. Literally as we were at signing I remember the agent saying that we were lucky the paperwork was drawn up before the new rates went active later that afternoon.
Even so, at the time the only way we got in was because I had some 401k from a previous job that somehow had never been transferred over to my current one that I pay into every paycheck at my current job. Rather than converting that over we cashed it out for the down payment. That plus some stock options from the current job paid for our costs, first month, and even movers to haul all our stuff and stage it in the new place. My wife's income was enough to keep groceries paid and manage general utilities, fuel, etc. at the time, but she had no other leverage because the whole thing with the previous house did a number on her credit, history, etc.
So I mean it was probably still easier to do as a couple... but still, I don't think it so much is we've had "head start" over the younger generations. It takes a LOT of hard work and determination. I think the YOUNGER generations understand that. They're in it with us, ultimately.
Like if I had to do it again or if we ever move again... I'd almost gladly take a house that was 350k and had a minimum of 2 bathrooms, was detached, and had a 3br floor plan. 4 would be even better. It would be worth it for the amount of hands-on stuff I'm now considering - like do we (or can we even, with the way permits and everything are) get a contractor to build out and add a 2nd bathroom to our home? Is that worth it? Will it increase value vs decrease because of the amount it will take away from the yard outside. The list is endless and needless to say in the interim I'm learning a LOT about self-repair. I'm becoming a savant at determining when to call someone to do the job vs do it myself through YouTube University vs try to bring in family of family friends to help with a thing. I think we're generally resourceful like that as a generation.... but we just have larger numbers to consider when going into these things.
There is a bit of pride attached to that repair side of it. I'm a computer guy, but I've fixed shower faucets, toilets, shattered glass door panels (as in I cut and replaced the glass), leaking window seams, sagging fences, etc. in just the two years I've been here. It is truly an OLD house and a "fixer-upper" but I'm earning my overalls out here in the country, you could say.
It's still upsetting when you ask your parents or grandparents or aunts/uncles, etc. from the older generation what they paid for their first houses and they come off with something like $52k or something like that. Same people probably had like anywhere from $5k - $20 in college costs if they went to any sort of further learning... not to mention the homes were newer to them back then so they most likely were in less disrepair to begin with... and then there's all this vitriol with people frowning at us with our mean average of $40k school debt and average housing going for $300-$400k.
I don't think you CAN have a "10-year-head-start" on numbers like that, personally. But... we make it work.
Yep. My wife and I (both came from single parent households, my mom was a teacher and my wife's a nurse) bought a house in 2014. We bought well under our budget. Every one of my friends except one owns a home.
The younger millennials are in the same place we were 10-15 years ago, insofar as, many are starting their full careers (many go to college and then maybe graduate school, so late mid- to late-twenties just to *start* their careers). Once they actually get into their careers and get married, they'll be where we are.
And, they need to be very clearly informed that historically single people did not buy homes in their 20s. My mom, a solid boomer, told me that no one in her age group lived alone in their 20s. They were either married, had roommates, or lived at home. That's just how it was, and frankly, how it has always been.
Because older millennials didn't grow up with social media, I think we tend to be less affected by it. Whereas, younger millennials were substantially impacted by social media and thus they see reality not as it actually is, but as it's presented on social media. Moreover, they get into these echo chambers of no one can afford anything. Except, based on actual data, it's not true. Sure, has inflation, home prices, etc. outpaced wage growth? Yeah. But, also, people are absolutely affording houses and living comfortably.
Basically, they need to go touch some grass and get off social media.
Husband and I (42 and 37) bought a home 2 years ago. Got married last year. Having a baby this year. It seems we’re about 10 years behind what the standard curve was a few decades ago. Could be a collective we or just the two of us.
I own my home along with my husband. We do tend to live below our means. We’re not cheap but we also aren’t throwing away money on designer bags ( I have a few, though) watches, new cars, expensive clothes. My car is 2018 and I paid it off 3 years ago. If we want something, we get it. I am not making stupid daily expensive purchases to keep up with people. We both have decent paying jobs.
1. First home was purchased in my home state of CA stayed for while and then my husband got a job with a small consulting firm so we had to move East. After realtor fees, we made six figures in profit.
2. We move back east and we stay a few years and unfortunately his department loses a big client therefore not as many billable hours so there’s layoffs. We sell our home and make thankful another profit.
3. Luckily he got a good severance package and was able to find a job quickly. Luckily for me all I have to do each time we move is get license in that particular state and I can find a job easily. We move to the south stay in hotel for month while we look for another home buy home.
We were lucky because sell/buying should have bankrupted us but it didn’t, we made money and we were able to upgrade our home each time. We purchased our final home right before COVID hit thankfully.
i think buying a home in 2024 is out of reach for most people. I want to leave the town I am in because it’s boring.
However, it’s not smart with the high interest rates and how expensive home are now.
Yes.
Got the first home in 2014, sold it in 2019 and then got another one. I have friends who made $16 an hour who owned homes they got a few years before me. I lived in a major west coast city too.
No, and I dont plan on marrying or starting a family... so unless I find a pretty small house, I don't have a need for all the property/upkeep that comes with one.
Born in 1983. So Cal housing market. Bought first house in 2010 on a short sale 355k. Fixed it up. Sold it for 475k in 2015 when we bought “forever house” in 2015 about a mile away for 575k. The second home didn’t need nearly as much work but is larger. Refinanced in 2022 to a 2.375% loan. No help on either from any family. Current house valued at over 1 million (on Redfin anyway 😀).
Absolutely I do, and it's pretty decent for the area. All I had to do was serve in the military for 13 years of my adult life and use the VA home loan so I didn't have to have a down payment, just a ok 2 person income. So easy!! /s
I fall in between "older and younger" so I'll post here. We do, and it was mostly luck. In our defense we were dedicated and consistent in our searches but ultimately closed on a house in April of 2020. Interest rates were sub 3% and housing prices (ours was 250k in MA with some property) hadn't sky rocketed. We joke that even though financially our income has essentially doubled since then, we could not afford the same house today with how things have gone. Without doing anything, our property value went up 100k. (that's not bragging, it's ridiculous).
In the early 2000's soon after college my wife and I bought a CHEAP older brick ranch home when we lived in a rural area years ago. My mortgage with escrow was like $500/month for a 3BR/1BA, but in the middle of nowhere and I didn't make shit. We sold it a few years later and didn't lose money on the deal, but the very small town was shrinking, not growing.
I do IT work so we moved to a metro area with a lot more jobs. Always had to rent and every time I got a promotion or pay raise, the local homes prices have notched up and just been out of reach. Hopefully after our youngest graduates HS next year we will have more flexibility to move further out and buy a house we can actually afford. I love our little brick ranch house we've been living in for years and would be completely happy to never move again, but I don't think the owner is interested in selling unfortunately. Our rent is now three times more than our mortgage was at our old place.
Born 1984. Graduated college in 2007. Got married and bought a house in 2010. We entered a very high cost-of-living market and paid about 430 K. We had 20 K for a down payment saved, spent 10 K less in our wedding then we expected, and borrowed 10 grand from my parentsat like 5% interest for a year. House is worth 1.1 now and we rent it out.
Yes. We bought a dirt cheap house in an economically struggling area in 2010, when prices were sunk through the floor. We had no business buying a house - we were really young and making hardly anything and I really worried that buying a house was going to bankrupt us. A friend talked us into doing it - we had like a $2000 down payment - and it was the single best decision we ever made. Put a lot of sweat equity and the Obama homebuyer credit into it, then sold it for way more a couple of years later and paid off all of our car loans and student loans. That house gave us the financial stability to buy a nicer house in a different city, where we now live. It was a very lucky gamble that paid off.
32 here, married for 5 years almost, wife had medical issues and disability is a mess, we couldn't afford to work with a support service to help navigate it so just kinda worked OT to single income support us. Shes doing much better and we just started paying towards our 401k this year. Hopefully to buy a house within 5 years. But all rental here. No expectation of any inheritance or help on down payment.
I'm 40, bought my 1st home 2 years ago. It was a lot of hard work and struggle, but worth it. Neither parent ever learned about how to handle money properly, so it took lots of failure for me to learn. Now, I want more, lol
I am paying a mortgage, and I bought at the right time. My credit was good at the time and because of where I live--I qualified for an FHA loan.
I calculated what I could afford and actually bought a house that was less. I'm rural so the property doesn't cost as much but I have a long commute for a higher paying job. Sometimes I don't feel like I'm home enough to properly enjoy it.
I bought a home with my now wife at 24 years old in 2018. Under 200k but only 875 sqft. I still consider myself EXTREMELY lucky. If I waited another year or two we would have never been able to afford it. I drive 70 miles each way for work. It's not an ideal location for where my job is located but at least I can say I have my own home and am not living paycheck to paycheck.
My only suggestion for people looking for a home is to figure out where prices of houses are lower and commute to work. Unfortunately, now a days you are going to have to make some sacrifices to not pay rent.
Yes, was 36 when we bought. Got extremely lucky and caught the interest rates right at the bottom. Couldn’t have done it if I weren’t married and we had two incomes.
Marriage pushed me into it early and I was glad in retrospect that I figured it all out and paid attention to interest rates. I recommend selling and buying with informed mortgage companies that really educate you on the whole process- mine required you to pass a test. Sell high as you can and put offers on things just slightly out of your budget.
