Property prices thread

[Tamas]

How much of that 50k is the brick cost?

A fair chunk of it. Plus steel beams.

Let me guess: the garage is too small for a car. Why not just build a room there instead?

[Admiral Yi]

I am going through those mental gymnastics of financial analysis myself recently.

Do I rent for another 3-4 years, and keep my net worth as-is...

...or do I look at getting a mortgage that equals nearly 60-90% of my life's savings?

You're such a worry wort Tonto. 

You're not liquidating your portfolio to buy  house, you're using leverage to double your assets!

[crazy canuck]

Just do what I did and go into a demoralizingly huge amount of debt.

I am going through those mental gymnastics of financial analysis myself recently.

Do I rent for another 3-4 years, and keep my net worth as-is...

...or do I look at getting a mortgage that equals nearly 60-90% of my life's savings?

It is a big decision.  I am not sure what I would do in your position. 

[Tonitrus]

And it's not even just the simple math above.

I'm about 3.5 years from being eligible to retire with a meagre pension before the age of 50, and assuming my family status (more to the point, lack thereof) remains the same...be in a position to never have to work again.

The "default" basic retirement plan to achieve that position is to move somewhere with a low housing cost/cost of living and have the freedom to do fuck all (travel...wine, women and song...etc.) with the rest of my days.

So I am not sure if getting a decent place to live in a super-high cost housing area only to try to unload that for a much lower-cost area within 3-4 years is wise financial move.  The only way I could afford to stay in the super-high cost area is if I lined myself up for a job there (not impossible)...but who wants a job if they don't need one? 

[Josquius]

If you're planning to keep living in the same town then buying just makes sense in the UK at least.
YMMV in other countries with systems that disincentivise home ownership et al of course.
The only reason it wouldn't is if you suspect an epic house price crash that would cancel out the amount you'd pay in rent over the time you live there.

How much of that 50k is the brick cost?

A fair chunk of it. Plus steel beams.

Let me guess: the garage is too small for a car. Why not just build a room there instead?

That's part of the plan. It's really terribly built and ramshackle though.
I don't know anyone who actually keeps a car in a garage. I wonder why they don't put small utility doors on them as standard.

[Grey Fox]

I think you could import wood for cheaper.

[crazy canuck]

And it's not even just the simple math above.

I'm about 3.5 years from being eligible to retire with a meagre pension before the age of 50, and assuming my family status (more to the point, lack thereof) remains the same...be in a position to never have to work again.

The "default" basic retirement plan to achieve that position is to move somewhere with a low housing cost/cost of living and have the freedom to do fuck all (travel...wine, women and song...etc.) with the rest of my days.

So I am not sure if getting a decent place to live in a super-high cost housing area only to try to unload that for a much lower-cost area within 3-4 years is wise financial move.  The only way I could afford to stay in the super-high cost area is if I lined myself up for a job there (not impossible)...but who wants a job if they don't need one? 

If you are thinking about retiring in that short a period of time then buying expensive property now makes sense IF you assume that the transaction costs associated with purchasing and then selling it 3.5 years from now will be equal or greater than the increase in the value of the property when you sell it at that time.

It could increase enough to make that a good financial move - but it is a bet you are making.  And the horrible hypothetical is that around that time the market tanks and you are stuck with a big mortgage until the market recovers.

We bought our first property in the early 90s, and then about two seconds after we closed the market crashed.  So I have some first hand experience knowing what that feels like.

[Tamas]

If you're planning to keep living in the same town then buying just makes sense in the UK at least.
YMMV in other countries with systems that disincentivise home ownership et al of course.
The only reason it wouldn't is if you suspect an epic house price crash that would cancel out the amount you'd pay in rent over the time you live there.

How much of that 50k is the brick cost?

A fair chunk of it. Plus steel beams.

Let me guess: the garage is too small for a car. Why not just build a room there instead?

