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Invest For Tomorrow Or Enjoy It Now

4K views 63 replies 19 participants last post by  Trifecta 
#1 ·
My wife and I went out for breakfast, and on our way back we decided to drive by our first home which we sold 25 years ago. It had a "SOLD" sign on it. I immediately googled it and it sold in twelve days with multiple offers. It went on the market at $1,088,000.00.
The house is a little over 1,600 sq ft with no garage or carport...just a driveway. We kept it as a rental for twelve years after we bought our current home. We sold it for $350,000 and bought a 4plex. The 4plex is now worth about twice as much as the old house.
Last year we bought a beach home for about the same price this little house just sold for. In no way will the beach home appreciate at the same rate as our old house.
Should I have bought our old house back as an investment, or bought the beach home as our place to enjoy our retirement? I have no disappointments for any ventures in my life. I will never look back in regret. The future is now!
Here's a pic of our old pad as it looks now.
Bob

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#2 ·
Wow! Real estate in California never ceases to amaze me!
My last home in Sacramento I bought in 1986 for $77,500, and the last time I looked it was valued at $395,000. I sold it due to the closing of McClellan AFB where I worked when I transferred to Hill AFB in Utah in 1999.
Should I have kept it and rented it out? Absolutely!
 
#3 ·
my poor sis may she RIP had a hard life but managed to finally buy a home very late in life and really was in need of a lot of love. we jumped in and did paint, carpet. did fix up here and there. House was located walking distance from hospital ana university of mo. we were worried we wouldn't get enough to pay it off and realestate lady came told us what we should list it for and I like to fell over and it sol immediately. I have always came way out ahead. realestate is a great investment for sure.:shakehands::flag6:
 
#7 ·
I live on a corner in a granny house, paid 37k plus closing, mmm 4k, then added driveway an shop another 10k, i rented this place for 10yrs at $425 for 5yrs then $500 for 5 yrs.

Jus today lady came to the door, wanna sell, ??? why yes its 300k, and i take anything i want from this house, including the house, your jus gonna build a castle like all those that have come before.

She looked startled when i tole her i was keeping the front door, garage doors an openers the tin, the ac, all of it, then i hit her with a 90 day move out clause:).

What i didn't tell her was, im thinking, i keep 2percent of the house and every time it sells, i get 2percent, the trade off being i will keep 2percent of the mineral rights also and you can have 98 percent of them.

As im owed money on the mineral rights, hahah, may never see that, but i was paid 6k upfront first and last time. Mineral rights buyers under lawsuit by the Bass brothers as we speak, and they be not too far from me.

So ya see it hilarious to me, a cracker box house, worth at least 250k, as ive turned down 235k two years ago, a 37k house for my asking price of 300k, its a mad house. hahah, pay up sucker. :)

Ya say sumpn about location ??? Ive got and I knows it.
 
#5 ·
Yes it has increased here too. Not like California or back east though . Mike
 
#6 ·
I'd take the beach home and enjoy it today....Life is short for some....Never know what tomorrow will bring.
 
#9 · (Edited)
The information presented on this "beach house" and the info on the other real estate is only part of the story.

Do you have a mortgage? How much? Do you have income to pay it? If not how are you you paying it? If you are paying it with savings, how long will those funds last?

Will you go broke if the real estate market crashes? Or can you walk away from that and have a place to live that you can afford?

There are many components to the financial situation.

My guess is that you are in over your head or you wouldn't have posted the question.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Bob,
I'm always blown away by California real estate. A few years ago I went to my co-worker's house in Silicon Valley. It was nothing more than a regular ranch house on a decent sized lot near a freeway. Another co-worker told me it was worth over $2.5M. I about fell over thinking what that would buy in Texas. The owner of the house later told me that she bought it for $1M a number of years back and at the time her family thought she was crazy...
 
#16 ·
Bob,
I'm always blown away by California real estate. A few years ago I went to my co-worker's house in Silicon Valley. It was nothing more than a regular ranch house on a decent sized lot near a freeway. Another co-worker told me it was worth over $2.5M. I about fell over thinking what that would buy in Texas. The owner of the house later told me that she bought it for $1M a number of years back and at the time her family thought she was crazy...