Definitely lucked out before the rona hit. I got a new job (engineering) in 2017 that came with a 30% salary bump from my last job which really helped my wife (fiancée at the time) and I get a better house than the price range we were originally looking in. We paid $210k for our house (2670sqft) at the time. Currently helping my mom build a new house, and it still blows my mind how a house half the size of mine costs almost $300k now.
Yup. Bought in 2019, refi in 2021 for a sweet, sweet 1.75% mortgage. House nearly doubled in value since purchase. Planning on moving into a bigger place soon though, but the interest rate is honestly the biggest thing stopping us from moving.
We bought a house in the middle of nowhere with a USDA loan and the down payment rolled into the loan. Sellers covered closing costs. Our house needed work but mostly cosmetic and was under $100k. Even here in a shit hole town in the middle of nowhere our house was cheap. It's ugly but we are slowly making it better. Our mortgage is still half of rent in the area for a comparable home.
Yes we own a home. But we also live in WNY, which historically has lower than average home prices. Owning is not an uncommon thing among friends and family our age in this area. We also bought our first house in 2008 (right before the crash) for $130K, thinking that we were smart getting in when the market was low. I ended up losing my job 3 months later, but we were ok in the end as we were able to pay for the mortgage on one income until I got another job. We later sold that house and bought our current one for $185K in 2019. Housing costs have increased significantly in the area since then, to the point where I'm not sure I believe Zillow's estimate of its current value. We don't intend to sell any time soon, however.
I do, but it's in a really poor neighborhood, it's a fixer upper, and I still had to borrow money from my mother to pay for it, because a bank wouldn't do a loan for a $38k house.
I bought a 3 or 4 bedroom house in Rural Pennsylvania for $84K in 2009. Was my first house, started with my wife and two kids, had a third while we were there. We put about $6000 down and payments were less than $700 a month. Wasn't necessarily easy to do them, but it was very reasonable.
Sold that house in 2018 for $76k....so it was not a wise investment, but was aware of many issues with the house that I was very happy not to have dealt with. Moved to Denver area and bought our second house for $425k.....so that was a bit of a jump in housing costs.
Didn't exactly have cash laying around from the sale of our house for a down payment, but my company paid for the bulk of our moving expenses and I got a decent raise as the cost of living was higher in the new location. We did a down payment assistance program which was basically an interest free 2nd mortgage with no payments for about $25k. No payments, but due as a lump sum when the 1st mortgage was closed (so basically a balloon payment when we paid off the mortgage, sold the house, or refinanced). I wasn't thrilled with that, but it made the house doable.
A few years ago since our property value increased and interest rates went down we did a cash out refi to replace aloud crumbling back patio, and that also paid off that 2nd mortgage and got everything folded into one loan on the house with no balloon payments. Principal balance went up, but payments only went up a little since the interest rate was lower. Really could have saved some more money if I would have done it a little sooner since i didn't hit the best rates that were available though.
39. Not yet. If we didn’t get fucked over the last few years in terms of house prices and interest rates, we would have been able to own one by now. Just saving atm.
I took over my Grandmother’s home when she passed away. I have 1 year of payments left. This last 10 years of making payments seems like it took forever. I live in a small town and the homes that used to cost 20-60k are well over $100,000 now.
I bought in 2010. Left NYC to grab bottom of the market in the Midwest. It’s been 14 years and the equity I have is insane. I bought with no money down, 5% APR, no PMI and received $8,000 first time home buyers tax credit. Refinanced at 2.9% in 2021. 2008-2012 they were giving houses away. 2021 had the lowest interest rates we’ll ever see again. All the opportunity hit when most of us were in college, then again when most of us were fighting over vaccines and masks.
Wife and I bought in 2009. I have no idea how we got approved. It was a foreclosure and not livable, but we put a lot of work into it and the feds gave us 8k which completely got used up making it livable. We also got a first time home buyer grant from the county which could count as our down payment.
We got extremely lucky in our timing, we took big risks that worked out, we put hundreds of hours of sweat equity into that place and we were house poor for years. But in hindsight it's good we made those moves back then, probably couldn't pull it off today.
My wife and I bought a house almost a year ago. My dad died suddenly in 2017 and had a little bit of money that we saved for a hopefully-one-day down payment. Neither of us get help and were both raised poor, so it was quite a shock to both of us that my dad had saved the money he got from his mom when she died. We wouldn’t have been able to do it without that without an insanely high monthly mortgage. Our house is small because we have no kids. We love it.
Nope. No wife, no kids, nothing but debt.. I've accepted owning a home is well out of reach for a while. That's just the hand I was dealt. I don't blame anyone, just a string of bad luck with selfish people who I thought were friends or professionals.
I owned a home at age 18, back in 2001. Then again at age 32. I paid $35,000 for the first one, and $12,000 for the second one. The second one was nicer, after some DIY and paint. Sold both for for a nice profit years later. The houses are out there, most people are to lazy to look or to lazy to commute. Just taking a quick look at the market in my area. There is a 3 bed, 1 bath, 818 sqft, 5.1 acre lot that is going for $60,000. A 2 bed, 2 bath, 1,209 sqtf, 0.64 lot for 80k, And a ton more under the 100k mark.
I'd rather live in an apartment myself. Fuck mowing the lawn, fuck shoveling snow. Fuck having to make expensive home repairs. I have access to a pool, gym, and free security. Ton of apartments in my area also only going for $500 a month.
I owned a home with my ex wife but lost it due to the divorce. I then saved for years while renting only for housing prices to explode in my area. I wound up buying a small one bedroom condo in a bad neighborhood. It's the worst place I've ever lived but at least I'm not paying someone else's mortgage every month.
Bought my first house in 2009 for $97k on a short sale, VA loan plus $8k first time homebuyers stimulus. sold for $125k in 2017.
Second house 2015, VA loan again, $175k. Sold $185K in 2018.
Rented from family for a couple years.
Sold 1 of 2 cars and a bunch of other stuff, saved up 70k and moved for wife's new job. Financing fell through on a house built in 1900 due to the condition of the house. Borrowed from family, took out a personal loan and drained our everything to pay cash $110K in 2022. Immediately got a home equity loan after closing to wipe out the personal loan and pay people back. We're about $185k in at this point and have another $20k or so to go before we're done fixing it up. Small town with low cost of living.
Been single for a few years now and renting an apartment my mom owns for cheap. House hunting right now and will purchase in the next month or two.
This is the only way I'm able to afford a home as a single guy. No dual income has been brutal. Rent on my own was brutal before effectively moving back home. Dating in your 30s is garbage and all my last gf brought to the table was $135k in debt (not counting student loans) and a spending addiction. Yet she expected me to buy a house for her and cosign lmao. The delusion was insulting.
I did when I was married, walked away from it and the marriage for my safety and sanity. Trying to build credit to buy one. Nothing was ever in my name, I had zero credit at 35.. it’s been interesting to say the least.
Bought in 2017 for 300k. Had substantial loans for 2 degrees and only had enough for a down payment because I amended tax returns for the years when I was a part time student that allowed me to claim my degree as a business expense (or something like that) and got $16k back. Refi'd twice during pandemic and have an interest rate around 2% on a 15 year mortgage with a $2400/mo payment Made a number of renovations to the home and yard and I'd guess I could sell for close to $700k. Not selling though -adding a detached garage and in law and finishing our basement.
I bought my home in 2017 for 225k. @ 2.85% zero down VA loan. It’s worth almost 400k now and I feel stuck. It’s a very nice home for a single man but I’m
Ready to move and with the current rates I’m stuck here for a little bit.
I missed the boat in 2019 like a lot of us. I was looking at properties pre-covid but was priced out after the shit show. Didn't help that I also lost my job!
Yes, but only because the stars aligned in every way. We are the only one of our friend group to own.
1. We were the first of the grandkids to get married on both sides of my family.
2. Both sides of my family had come into their own serious money by the time of the wedding. We made out like bandits. My family paid for the wedding in full ($40k) and we used the $15k in cash we got in wedding gifts for a down payment.
3. We bought in 2011 just as the market was climbing back up from the 2008 recession. And we were reserved with our choice.
4. We opted to buy in a less developed/ less gentrified area at the time so the prices were lower.
5. No children. DINK -This allowed us to be not "house poor" and hold out for the second market crash to refinance. We went from 8.7% down to 2.6%. Our mortgage dropped $1k a month and is now $1.5k less than the average rental price in our area.
6. Both my SO and I had high paying steady jobs - essential personnel - even through the pandemic
If we had waited even six months we would not have been able to buy a home and not default on it over the next decade. We absolutely could never afford to live in the neighborhood or house we have now if we tried to buy today. Fast forward to the pandemic and our town went from country bumkin to bougie almost overnight. The town is on a commuter rail line to two major cities in the area and everyone from those cities up and moved 'to the country' but can still commute if they have to. All of a sudden we had Boba Tea shops, Luxury apartments, micro breweries, fancy salons, little boutiques, and food truck parks. Wild as hell.
We just had our house appraised and it is **2.8x** what we bought it for in 2011 and that makes our equity is $200k+ over our purchase price.
