Posts tagged "buy a house"

Dave Ramsey on Buying a Second House Before Selling Your First

One of Dave Ramsey’s callers (Debbie) says her elderly parents bought a lake house 30 years ago and are planning on selling it. Debbie doesn’t want it to leave the family and is interested in buying it. Debbie doesn’t have the cash to buy it outright. Dave says they can’t afford this house…

I’m not going to tell you to buy a house on the lake no matter what the story when you’re borrowing money to do it—not on this show

However he goes on to say that he would look at buying the house — but only if the couple can do so while sticking with their debt-free principles.

If I’m you, I’m going to try to keep it. I’m not discounting the fact that while I called this an emotional decision, emotions in these situations are a fair part of the equation as long as they don’t cloud your judgment to the point you put your family in a mess. You have a real reason to be very motivated to try to find a way to do this deal without it being debt. I would not borrow the money from a mortgage company to buy a lake house. Pay cash for toys—even family toys you’re very emotional about.

How to Stay Motivated to Buy a House with Cash

One of Dave Ramsey’s “followers” asks how you stay motivated to save and pay cash for a house when their goal is $200,000 and they’ve saved $75,000, which took them three years.

First of all, let’s say it’s hard. You can’t stay motivated if the target doesn’t have an end date… That’s one way to stay motivated is to set a deadline. There’s got to be a light at the end of the tunnel that’s not an oncoming train.

Renting as a Way of Life?

Dave Ramsey’s thoughts on renting long-term and not buying a home. Dave thinks it’s financially unwise in most cases and explains why.

The problem is throughout the scope of your life, you’re going to pay more every single year to be a renter. By becoming an owner, you can lock in the vast majority of your expenses and the home goes up in value.

I would not say that renting is a way of life. I will tell you a lot of people get in too big a hurry to buy, and I think renting for a period of time—longer than some people think—is a good thing. 

cashcounts:

The math of renting vs. buying a home. Challenging the notion that it is always better to buy.

Great point here, BUT as with everything in MONEY & REAL ESTATE it comes down to making good principled money decisions on a case by case basis.

One House Too Many

Caroline in Charleston is getting married, and her fiancé has a home in Asheville while she owns a home in Charleston. They can pay off the Asheville home in six years and look at it as an investment. