tafkas
New Poster
Cash: $ 0.45
Posts: 2
Joined: 08 Nov 2006
Location: Red Bank, NJ
|
| How to buy a house? |
 |
|
Following the death of my mother I have inherited $500,000. This question has started so many arguments it's not funny! So here is my question:
We want to buy a house/condo. Do we buy it outright for cash or take out a mortgage? The purchase price would be in the $300k range, leaving us money to invest.
I am 56 and in poor health (need a knee replacement), my wife is 49 and healthy, making good money. We are both qite conservative in the way we live and spend, and this would be our last move. Your opinions please.
|
Wed Nov 08, 2006 12:06 pm |
|
|
tafkas
New Poster
Cash: $ 0.45
Posts: 2
Joined: 08 Nov 2006
Location: Red Bank, NJ
|
The problem with my knee is twofold: I have worked construction all my life, which is how I got this great knee, and the operation and recovery is 6 months. My doctor says it will be "good as new" but I should get a job indoors and off my feet once this is all over. Interesting?
Yes, we have money set aside, but I don't want to dip into that unless it is a bona fide emergency. I could retire now, sit in the park and throw rocks at the pigeons. Unfortunately we have to stay in this area because the wife's mom is now in poor health. I would love to relocate OUT OF NEW JERSEY, but it's not gonna happen any time soon.
My gut feeling is with Coaster: buy the house outright and minimize my monthly payments, but I am amazed at the "experts" and their schemes to "save me money". I have aways lived with 0 debt and probably will continue to do so. Thank you all for your replies.
|
|
Thu Nov 09, 2006 2:38 pm |
|
|
LottomagicZ4941
Senior Member
Cash: $ 1.66
Posts: 2633
Joined: 02 Dec 2004
Location: Earth
|
I'll bet you got the debt free habit from you mom.
My wife has a CPA and she is all about leveraging.
And I asked her if her sun window was worth 6K and she said she paid 5K. Well she fiananced it at 11% intrest!!! Had a heck of a time finding out the info on how to pay this thing off early. And some things you can't even pay off early because they have penalalities for doing so.
Our rental unit really backfired on us when we re-fianced our house. Could have gotten very very low intrest if we had 40K less debt.
Debt bad cash good. My wife still critizes me for paying cash for my last car. But to me the 2K incentive off was better then 0% intrest.
Non promotional Facebook Jail regular forum inquiry
Promotional post in advert section for new Facebook group for those building a downline
|
|
Thu Nov 09, 2006 6:53 pm |
|
|
rockhound
Preferred Member
Cash: $ 26.45
Posts: 132
Joined: 03 Feb 2006
Location: West Virginia
|
| virtual money |
|
|
I can identify with both of those previous comments. The experts seem to have such fascinating ways to make 'virtual money' by juggling things, where cash money doesn't seem to exist. I don't know anything about finance (more or less), but I do know how to save money and not go into debt. It's so simple: 1) spend less than you make; 2) invest what you saved to take advantage of the time value of money. The fancy terms that have become common jargon like HELOC, cash-out refi, being upside-down, etc., just seem to distract from that simple concept. That may not be the way the billionaires do it, but I think the bankruptcy and foreclosure rate would be a lot less if it were practiced by more regular people.
|
|
Thu Nov 09, 2006 11:15 pm |
|
|
xboxundone
Senior Member
Cash: $ 67.83
Posts: 795
Joined: 19 Sep 2004
|
quote:
Originally posted by coaster
You're wise to stay away from "schemes." Just do what makes sense to you; what you can understand. If it doesn't make sense to you, you won't be able to sleep at night, even if it's bona fide.
This is so true... as you get older you want less bills so if you are buying a home buy it outright. if yu have debt pay it off etc..
|
|
Fri Nov 10, 2006 2:11 am |
|
|
|