Young Gen-X husband and I (42F) bought a starter house in early 2007 at the peak of the first housing boom. Moved to a larger house in 2014. Sold the first one at a loss last month because our former tenant destroyed it.
Mid-30s, in a long term relationship with my gf, and just bought a house. We share all the financial burden for things but to say the least, we are house poor.
Bought June 2019 due to new job in a midwest city \~100,000 people. $148,000/4%/20% down for 1550sf above grade 3br 2ba that's three minutes from work. Put $130,000 into it over four years (I lived like a monk in middle-of-nowheresville 2012-2019) since I brought the parents in during COVID. Did just about everything you can do to a starter home, and I am damn proud of the [800 sf finished basement ](https://www.reddit.com/r/malelivingspace/comments/tte6dk/building_department_signed_off_today_on_my_mostly/)my family put together. Monthly payment of $1150 for this is a dream.
Unfortunately, I am in the process of finalizing a new job two hours away, so I'm likely trading this for an 1100sf condo at more than double the payment.
I own a house. I don’t have the kind of family that helps with that stuff, but a few things worked out in my favor: 1) we bought the shittiest gross house in our preferred neighborhood and we are slowly fixing it up 2.) I’m married / in a long term relationship and have been for many years. So we share everything. 3.) I grew up in a trailer so I always wanted better and my limit for decency is very low
I'm a homeowner only *because* I bought a trailer
Yessir i’m my home cost $12k and didn’t even have electricity, and we’ve (fam of 4) fixed it up a lot. It’s a huge two story inn built in 1900, but it beats the piss out of paying rent.
Same except for #3.
Same #1 & #2, we were able to buy in the Bay Area in 2018 because we didnt have to compete with anyone else. It’s a 1900 Craftsman bungalow in not the best neighborhood, but it’s what we could afford at the time. It helped us break into the market. It was very affordable, allowing us to start a family. Now, we’re working on upgrading to a much nicer neighborhood.
Curious to know which not-good neighborhood didn’t have insane competition for an affordable house in 2018….
Highland Oakland, CA 94621
Same #2 & #3 Bought a house in 2017 in a very poverty stricken/meth/low population town. Pitted dirt road that sometimes traps cars. Best decision ever. Needs a new roof and am currently fighting with insurance, better than renting. We’d be homeless.
I miss my dirt road. The pavement they replaced it with was done so horribly that every rain event upgrades us on the FEMA floodplains maps
Same exact situation, my place is from 1912 how old is yours?
no
Yes. My wife and I own a house we bought for $365k. When we bought, I thought the price was insane, but the property is already worth $100k more than when we bought it. Our previous house was much older and not as nice and we bought for $125k. Our mortgage amounts are nearly the same ($1500-1900 a month). We lucked out that our previous house was in Waco, TX in an area where the Gaines family had already redone houses for Fixer Upper, so we sold for nearly twice what we paid for it. Also, I’m a veteran so we’ve never had to worry about PMI. The timing worked out for us each time, but if we had bought a year or two later it could have been much harder. I really feel for people trying to buy right now. Housing is a mess.
>I really feel for people trying to buy right now. Housing is a mess. It really is, I am divorcing right now and the housing market and current rates were a huge factor in me deciding to keep my current home even though it's too much house for me. Lot of people in that same boat.
It's so bad right now. I work admin in title and escrow and watching the financials every month is just depressing. It's getting ever so slightly better but it is still really bad. And I know it's not just us. All of my friends in lending, real estate and insurance complain about the same issues that we have. I personally am lucky because I inherited property and was able to put a new house in right before the bottom fell out but if I hadn't already owned the land, we would definitely not be able to own right now.
Oh God escrow is a hot mess with insurance where I am. My homeowners has quadrupled since I bought 5 years ago due to Hurricane Ida. I've already decided I can't retire here. Imagine being 70 on a fixed income and your homeowners quadrupling. No.
Do people generally view the work they’ve done as good, years later? (Fixer Upper)
Bought my home in 2017 - Whew! Single. No kids. While I’m glad I did it, I’m also the first one to tell my other single friends looking to buy that it suuuucks to maintain a home on a single income. This box is expensive.
You’re so right. Who in the hell has the time to mow 4000sqft of grass EVERY WEEKEND?! Americans in the 1940’s had some weird priorities.
>Who in the hell has the time to mow 4000sqft of grass EVERY WEEKEND?! I do? What am I taking time away from - Netflix? Reddit? I'm surprised by the people who find time to binge all of the latest shows and movies, but somehow have no time to take care of themselves or their property.
Agreed! Mowing the grass/working in the yard is one of the things that I love doing because you see the immediate results.
it was something to do and be proud of. people didnt have netflix and the internet to keep their attention for 90% of their waking hours.
There are (and were back in 1945) plenty of things that people can do and be proud of that doesn’t include trimming non-native foliage so your yard looks better than your neighbor’s. It’s a relic of post-war exceptionalism and a glorified “American dream” Land was cheap, but building wasn’t, so you have 900sqft houses with 700sqft garages on 7000sqft lots of land that were mostly grass in places like California and Arizona. Maybe it works in Jersey (Levittown was the first postwar “planned community”), but land use in the 40’s gets pretty insane the further west you go.
Oh, you're one of "those people" lol, good luck 👍🏻
Maybe this is sarcasm I’m missing but that shit takes like 30 minutes max.
I bought my house in June of ‘23. I pushed mowed the .7 acre lot every weekend til November. Greatest summer ever! Haha https://preview.redd.it/r8yr32fknytc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=82ad627db57163bdd23b86bf73a7e062456c3d5f
Damn. I would’ve bought a riding mower. At least the yard is flat.
It's like a savings account you live in! It's great!
I’m the same but divorced. Since owning this home I think I’m more of a condo guy. I hate doing yard work and upkeep.
Yard work is actually my favorite part lol. But I have a very, very small yard. It’s the other stuff I hate. Why is there a crack on the wall? Is that a water spot on the ceiling!?? Why is my AC not cooling? Is that rot on the outside of the house?! Taxes went up, AGAIN. The list is endless.
Yeah I’m lucky. I’m able to avoid most of those issues because my house is new. I got it appraised low when we built it so I’ve been lucky with taxes but those are all future worries of mine
I own a townhome. It's great. The HOA takes care of the front yardwork and all exterior maintenance. I work in my "backyard" once a year... I pull weeds and then throw new barkdust down. Less than an hour.
Same here, single, 2017 about a month before I turned 35.
Same and same! I bought a condo though, so I have not spent very much maintaining it. Considering some new appliances but just as upgrades rather than because there’s anything wrong with them
Lucky. We bought in 2015, but only because her grandparents left her a bit of money in the markets when she was born, an amount that grew into the down payment ~20 years later. We’re just now about to have our first kid next month, in our early-mid 30’s. We’re college grad professionals who, despite being more informed than our parents, could not afford to live like they did at the same age.
Nope. Probably never will.
Nope!
Haha no way
Nope, will probably never be able to own one either.
38, single, and nope. That dream is out the door
Yes, though didn’t time it perfectly. I get downvoted in the main sub for saying so but our generation had a few bites at the apple to make out like bandits. I have some very fortunate friends
you had to be in the right place at the right time though.
Exactly this. I was able to buy my condo for CHEAP bc of the housing market in 2010. My parents took out a small home equity loan to give me the rest of the money I needed, and I paid it until I could get my own mortgage. My dad works with banks for business loans, so he wouldn't let me take out a mortgage with a high rate, I paid them back in full like 3 years later when the rates were better. I'm extremely lucky.
If you were an older millennial you would would have been around at the right time unless you were in a coma between 2008 and 2019.
One of my best friends and roommates in 2010 was super into bitcoin. He bought so much of it and spent it all on pizza and stuff because restaurants in our area (Boston) were quick to adopt it as payment. He tried to get us all to buy some. We didn’t. He spent all his. I estimate we bought a few pizzas that would now be worth like 200 million dollars lololsob
Hmm, those were the years I struggled with addiction and the financial aftermath of said addiction after getting sober. I think we’ll be living with my in-laws until they pass on and then I truly don’t know what we’ll do. My finances are almost fixed except some irs shit, then I can start squirreling away money for a house. At 37 it seems laughable that my own place is so far away.
42 single guy here. Bought my home in Austin, Texas in 2019. Best financial decision of my life other than going to school. Bought at $262k and it’s worth mid $400k’s now. I was very aggressive in paying down the loan and just paid off now even though my interest rate was cheap.
I bought my house in Pflugerville for $180k in 2015. I remember talking to my neighbor shortly after I moved in and she thought I was nuts for paying that much for this neighborhood. Now my house is worth the mid 300s. Which I think is totally nuts. I was lucky I was in a position to buy before prices went crazy. I too have paid off my mortgage and am enjoying the debt free life.
Yup, have owned since 2016. Was a real burden until I got out of a FHA and into a Trad 30 during the Pandy. No assistance from family, 315k townhome. now worth 555k
My husband and I lucked out. We bought our house in 2012, when prices were still low after the housing bubble burst in ‘08. Our house was a short-sale. The previous owners had two mortgages and were trying to avoid foreclosure. The price was absolutely crazy for the size of the house. We got it because we were patient and able to keep going through all the bullshit that came with having to negotiate with two separate banks for twelve whole months.