But our area in Texas is really heating up. About 18 months ago we bought a house on 2 acres in the country/city that is about 5 minutes from 2M sf of nice retail shopping/restaurants and is in a stellar school system. The school system was our main reason but we had been planning for over 10 years to move onto a little acreage.
We had been searching 15 months when we got our house and our realtor told us we got a really good deal. I thought so, but I am always very cautious when spending money.

In the last couple of months some 1 acre lots in the area are selling for more than what we paid for 2 treed and landscaped acres and a pretty nice house. It truly is all about location.
You nailed that one Geoff. Parts of Texas could be the new Silicon Valley. Californians are getting blamed for driving up prices, but I think the blame (or credit) should be laid on Texas economics. I'm glad the wealth is being spread around.
Good luck to you.
Bob
 
#17 ·
I started this thread about my first house. What it was worth then and what It's worth now.
I got married right out of high school. Been married to the same woman for 55 years. I finished my education going to night school while holding a job and raising two kids. We bought our first home when I was 26. Tell me about weak finances.
I had to leave my parents house because I had to make my own way.
I started my own business when I was 36 years old using $10,000 out of our savings. My wife retired four years later.
I have two college educated kids, four college educated grandkids, and a great granddaughter that will never have to worry about her education. We also help support my parents and mother in law who are in their 90's.
Hard times??? Hell yeah I knew hard times being raised on the wrong side of the tracks
Hard work my friend, and never having to look back.
Sorry if my thread was interpreted the wrong way. That was not my intent.
Bob
 
#15 ·
I'd like to see a pic of the beach house Bob :)
 
#18 · (Edited)
Sure Pops. It's kind of an older home as it was built in '47. Started out as an 800sq ft home with a couple of additions in the last 30 years, making it a 1900 sq ft home now.
Doing some remodeling that will convert it from a 2br 2ba one car garage home, to a 3br 3ba home with a two car garage.
This house was not bought as an investment. Once I'm gone, my family will have plenty to go around and still give me a good send off, but this house will remain as a gift for all of them to enjoy, and for my wife to remember that this was always one of our dreams.
Bob

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#24 · (Edited)
You guys are talking numbers I'll never understand. I'm a middle class guy living in a very respectable community in the Chicago burbs. I bought a 3 bedroom 2.5 car garage town home in 96 after a painful divorce for $170,000 (new construction at the time) and I'll be lucky if it's worth $270,000 21 years later. The good news, I make my last payment next year.

If you can afford it, a beach home sure sounds nice.
 
#31 ·
Thanks Shubox. I've visited Chicago and some of its suburbs. When my wife and I were into antique toy collecting we used to attend the toy show in St Charles. I was amazed at the beautiful country homes in the surrounding area. Pricing for these homes was a surprise in that comparable homes are generally two or three times higher in CA.
I'm glad you were able to do well after your separation...congrats!
Bob
 
#25 ·
Trifecta you come across as the most arrogant person ive seen on this site. If California fell off in the ocean, the rest of the US wouldn't miss it, as I've said before. I think Rick L reads it like I do, you love the "look at me" attention. One thing about it, it all can be taken in a minute and you cant take it with you when you die!
 
#26 · (Edited)
My wife and I went out for breakfast, and on our way back we decided to drive by our first home which we sold 25 years ago. It had a "SOLD" sign on it. I immediately googled it and it sold in twelve days with multiple offers. It went on the market at $1,088,000.00.
The house is a little over 1,600 sq ft with no garage or carport...just a driveway. We kept it as a rental for twelve years after we bought our current home. We sold it for $350,000 and bought a 4plex. The 4plex is now worth about twice as much as the old house.
Last year we bought a beach home for about the same price this little house just sold for. In no way will the beach home appreciate at the same rate as our old house.
Should I have bought our old house back as an investment, or bought the beach home as our place to enjoy our retirement? I have no disappointments for any ventures in my life. I will never look back in regret. The future is now!
Here's a pic of our old pad as it looks now.
Bob

View attachment 149888
No offense, but looking at that exterior pic, that doesn't look anywhere near like a million dollar home to me. I think most would agree with me on that. The CA real estate market is ridiculous, IMO. CA is a beautiful state, but its got a lot of problems.
 