That's part of the plan. It's really terribly built and ramshackle though.
I don't know anyone who actually keeps a car in a garage. I wonder why they don't put small utility doors on them as standard.

You guys don't like it when I say there are some weird island-dweller idiosyncrasies in this country but this is one of the examples. At our apartment block the street is full of parking cars. Each flat comes with a "garage" which are in a line next to the building, but of course nothing since the Mini Morris could fit in those. Some people keep their throwaway shits there but I suspect for most they are in varying states of emptiness. It would make FAR more sense to demolish them and turn that area into a parking lot, the residents could easily park there and make the street less of a car-laden clusterfuck. But no, there must be pointless useless garages, because, well, because that's how it always has been.

[Tonitrus]

I have noticed that...useless garages are prolific all over England.

[Tonitrus]

And it's not even just the simple math above.

I'm about 3.5 years from being eligible to retire with a meagre pension before the age of 50, and assuming my family status (more to the point, lack thereof) remains the same...be in a position to never have to work again.

The "default" basic retirement plan to achieve that position is to move somewhere with a low housing cost/cost of living and have the freedom to do fuck all (travel...wine, women and song...etc.) with the rest of my days.

So I am not sure if getting a decent place to live in a super-high cost housing area only to try to unload that for a much lower-cost area within 3-4 years is wise financial move.  The only way I could afford to stay in the super-high cost area is if I lined myself up for a job there (not impossible)...but who wants a job if they don't need one? 

If you are thinking about retiring in that short a period of time then buying expensive property now makes sense IF you assume that the transaction costs associated with purchasing and then selling it 3.5 years from now will be equal or greater than the increase in the value of the property when you sell it at that time.

It could increase enough to make that a good financial move - but it is a bet you are making.  And the horrible hypothetical is that around that time the market tanks and you are stuck with a big mortgage until the market recovers.

We bought our first property in the early 90s, and then about two seconds after we closed the market crashed.  So I have some first hand experience knowing what that feels like.

The upside to the area I am moving to, is that it has a constant rotation of transient students (who are also government employees with a paid housing allowance) looking for a decent/affordable place to rent.  Even I bought, and then sought to move out of the area, but was laden with an underwater property...finding rental income from it would probably not be difficult.

Shoot, knowing the rental market there, just having a rental that allows pets would guarantee that is never vacant.

[PDH]

The upside to the area I am moving to, is that it has a constant rotation of transient students (who are also government employees with a paid housing allowance) looking for a decent/affordable place to rent.  Even I bought, and then sought to move out of the area, but was laden with an underwater property...finding rental income from it would probably not be difficult.

Someday, someday.....someday the housing market in this region will get better!

[Sheilbh]

I have noticed that...useless garages are prolific all over England.

I blame English men - I think it's normally a garage or a shed, sometimes both for no discernible reason. It's for the hobbies they start but never do and the tools they buy but never use

[Josquius]

I have noticed that...useless garages are prolific all over England.

Hmm, I think there are less than there used to be. A lot of council estate garages have been knocked down over the years I've noticed. Probably because it's a bit of a pointless expense, there's restrictive rules on what you can do in them and most cars are perfectly fine outside.

Most peoples garages are for storage and/or messy hobbies.

[PDH]

Although, seeing as how houses that were burned out due to a fire are still selling for 1.4 million, that day might be a ways away...just saying...

[Tonitrus]

I have noticed that...useless garages are prolific all over England.

I blame English men - I think it's normally a garage or a shed, sometimes both for no discernible reason. It's for the hobbies they start but never do and the tools they buy but never use

At least American garages are usable, even if they too are often filled with those same hobbies/tools/random junk. 

The worst offenders are those who convert a perfectly good sized, usable garage into a crappy "bonus room" or asshatted bedroom that on the outside looks obviously like someone converted said garage into said room.

You cannot just slap a bay window into where the garage door used to be, with a driveway leading right up to it, and call it a day you barbarians.