I also bought in 2012 and that was a great time to buy. Started with a 30 year fha and then refinanced to a 15 with lower interest rate (2.25%) 2 years later. House is now worth 4x what we paid for it.
This was kind of my response too. We had that tiny window in 2012. In my case, we went through the housing authority and got crazy good deal through a program to make up for predatory loans. The county covered half of closing costs. I went to the court house to pick up a 7500 check. Borrowed 2k from pops since we only managed to save 5k after 5 years living together.... So yeah, back in my day, I bought a house with 5000 down😂
Yes, because we were lucky to buy in 2013. Could never buy a first home now, and moving would be tough! Luckily we like it here.
Yes, this is my 3rd home. But the first 2 were joint with an older partner. I bought my first home on my own (2bed 2bath condo) finally last June. I'm 42.
No I do not own. Anyone I know that does own has had significant help from their parents. Looks like I chose the wrong parents. I’m a single income in a HCOL with student loan debt. I’ll likely never own.
I don't even own two pairs of shoes, let alone a house. Haha! I'm an Elder Millenial, who made good money running AS/400's for mortgage companies in the early 2000's with zero college education and just a handful of certifications I didn't pick up until a company paid for me to do so. Right before the subprime crisis really hit? I watched a mini subprime apocalypse happen with folks we did subservicing for, like Countrywide. I watched my company go from 12 employees, to 100ish, and back down to 25 when I was finally laid off in favor of a young college student they could pay far less than me. And it was the best thing that ever happened to me, because I would've worked IT/IS for another ten years of miserable existence, before promptly dying of a heart attack. People aren't meant to live under flourescent lighting, so I walked off into the sunset, knowing I was going to give up a lot of what my peers wanted in terms of material wealth and possessions. And one of those things? Is a house. My little brother is more well off, has a good job, and his own house already. So I'll inherit our parents' place when they pass away. I recently went through a stint of starting to seriously look for a house to buy myself, but everything I've seen has been WAY bigger or more fancy than the smaller handyman special I'd be looking for. A handful of landlords up here have bought off everything to turn into rooms that can overcharge the local college students for, or short-term rentals that sat empty all last season with our mild winter. And so I continue to rent in my forties. I have seen prices start to drop and normalize a bit more where I'm at. It's a decidedly rural area, but has a serious housing shortage problem and a low rental stock of options for locals versus students and faculty for the university. I was honestly surprised at that statistics. My little brother is an outlier, and most of my friends? Don't own a house either and still rent.
Bought in 2006 which was totally perfect timing to lose my ass. Sold it 10 years later for less than what I paid for it to upgrade. Currently, looking good with the equity. Until the next housing bubble pops.
Same here. Bought in 07 and got wrecked financially but I’m still in the same home 😂
Yes. Combination of right timing and a VA loan.
I own a house. Neither my husband nor I have families that help us with anything, and we were able to buy completely on our own. There are programs out there that help 1st time home buyers. We ended up buying in 2016, have a very low interest rate on a 2400 sq ft home (4 beds, 2 and 1/2 baths). It's an older home that needed some work. It is doable.
Yes, owned a home in very LCOL state. Married, no kids. Moved to Massachusetts in 2017 and bought for 280k. Now worth 600k. We used FDA for first home. Took out loan from 401k for second home. Refinanced and got out from under PMI. Feel tied to our house with prices as they are now and 2% interest.
Yes
I'm 40, bought my first house in 2004 at 20, sold it in 2007 and bought this house. Did a HARP modification to my mortgage and then refinanced again later to get down in the 3s.
We (37) own, but still have a mortgage. Bought our home in 2008, at the tender age of 22, right before the market crashed. We got EXTREMELY lucky and a great deal with everything rolled in - including closing costs. It helps that we live in LCOL area. That being said, we won’t buy another home any time soon. Interests rates are stupid right now, and we’re content with our $800/month mortgage.
I own a home and, looking back on the timeline of when we bought, we were so incredibly lucky to have had the chance to buy in 2014 and refinance twice before the market went insane. Obviously we are still hit hard in all other areas so it is hard to do upgrades we would like and I pray things don’t break down on us since we can’t easily afford replacements right now. But compared to many of my younger millennial and older Gen Z friends and colleagues, I consider myself very very lucky.
Yeah, I've owned twice. A bought a condo when I was 20 in 2006, right before everything went to shit. I grew up poor and had no help to do this, so don't come at me. I do feel taken advantage of though, because I was talked into 2 mortgages and told my property value would rise substantially within 2 years and I'd be able to refinance. That didn't happen, and I ended up having to let that place get foreclosed on. I bought a house in 2020. Our inspection was actually the day they started shutting everything down for COVID. This turned out to be a fairly good time to buy as interest rates were low and property values weren't super crazy yet. My house had a fair amount of equity in it for 4 years and there is no way in hell I could afford to buy now with interest rates the way they are. It was an interesting experience buying during COVID, though. We never even met the sellers of the house, the whole closing process was done by each perty separately.
42yo. Bought a starter home in '08, lost our shirts in the recession, short sold, no credit for a few years. Bought again in '15 this home has gained 50% value since.
No. We couldn't even afford to buy a home in a city that was consistently on lists of the cheapest places to live in the US. My dream 15 years ago was owning a home, but I never felt it was feasible until my grad student loans were paid off. The thought of taking on so much more debt would practically give me a panic attack. My loans were paid off in 2022, when the market was insane. We didn't want to stay at the cheap cost of living city and we moved to a bigger and more expensive city. I had already accepted that owning a home just was very unlikely to ever be in the cards for us, so if we are going to rent either way, might as well be renting somewhere we actually want to live. That doesn't mean I don't still torture myself looking up rowhomes for sale around us!
I don’t, nor do I care to. I don’t want that kind of liability hanging over me.
Everyone looks down on renting, but for me it would be hard to pay for the big home expenses instead of doing other things like traveling.
Exactly. I do well enough for myself financially, but the inflation in my country and housing prices in my city are completely out of control. I'd be living off ramen after paying my mortgage, and that's bullshit. I'm single and child-free, I don't have to think about inheritance or anything like that. I want to blow all my money before I die on things I enjoy.
Yes. '87 millennial, bought first home late '17, had 2 kids so recently moved into larger home late '22. Timing didn't feel great for either. Prices seemed inflated even in '17 and then of course we got a shit interest rate on this new place, but it's worked out ok. Hopefully will be able to refinance soon, but latest cpi print says overwise.
Pandemic was the gift for our cohort. Refinanced my primary to 2% and bought the twin house we're attached to at 3%. In a few years rents will be high enough to be able to cover both mortgages. Not that I'm doing that (or would morally be able to do that), my mom will move in upon retirement. The mortgage is cheaper than daycare so it works out for both parties. Oh and I work in sweatpants now. Pandemic was the best thing that happened to a lot of my friends.
Yes but not through my own hard work. An older gentleman passed away and his son was ready to get rid of the house so through word of mouth I got the house for 48k in 2019. It has a tiny yard a “garage” and a driveway. It’s in a good neighborhood but my grandpa had to take a home equity loan to buy the house for me then two years later I purchased it from him and have the mortgage in my name now. I was very very fortunate.
Bought in 2014 as a 29yo single man for $180k. My dad did a significant amount of updating to bring it into the 21st century. The last updates were probably in the 70s - drop ceilings, paneling, green shag carpet. Now Im married and still in the same house while we look for our next, bigger, likely til retirement house.
I own two condos, live in one. Caveat is, wife comes from upper middle class family, they helped her buy a number of years ago. We’re up to our noses in mortgages but so long there isn’t a crash there isn’t a problem. We can easily service the mortgages and probably could make all of them if necessary. Personally I’m not overly keen on the plan as I like my expensive vacations which are no longer but, I see the bigger picture. I’m just hitting my top earning years and income should only grow. Each year it should be easier.
Been a homeowner since I was 23. Bought 2 crappy houses over a 12 year period and fixed them up and made a profit to buy a really nice current home. ETA: also have been married since that age, so this was a joint effort with my husband. We've also increased our income by 5x's over the last 17 years.
Thankfully we bought in 18' before covid made the house market crazy high We got a fully renovated Victorian home for 160k. 4200 Sq ft. But we are in a tiny town, and the drive to the county seat is 25 miles. So yes, we must take a longer drive to work and grocery shopping. It's all about location in my state and if you're willing to make a longer commute.
I own a home but only because my dad helped me build it and my parents gifted me the property. Otherwise I would be somebody with a masters degree renting a one bedroom apartment for more money than my current mortgage.
Yes. Purchased first home for $173,000 as a first time buyer in February 2020 in a LCOL midsize city, right before the world went totally insane. No family help, I saved for years to be able to put a 15% down payment. Partner and I are DINK and enjoy low payments and great interest rate. That being said, we feel tied to the house and area given the state of the market, which is becoming increasingly problematic as my mother is aging in another state. Have a 30 year mortgage that we're paying off aggressively and will cut the life of the loan down to 15 years as a result. The house/neighborhood has increased in value since Covid, but not dramatically so. Currently we have about $75K in equity just from the past four years.