#27 ·
No offense taken on my part Dave. The exorbitant price of a modest home is the point I was trying to make. It doesn't matter whether it's in CA or elsewhere.
It was a modest 17 year old home when I bought it in '69 for $22.5K. It was a modest home when I sold in mid 1990's for $350K, and it's still a modest home for whatever it sold for.
Hell yeah, you can buy one hellaciously beautiful home for a million bucks in other states, but people keep coming here and paying these outrageous prices and rents.
 
#33 ·
"If you cannot be positive, then at least be quiet". Joel Osteen
I don't know you personally so I can't pass judgement on you. Please give me the same courtesy. I don't like this exchange. You've already expressed your dislike for me, now let it go. I'm asking you politely.
 
#44 ·
I agree Bobby. You know, when I was little, my Mom instilled in me two very important teachings, one was "If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all" and "Treat other people the same as you would like to be treated"
I still practice her words today, and would not have it any other way.
There's always gonna be jerks that dwell on anger and jealously, sad...
 
#34 ·
It does occur to me, that our houses OR ANY THANG ELSE aint really worth what (they) say they're worth. Its that your money is just worth less. Buying power in the time of Nixon compared to now you have to spend 7 times that amount to equal up for today.

Its a numbers game with worthless paper money, built on trust, and or deceit. But im stuck with it till they do away with money, which is (their) end game. :bowtier: JMO
 
#46 ·
I bought my house in northern Virginia in 1997 for $340K and sold it for almost 900K last summer. It is definitely location, location, location. I was twenty minutes from downtown DC, McLean, Great Falls Virginia (the third most expensive counties in the nation) and Bethesda MD. It does matter to me where I live before I die as this is my life and I want to live it where I want and how I want. kudos to you Bob...for living as you love to live.
 
#47 · (Edited)
Any more horn tooters on the board that would like to chime in? While I congratulate the guys that have made it big, instead of backslapping each other, you might want to consider that there are undoubtedly some members here that are struggling, living paycheck to paycheck, or for whatever reason, unable to find a decent job. Thankfully, I'm not one of them, but I'd bet there are some. Humility and sensitivity are virtues.
 
#49 ·
I was one of those guys Dave. I moved with my young family to my new home with $35 in my pocket. We almost froze the first night waiting for my relatives who offered us a place to stay until I could get work to move out on our own. We were on our own in 30 days, and we've never looked back.
I was 18 with a high school degree. I had a couple of low level jobs and I went to a junior college at night.
Who do you want me to feel sorry for Dave? Those that think life owes them a living?
I knew life at it's worst and I beat the system. I bought my first home at 26 with no one providing one cent.
Sorry if it seems I take pride in what I've accomplished, but please don't tell me I don't know what poverty is.
I'm sure that those that agree with me had their share of hard times. and it was their dedication to hard work that made them successful in life.
Bob
 
#52 ·
Rick, you need to give it a rest please. This forum has no place for this type of behavior. Admin?
 
#61 ·
I admire your tenacity Bob. Sure, it is prideful to brag on stuff, but it seems to me you worked hard for it and took advantage of opportunities as they presented themselves to you. I don't have near what you do, but I'm danged proud of every piece of property I have collected over the years, and I believe if you like to show it off, that's ok. I'm not in the least jealous of what you have, and if you like to show it off, then more power to you. Even if it is a beat up old trifive, a man should be proud of making the best of an old car and be proud of it. You keep on at it, don't matter much what others say, I enjoy seeing someone do well. :tu
 
#62 · (Edited)
Thanks Bill. We've all paid our dues, and some of us are fortunate to have a little left over. It's called our "Nest Egg".
Some continue to find ways to build on it. Others are content with the equity or interest earned from it.
My opening post had neither of these in mind. I was just stating my surprise at the accumulated value of a home I no longer owned.
Since I bought a home by the beach last year, I wondered out loud if it would have been more frugal to buy my old house back as a better investment. It was nobody's business whether I could afford to pay for it.
Buying the old house back was just a fleeting thought, as I am quite happy with the purchase of our dream home. It may not have been the best investment, but then again neither is restoring old cars. :)
It was the statement I was in over my head that bothered me, and I should have ignored it. But I felt it was a personal insult even though it was a thoughtless remark. I should have left my friend's remarks settle it.
I own nothing to be envious about as it is out there for all to attain. I am very happy you find yourself in a position to enjoy life.
Thanks again Bill
Bob
 
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