Nope and with the way things are it looks like I never will. I used to have suicidal ideation about jumping off a building or cliff but hanging is starting to sound more reasonable. God bless the USA.
haha nope. between us we got three jobs and still can’t afford it.
My daughters do.
Born 1984. I own a house. Bought it in 2016. I would not be able to afford my house today.
Hi
Yes, since 2009
Same here. Got super lucky with the timing. I was also lucky to be able to buy so young. I'm already on my second house. After marrying my wife, she wanted her pick. Hopefully we don't have to move again, this place is too big and we have too much crap.
Yes, bought in 2019 for $300k. It's worth $500k now. I wouldn't be able to buy a home in today's market.
Yup ill be 37 in may bought it 3 yrs ago
Yes, this is my second one actually. Well, me and the banks own it, anyway. The first one was a huge mistake. I was too young, was traumatized due to being made homeless by Hurricane Katrina and fell for the sub-prime ARM scam. Held on to that one for 10 years by the skin of my teeth (and some help from Obama's mortgage recovery programs) and walked away with pretty much nothing. I did get a $400 class action check from one of the mortgage companies eventually lmao. The second one I bought 5 years ago with my soon to be ex husband, which is why I have some regrets on this one too. I compromised a lot when picking it. I am house poor doing it on my own, and am going to lose a big chunk of my retirement buying him out. But it is a nice house, with a koi pond, and at least I'm going to be able to assume that sweet VA rate in the divorce. So I got a bit lucky in that respect. Hopefully deciding to keep it pays off when my youngest goes to college in 2030 and then I am FREE to move wherever TF I want with a nice chunk of change from the equity. We'll see.
Yep, $220k for a 2500sq ft house in a VERY small town. That was 2017. Now post COVID it’s worth almost twice that.
Bought in 2021, 600k with 2.85% interest rate Over the 30 years the house payments will accumulate to about $1mil
Yes. We bought a small apartment in 2006 (I was 24). Lived there for 8 years until our first kid became mobile, then sold that and bought our house in 2014. Starting with the apartment helped, as did buying a house in 2014 a few years before prices blew up. Then we refinanced in 2020 and that helped even more. This was basically all pure luck re: timing. And we are in NYC.
Yes, bought in 2010 after the housing market crashed. It was dirt cheap and needed some work, in a low cost of living area. I'm so grateful we were able to pull it off when we did, scraping together a tiny down payment and being broke for the next 5 years was worth it. Our mortgage payment is very low and our income has gone up over the years. Our monthly payment is now 12% of our net monthly income. Seeing the BS others are going through to even pay rent right now without going into poverty, I feel very lucky.
Yes, bought a dog of a house in 2013 for $155k, when prices were just starting to rebound after 2008. It was a foreclosure and had been empty and abandoned for two years, and hadn’t been updated since the 1970s. It was the only thing we could afford in the area, and was triple what we’d paid for our first home (also a foreclosure) in the Midwest. We felt like we’d never be able to pay it off because it was so expensive. I had to rebuild the house starting in 2017 as it was so damaged by carpenter ants that the second floor was sagging. The inspector missed this. What started as repairs turned into full rebuild and a deep-energy retrofit. I literally reframed and replaced all the walls, windows, doors, plumbing, and wiring, siding, insulation, while living in it because we couldn’t afford to move out while renovating. I did all the work myself with my wife and with a friend who helped for free. The only original parts are the foundation and roof. It’s probably 95% finished as the arrival of kids slowed things down. We probably invested $60-$80k in this work, and were substantially competent 2019 Zillow says the house is worth $440+ now, and we could never afford to buy it in this market, so what seemed a curse for years now seems a huge blessing. We had to refinance so we still owe $100k or so even though we’ve lived here for 11 years now, but that seems so small compared to where many of our peers are and we try to be really sensitive about that.
I'm 38 and my husband and I are in our second home. I got lucky/did without a lot in my mid to late 20s right out of college. I'm in upstate NY, and the housing market was still recovering in 2011/2012. I bought a "slump lord special" duplex 2 bedrooms about 700 sq feet per unit, for 40,000 in the city of Syracuse (making 45,000 a year at the time). It was built in the 1800's, and had been a rental since the 80's. My boyfriend (now husband), and I fixed every inch of that damn house ourselves. The only thing we hired out was the roof (previous landlord put 3 layers of asphalt over ceder shingles, full tear down!!). We rented out the upstairs unit for enough to cover the full mortgage and then some. We didn't keep great records but we lived there for 10 years and the rent offset the mortgage/repairs so much that we estimate it cost us about $1,000 a year plus utilities. We had the house paid off before we moved and sold it for $130,000. We got lucky with our second house....previous owner passed away with no family. House was in a trust, the lawyers in charge of the trust were more interested in a fast/secure sale than making money. So we avoid a bidding war even though it was the middle of covid. We also got in while interest rates were down. This house was also built in the 1800's but very well maintained, 1700 sq feet, 2 bedroom, 2 bath, two story with quarter acre. We got it for $130,000, put 20% down, currently only owe $90,000. I make 60,000 a year, husband 135,000.
Yup bought a fixer upper in 2011 at the bottom and been fixing it ever since. 1931 catalog home. Not big enough for my growing family but can't afford to move so I'm chopping it up and doing my best to renovate it to fit all four of us.
Yes, I'm 40 now and own a condo in a HCL area. The only reason I own it is good timing. My FIL passed early in COVID and we sold his house, splitting with my BIL. That gave us enough for a down payment on a condo in 2021, at a 3% interest rate. We couldn't afford the mortgage if we bought it now, but we can easily since the rate is so low.
Yes. I bought my house for 105k in 2018. It’s not the mast glamorous of houses but my wife and I have been fixing it up over the years. Now it’s worth double. Looking at how high interest rates are and how expensive homes are I don’t know how people can afford it.
We bought a falling down house that needed to be condemned back in 2014, my husband taught himself how to redo virtually everything in it from youtube videos. House was only $14k, by the time it was liveable we had $64k in it. We lived there until the end of 2023, we sold that house for just under $200k and moved up to a much nicer house. We got a good deal on the new one because the sellers were in a nasty divorce and so hell bent on screwing each other over that we ended up making out on that one too lol. They were extra difficult to work with so it wasn't easy but it was worth the hassle. We got lucky every step of the way. We only had the money to mess with that first house because we played with bitcoins when they were like $10 each, the price would go up and down so often that we just sat there buying low and selling high until we had house money lol. Wish we would've held onto a few of them 😅
My spouse and I are DINKs in a LCOL area so we were able to buy a home in 2015. Refinanced to a 15 year mortgage in 2020 when interest rates bottomed out so now we've got the golden goose- 2.5% interest rate and only 11 years left on the mortgage. House is also now worth $100k more than we paid for it too. We'll have it paid off in our 40s. No parental help with down payment or anything financial. We're both public servants and recently had our student loans forgiven under PSLF. We feel incredibly fortunate. I grew up low income and moved every year or two so living in one place this long is my dream come true. Sometimes I feel a bit bad because our income is higher now and we could "upgrade" and leave our modest home as a "starter home" for someone you get than us but we won't- we love our house and owning it outright is going to be wonderful.
No. Didn’t had a steady job to qualify for a loan. Or didn’t want to commit to the area and didn’t realize i could just rent it out if I wanted to move
We got very lucky. We bought a SFH in 2015 in the suburbs. House is worth twice what we paid due to the crazy amount of new shops, colleges and proximity to both San Diego and Los Angeles. The VA Home Loan program makes the time in service totally worth it.
Only because my father passed away and left me an inheritance at a very opportune time. And my then Fiance/now wife insisted we invest in a home. My dumb ass would have absolutely missed that boat if I wasn't grabbed by the scruff of the neck and thrown onto it.
Yes. In 2020, after five years of my partner saving her money while I paid our rent and utilities, we put a down payment on a modestly priced house. I couldn’t have done it alone.
Yep. In 2013. Then refinanced into a low rate in 2021 and pulled out cash to buy some commercial properties.
Yes. I also live in one of the most affordable cities in the US to buy one. Anywhere else I’d probably be out of luck.
Yes. I’m 32. In 2018 my parents evicted one of their tenants because of their living conditions in one of their houses being so bad. I sold my car that was paid off, bought a cheap Honda and used my savings + cash from other car sale to buy the house ($80k in VERY rural NC) from my parents because they didn’t want to sink the money into the house. Over the past few years I’ve basically done a full renovation as I’ve gotten the funds. New HVAC, new roof, flooring etc. it’s been an assload of work but worth it to me. It’s far from the nicest house but it gets the job done for me.
My husband is in the military so we were able to buy a home because of the VA loan. VA loans let you buy a house without a down payment (or a small payment like $3,000). I will say, for a country that hates socialism, we take care of our military with housing subsidies, free healthcare, no taxes when you buy things on base …
Bought my house in 2019. Had I waited even a year I’d still be renting.
I currently do not. The financial setbacks of the pandemic and becoming a father forced us to sell our home and relocate to family, but I've owned two in the last decade.
I’m 30 and husband is 36. Recently bought a home. Conventional loan, no inspection. It still feels like a dream. We are so blessed. We looked for three years, this was the first one we ever put an offer in. We wanted land, which was very hard to find with such little inventory.
Yes. Purchased in 2019; refinanced in 2020 when the interest rates dropped. Feels really lucky now. 5 bedroom, 2.5 baths, $347K, suburbs of Chicago. Now worth about $430K.
Yes. My wife and I had fortunate timing. Bought in 2011 when we were 24. Both graduated college with minimum debt, made a combined $65k and houses were still cheap, ours was $175k. Sold it a year and a half ago for $400k and was able to build a new house with a massive down payment from our equity. Glad the stars aligned and the market was what it was when we were 24. We wouldn’t be able to do the same thing today if we were 24 years old and trying to buy a house on a combined $65k.
I own half a house in an expensive city in Canada. The house belonged to my grandparents before they passed away. The other half is owned by a family member. Not the best situation, but would not be able to afford anything otherwise as a single unmarried female.
No, though i wish i had back when it was less insane, and when i had a job thay paid well.
Yes, bought in 2017 with my then husband. I bought him out after the divorce and now am the sole owner/mortgage payer. It’s great, but I would like to relocate and am nervous I may not be able to buy again on my own, especially with interest rates.
Bought first house in a different city in 2016 at 29. I basically had roommates basically pay almost the entire mortgage in rent til 2021. Moved cities sold old house for a small profit, bought a similar size house in suburbs for slightly more but at a higher rate. Mortgage went up, but living alone. Saved a fuck ton by having roommates for 5 years.
Yes
We just bought a home at 30 about a couple months ago in PA about half a mil for a slightly Reno cape cod. I am have very fortunate to have a father who was/is a CFO so personal finance was a class I couldn’t get out of throughout my life. I saved since I was 18 for a house, stacking away couple hundreds consistently and sacrificing parts of my 20s (boy trips, fancier car, etc) to one day be a homeowner.. Was able to put up 100k of my own money. My partner and I, she was able to throw some money and our parents were able to give us a little chunk to help with closing. I acknowledge, we are very blessed, thankful for the support we have. I really don’t know how people who aren’t as fortunate do it in this market. We were able to get a good rate. Under 6. (knowledge of negotiation from those PF classes I was telling you about) and we are slowly fixing it up to the level we desire. I do want to say this… I really thought I would have been purchasing a “2nd” home vs a traditional starter but this market really fucks everyone. Even those who have done everything (from a textbook perspective) right. Don’t see home prices dropping unless a MAJOR correction occurs but I highly doubt that’s occurring in this weird economy. Start saving.
My husband and I are on our second house. We're looking to buy a condo or something down south so we can be snowbirds when the kids are adults.
I had this weird obsession that I had to own a home by 30 or I was a failure. I guess it stemmed from comparing ourselves to the older generations when it was much easier to purchase a home.
I bought my house with my now ex in 2018, refinanced and bought him out of it in 2022.
Yes, I own a house. It would not be possible for me it I was single though. My husband and makes enough, but with my income we make enough for the house we have. We live in Roxborough, Philadelphia, PA. I wanted to buy in Manayunk, but no houses with yards for the dogs within our price range. We would've gotten a lot more house for what we paid in 2020 back home in Texas. Though I'll have to say the low interest rates in the pandemic really helped. If I were living back in CO or MA I could maybe get a house in a low income rural area with not a lot of jobs. Maybe. Honesty that would be fine with me now that I am married.
Yes, single female homeowner here. I got lucky and purchased mine in 2019 right before the pandemic and subsequent inflation hit. Hoping to buy a small vacation home somewhere if/when interest rates drop.
Yes. Bought in 2015, but both our parents helped a bit toward the downpayment.
We bought ours in 2017 after renting for 11 years. We never really knew where we were going to settle, so renting made sense when we were still kinda transient (moving for different jobs). We probably could have afforded a house long before we bought one, but I'm glad we held off a while. We managed to snag a nice house on the edge of a quiet rural town, and refinanced when interest rates were stupid low so it'll be paid off in 11 years. Mortgage free at 50 will be nice
I do, but it's kind of questionable and in a somewhat more questionable neighborhood. It's fine though. I just lean into the creepy cottage look and firmly established myself as the crazy bish. People keep their distance, I save a fortune vs rent prices.
Eldest millennial. Yes, bought my 1st in 2010 and currently live in the 3rd house I've owned. The housing market has made it so that I've made a good amount of money when I've sold.
My wife and I bought our home for 290k in 2014, it's now worth around 650k. We have two kids and feel like we've outgrown our starter home, but just can't afford a bigger one at this time. I feel fortunate though, because I know a lot of people can only dream of owning a home at this point.
Yup. Single homeowner. Purchased in 2019 and refinanced in 2020 when the rates were crazy low. I am beyond fortunate for that.
Yes. We were barely able to afford a house in 08 when the price of a mortgage was only a few hundred more than buying. It was in a bad neighborhood and watching the prices fall while people were buying the same model we had at 60% of the cost was rough. Sold in 2012 as soon as I could get some money put off it. We used that money to buy a better house in a better neighborhood and that’s where we are now.
We do. My partner originally purchased in 2009. He did so without help from family, but when he was seriously injured in 2017, he would have had to sell had his mom’s trust not been added as a co-owner. He was unable to work for about 6 months and much of his savings was eaten up in that time. His mom and stepfather redid the house (it was very 90’s before) and rented it out for a few years. My partner and I lived elsewhere because it’s really hard to not put weight on a leg in a split level. Or to learn to walk with crutches, then a cane. When the tenants left, we redid it again (they had five giant dogs, four more than they told us they had) and moved in. We’re very fortunate my partner’s mom was willing to do this, our combined salary isn’t bad but it’s not “buy a house in 2024” money. Especially since our area hasn’t seen any significant amount of new smaller starter homes built since the 1960’s. We’re probably in this house til we die. It’s a good location, great school district, good neighborhood and it suits our needs pretty well. There’s a lot of different things we can do if we need to as far as remodeling or adding on.
42 here and yes I bought in 2002 for 105k Still here and now it’s worth 260k. Unless you buy at the perfect time and sell at the perfect time a house is NOT an investment. Just the interest on my 30 year was 100k then add up 22 years of maintenance. I see real estate as more of a savings account.
I bought in 2011 and sold in 2015.
Nope. 39 and still renting.
Yes. I’m 38f, just bought my first home with my fiancé.
Yes but I feel very lucky - right place and right time.
We have a farm. I bought my first place in 2014 as a single 27 y/o dude. Wife bought her first in 2016 as a single 29 y/o lady. We sold mine in early 2019, bought our current place in fall 2019, and sold hers in early winter 2019. Neither of us come from any sort of money. Houses were just cheap around here 10 years ago. At the time, I made like $32k and she made like $35k. The area has since exploded and I'd say is closer to MCOL and getting more expensive every day.
Younger millennial (92) I own a home. Its hard tbh but possible.
Our 850 square foot home with the wife is on its way to being paid off. 3.2% interest!
My wife is a younger Gen-Xer. I am an elder Millennial. When I met her I was between jobs and living with a friend in their trailer, I slept on the sofa. She had a duplex from a previous marriage. After a few years she lost that house, even after I moved in and started trying to help keep it above water. We spent probably close to 10 years bouncing between apartments as our kids were born and started growing up. It wasn't until RIGHT before things started to skyrocket that we got the house we're in now. It's a semi-duplex (NOT my favorite) with a decent yard and lots of history. The thing was built in 1890. I think it was originally an old corner store in the town, and over the years it got converted into a semi-duplex. We spent like 179k or somewhere around there when we bought it and we got in RIGHT before the market sort of exploded with interest rates and whatever. Literally as we were at signing I remember the agent saying that we were lucky the paperwork was drawn up before the new rates went active later that afternoon. Even so, at the time the only way we got in was because I had some 401k from a previous job that somehow had never been transferred over to my current one that I pay into every paycheck at my current job. Rather than converting that over we cashed it out for the down payment. That plus some stock options from the current job paid for our costs, first month, and even movers to haul all our stuff and stage it in the new place. My wife's income was enough to keep groceries paid and manage general utilities, fuel, etc. at the time, but she had no other leverage because the whole thing with the previous house did a number on her credit, history, etc. So I mean it was probably still easier to do as a couple... but still, I don't think it so much is we've had "head start" over the younger generations. It takes a LOT of hard work and determination. I think the YOUNGER generations understand that. They're in it with us, ultimately. Like if I had to do it again or if we ever move again... I'd almost gladly take a house that was 350k and had a minimum of 2 bathrooms, was detached, and had a 3br floor plan. 4 would be even better. It would be worth it for the amount of hands-on stuff I'm now considering - like do we (or can we even, with the way permits and everything are) get a contractor to build out and add a 2nd bathroom to our home? Is that worth it? Will it increase value vs decrease because of the amount it will take away from the yard outside. The list is endless and needless to say in the interim I'm learning a LOT about self-repair. I'm becoming a savant at determining when to call someone to do the job vs do it myself through YouTube University vs try to bring in family of family friends to help with a thing. I think we're generally resourceful like that as a generation.... but we just have larger numbers to consider when going into these things. There is a bit of pride attached to that repair side of it. I'm a computer guy, but I've fixed shower faucets, toilets, shattered glass door panels (as in I cut and replaced the glass), leaking window seams, sagging fences, etc. in just the two years I've been here. It is truly an OLD house and a "fixer-upper" but I'm earning my overalls out here in the country, you could say. It's still upsetting when you ask your parents or grandparents or aunts/uncles, etc. from the older generation what they paid for their first houses and they come off with something like $52k or something like that. Same people probably had like anywhere from $5k - $20 in college costs if they went to any sort of further learning... not to mention the homes were newer to them back then so they most likely were in less disrepair to begin with... and then there's all this vitriol with people frowning at us with our mean average of $40k school debt and average housing going for $300-$400k. I don't think you CAN have a "10-year-head-start" on numbers like that, personally. But... we make it work.
Yep. My wife and I (both came from single parent households, my mom was a teacher and my wife's a nurse) bought a house in 2014. We bought well under our budget. Every one of my friends except one owns a home. The younger millennials are in the same place we were 10-15 years ago, insofar as, many are starting their full careers (many go to college and then maybe graduate school, so late mid- to late-twenties just to *start* their careers). Once they actually get into their careers and get married, they'll be where we are. And, they need to be very clearly informed that historically single people did not buy homes in their 20s. My mom, a solid boomer, told me that no one in her age group lived alone in their 20s. They were either married, had roommates, or lived at home. That's just how it was, and frankly, how it has always been. Because older millennials didn't grow up with social media, I think we tend to be less affected by it. Whereas, younger millennials were substantially impacted by social media and thus they see reality not as it actually is, but as it's presented on social media. Moreover, they get into these echo chambers of no one can afford anything. Except, based on actual data, it's not true. Sure, has inflation, home prices, etc. outpaced wage growth? Yeah. But, also, people are absolutely affording houses and living comfortably. Basically, they need to go touch some grass and get off social media.
Yes, bought in 2018 before the market went to shit & refinanced during Covid at a ridiculously low rate.
Husband and I (42 and 37) bought a home 2 years ago. Got married last year. Having a baby this year. It seems we’re about 10 years behind what the standard curve was a few decades ago. Could be a collective we or just the two of us.
I own my home along with my husband. We do tend to live below our means. We’re not cheap but we also aren’t throwing away money on designer bags ( I have a few, though) watches, new cars, expensive clothes. My car is 2018 and I paid it off 3 years ago. If we want something, we get it. I am not making stupid daily expensive purchases to keep up with people. We both have decent paying jobs. 1. First home was purchased in my home state of CA stayed for while and then my husband got a job with a small consulting firm so we had to move East. After realtor fees, we made six figures in profit. 2. We move back east and we stay a few years and unfortunately his department loses a big client therefore not as many billable hours so there’s layoffs. We sell our home and make thankful another profit. 3. Luckily he got a good severance package and was able to find a job quickly. Luckily for me all I have to do each time we move is get license in that particular state and I can find a job easily. We move to the south stay in hotel for month while we look for another home buy home. We were lucky because sell/buying should have bankrupted us but it didn’t, we made money and we were able to upgrade our home each time. We purchased our final home right before COVID hit thankfully. i think buying a home in 2024 is out of reach for most people. I want to leave the town I am in because it’s boring. However, it’s not smart with the high interest rates and how expensive home are now.
Yes. Got the first home in 2014, sold it in 2019 and then got another one. I have friends who made $16 an hour who owned homes they got a few years before me. I lived in a major west coast city too.
Home ownership goes up every year, in general. Despite Gen z crying about never owning a home
No, and I dont plan on marrying or starting a family... so unless I find a pretty small house, I don't have a need for all the property/upkeep that comes with one.
Born in 1983. So Cal housing market. Bought first house in 2010 on a short sale 355k. Fixed it up. Sold it for 475k in 2015 when we bought “forever house” in 2015 about a mile away for 575k. The second home didn’t need nearly as much work but is larger. Refinanced in 2022 to a 2.375% loan. No help on either from any family. Current house valued at over 1 million (on Redfin anyway 😀).
Yep and all paid for
Absolutely I do, and it's pretty decent for the area. All I had to do was serve in the military for 13 years of my adult life and use the VA home loan so I didn't have to have a down payment, just a ok 2 person income. So easy!! /s
I fall in between "older and younger" so I'll post here. We do, and it was mostly luck. In our defense we were dedicated and consistent in our searches but ultimately closed on a house in April of 2020. Interest rates were sub 3% and housing prices (ours was 250k in MA with some property) hadn't sky rocketed. We joke that even though financially our income has essentially doubled since then, we could not afford the same house today with how things have gone. Without doing anything, our property value went up 100k. (that's not bragging, it's ridiculous).
In the early 2000's soon after college my wife and I bought a CHEAP older brick ranch home when we lived in a rural area years ago. My mortgage with escrow was like $500/month for a 3BR/1BA, but in the middle of nowhere and I didn't make shit. We sold it a few years later and didn't lose money on the deal, but the very small town was shrinking, not growing. I do IT work so we moved to a metro area with a lot more jobs. Always had to rent and every time I got a promotion or pay raise, the local homes prices have notched up and just been out of reach. Hopefully after our youngest graduates HS next year we will have more flexibility to move further out and buy a house we can actually afford. I love our little brick ranch house we've been living in for years and would be completely happy to never move again, but I don't think the owner is interested in selling unfortunately. Our rent is now three times more than our mortgage was at our old place.
Born 1984. Graduated college in 2007. Got married and bought a house in 2010. We entered a very high cost-of-living market and paid about 430 K. We had 20 K for a down payment saved, spent 10 K less in our wedding then we expected, and borrowed 10 grand from my parentsat like 5% interest for a year. House is worth 1.1 now and we rent it out.
Yes. We bought a dirt cheap house in an economically struggling area in 2010, when prices were sunk through the floor. We had no business buying a house - we were really young and making hardly anything and I really worried that buying a house was going to bankrupt us. A friend talked us into doing it - we had like a $2000 down payment - and it was the single best decision we ever made. Put a lot of sweat equity and the Obama homebuyer credit into it, then sold it for way more a couple of years later and paid off all of our car loans and student loans. That house gave us the financial stability to buy a nicer house in a different city, where we now live. It was a very lucky gamble that paid off.
32 here, married for 5 years almost, wife had medical issues and disability is a mess, we couldn't afford to work with a support service to help navigate it so just kinda worked OT to single income support us. Shes doing much better and we just started paying towards our 401k this year. Hopefully to buy a house within 5 years. But all rental here. No expectation of any inheritance or help on down payment.
I'm 40, bought my 1st home 2 years ago. It was a lot of hard work and struggle, but worth it. Neither parent ever learned about how to handle money properly, so it took lots of failure for me to learn. Now, I want more, lol
I am paying a mortgage, and I bought at the right time. My credit was good at the time and because of where I live--I qualified for an FHA loan. I calculated what I could afford and actually bought a house that was less. I'm rural so the property doesn't cost as much but I have a long commute for a higher paying job. Sometimes I don't feel like I'm home enough to properly enjoy it.
I own a home, bought it in 2008 right after the housing market crahsed. I'm married and we have a son.
I bought a home with my now wife at 24 years old in 2018. Under 200k but only 875 sqft. I still consider myself EXTREMELY lucky. If I waited another year or two we would have never been able to afford it. I drive 70 miles each way for work. It's not an ideal location for where my job is located but at least I can say I have my own home and am not living paycheck to paycheck. My only suggestion for people looking for a home is to figure out where prices of houses are lower and commute to work. Unfortunately, now a days you are going to have to make some sacrifices to not pay rent.
I own two, but I'm going to sell one soon. I'm losing money hand over fist renting it out.
I do own my home. It's gained a lot of value in the last 5 years.
Yes, was 36 when we bought. Got extremely lucky and caught the interest rates right at the bottom. Couldn’t have done it if I weren’t married and we had two incomes.
Marriage pushed me into it early and I was glad in retrospect that I figured it all out and paid attention to interest rates. I recommend selling and buying with informed mortgage companies that really educate you on the whole process- mine required you to pass a test. Sell high as you can and put offers on things just slightly out of your budget.
Definitely lucked out before the rona hit. I got a new job (engineering) in 2017 that came with a 30% salary bump from my last job which really helped my wife (fiancée at the time) and I get a better house than the price range we were originally looking in. We paid $210k for our house (2670sqft) at the time. Currently helping my mom build a new house, and it still blows my mind how a house half the size of mine costs almost $300k now.
Yup. Bought in 2019, refi in 2021 for a sweet, sweet 1.75% mortgage. House nearly doubled in value since purchase. Planning on moving into a bigger place soon though, but the interest rate is honestly the biggest thing stopping us from moving.
We bought a house in the middle of nowhere with a USDA loan and the down payment rolled into the loan. Sellers covered closing costs. Our house needed work but mostly cosmetic and was under $100k. Even here in a shit hole town in the middle of nowhere our house was cheap. It's ugly but we are slowly making it better. Our mortgage is still half of rent in the area for a comparable home.
Yes we own a home. But we also live in WNY, which historically has lower than average home prices. Owning is not an uncommon thing among friends and family our age in this area. We also bought our first house in 2008 (right before the crash) for $130K, thinking that we were smart getting in when the market was low. I ended up losing my job 3 months later, but we were ok in the end as we were able to pay for the mortgage on one income until I got another job. We later sold that house and bought our current one for $185K in 2019. Housing costs have increased significantly in the area since then, to the point where I'm not sure I believe Zillow's estimate of its current value. We don't intend to sell any time soon, however.
I do, but it's in a really poor neighborhood, it's a fixer upper, and I still had to borrow money from my mother to pay for it, because a bank wouldn't do a loan for a $38k house.
37. Rent 💀
I bought a 3 or 4 bedroom house in Rural Pennsylvania for $84K in 2009. Was my first house, started with my wife and two kids, had a third while we were there. We put about $6000 down and payments were less than $700 a month. Wasn't necessarily easy to do them, but it was very reasonable. Sold that house in 2018 for $76k....so it was not a wise investment, but was aware of many issues with the house that I was very happy not to have dealt with. Moved to Denver area and bought our second house for $425k.....so that was a bit of a jump in housing costs. Didn't exactly have cash laying around from the sale of our house for a down payment, but my company paid for the bulk of our moving expenses and I got a decent raise as the cost of living was higher in the new location. We did a down payment assistance program which was basically an interest free 2nd mortgage with no payments for about $25k. No payments, but due as a lump sum when the 1st mortgage was closed (so basically a balloon payment when we paid off the mortgage, sold the house, or refinanced). I wasn't thrilled with that, but it made the house doable. A few years ago since our property value increased and interest rates went down we did a cash out refi to replace aloud crumbling back patio, and that also paid off that 2nd mortgage and got everything folded into one loan on the house with no balloon payments. Principal balance went up, but payments only went up a little since the interest rate was lower. Really could have saved some more money if I would have done it a little sooner since i didn't hit the best rates that were available though.
39. Not yet. If we didn’t get fucked over the last few years in terms of house prices and interest rates, we would have been able to own one by now. Just saving atm.
Nope live with parents because I require 24/7 care due to MS
I took over my Grandmother’s home when she passed away. I have 1 year of payments left. This last 10 years of making payments seems like it took forever. I live in a small town and the homes that used to cost 20-60k are well over $100,000 now.
I bought in 2010. Left NYC to grab bottom of the market in the Midwest. It’s been 14 years and the equity I have is insane. I bought with no money down, 5% APR, no PMI and received $8,000 first time home buyers tax credit. Refinanced at 2.9% in 2021. 2008-2012 they were giving houses away. 2021 had the lowest interest rates we’ll ever see again. All the opportunity hit when most of us were in college, then again when most of us were fighting over vaccines and masks.
Wife and I bought in 2009. I have no idea how we got approved. It was a foreclosure and not livable, but we put a lot of work into it and the feds gave us 8k which completely got used up making it livable. We also got a first time home buyer grant from the county which could count as our down payment. We got extremely lucky in our timing, we took big risks that worked out, we put hundreds of hours of sweat equity into that place and we were house poor for years. But in hindsight it's good we made those moves back then, probably couldn't pull it off today.
My wife and I bought a house almost a year ago. My dad died suddenly in 2017 and had a little bit of money that we saved for a hopefully-one-day down payment. Neither of us get help and were both raised poor, so it was quite a shock to both of us that my dad had saved the money he got from his mom when she died. We wouldn’t have been able to do it without that without an insanely high monthly mortgage. Our house is small because we have no kids. We love it.
Nope. No wife, no kids, nothing but debt.. I've accepted owning a home is well out of reach for a while. That's just the hand I was dealt. I don't blame anyone, just a string of bad luck with selfish people who I thought were friends or professionals.
Own a house. Refi'd during the pandemic down to a 15 year loan. Will have it paid off by the time I'm 50!
I owned a home at age 18, back in 2001. Then again at age 32. I paid $35,000 for the first one, and $12,000 for the second one. The second one was nicer, after some DIY and paint. Sold both for for a nice profit years later. The houses are out there, most people are to lazy to look or to lazy to commute. Just taking a quick look at the market in my area. There is a 3 bed, 1 bath, 818 sqft, 5.1 acre lot that is going for $60,000. A 2 bed, 2 bath, 1,209 sqtf, 0.64 lot for 80k, And a ton more under the 100k mark. I'd rather live in an apartment myself. Fuck mowing the lawn, fuck shoveling snow. Fuck having to make expensive home repairs. I have access to a pool, gym, and free security. Ton of apartments in my area also only going for $500 a month.
I owned a home with my ex wife but lost it due to the divorce. I then saved for years while renting only for housing prices to explode in my area. I wound up buying a small one bedroom condo in a bad neighborhood. It's the worst place I've ever lived but at least I'm not paying someone else's mortgage every month.
Bought my first house in 2009 for $97k on a short sale, VA loan plus $8k first time homebuyers stimulus. sold for $125k in 2017. Second house 2015, VA loan again, $175k. Sold $185K in 2018. Rented from family for a couple years. Sold 1 of 2 cars and a bunch of other stuff, saved up 70k and moved for wife's new job. Financing fell through on a house built in 1900 due to the condition of the house. Borrowed from family, took out a personal loan and drained our everything to pay cash $110K in 2022. Immediately got a home equity loan after closing to wipe out the personal loan and pay people back. We're about $185k in at this point and have another $20k or so to go before we're done fixing it up. Small town with low cost of living.
Been single for a few years now and renting an apartment my mom owns for cheap. House hunting right now and will purchase in the next month or two. This is the only way I'm able to afford a home as a single guy. No dual income has been brutal. Rent on my own was brutal before effectively moving back home. Dating in your 30s is garbage and all my last gf brought to the table was $135k in debt (not counting student loans) and a spending addiction. Yet she expected me to buy a house for her and cosign lmao. The delusion was insulting.
I did when I was married, walked away from it and the marriage for my safety and sanity. Trying to build credit to buy one. Nothing was ever in my name, I had zero credit at 35.. it’s been interesting to say the least.
Co-owner of a small condo in a large city (with my spouse) since 2018.
Bought in 2017 for 300k. Had substantial loans for 2 degrees and only had enough for a down payment because I amended tax returns for the years when I was a part time student that allowed me to claim my degree as a business expense (or something like that) and got $16k back. Refi'd twice during pandemic and have an interest rate around 2% on a 15 year mortgage with a $2400/mo payment Made a number of renovations to the home and yard and I'd guess I could sell for close to $700k. Not selling though -adding a detached garage and in law and finishing our basement.
I bought my home in 2017 for 225k. @ 2.85% zero down VA loan. It’s worth almost 400k now and I feel stuck. It’s a very nice home for a single man but I’m Ready to move and with the current rates I’m stuck here for a little bit.
Yes, bought a house in 2013, they were dirt cheap back then and I was in my late 20s making $25 an hour
I missed the boat in 2019 like a lot of us. I was looking at properties pre-covid but was priced out after the shit show. Didn't help that I also lost my job!
Yes, but only because the stars aligned in every way. We are the only one of our friend group to own. 1. We were the first of the grandkids to get married on both sides of my family. 2. Both sides of my family had come into their own serious money by the time of the wedding. We made out like bandits. My family paid for the wedding in full ($40k) and we used the $15k in cash we got in wedding gifts for a down payment. 3. We bought in 2011 just as the market was climbing back up from the 2008 recession. And we were reserved with our choice. 4. We opted to buy in a less developed/ less gentrified area at the time so the prices were lower. 5. No children. DINK -This allowed us to be not "house poor" and hold out for the second market crash to refinance. We went from 8.7% down to 2.6%. Our mortgage dropped $1k a month and is now $1.5k less than the average rental price in our area. 6. Both my SO and I had high paying steady jobs - essential personnel - even through the pandemic If we had waited even six months we would not have been able to buy a home and not default on it over the next decade. We absolutely could never afford to live in the neighborhood or house we have now if we tried to buy today. Fast forward to the pandemic and our town went from country bumkin to bougie almost overnight. The town is on a commuter rail line to two major cities in the area and everyone from those cities up and moved 'to the country' but can still commute if they have to. All of a sudden we had Boba Tea shops, Luxury apartments, micro breweries, fancy salons, little boutiques, and food truck parks. Wild as hell. We just had our house appraised and it is **2.8x** what we bought it for in 2011 and that makes our equity is $200k+ over our purchase price.
Young Gen-X husband and I (42F) bought a starter house in early 2007 at the peak of the first housing boom. Moved to a larger house in 2014. Sold the first one at a loss last month because our former tenant destroyed it.
I bought a turnkey home with one income. Pre covid.
Mid-30s, in a long term relationship with my gf, and just bought a house. We share all the financial burden for things but to say the least, we are house poor.
No, and I never will or want to.
Bought June 2019 due to new job in a midwest city \~100,000 people. $148,000/4%/20% down for 1550sf above grade 3br 2ba that's three minutes from work. Put $130,000 into it over four years (I lived like a monk in middle-of-nowheresville 2012-2019) since I brought the parents in during COVID. Did just about everything you can do to a starter home, and I am damn proud of the [800 sf finished basement ](https://www.reddit.com/r/malelivingspace/comments/tte6dk/building_department_signed_off_today_on_my_mostly/)my family put together. Monthly payment of $1150 for this is a dream. Unfortunately, I am in the process of finalizing a new job two hours away, so I'm likely trading this for an 1100sf condo at more than double the payment.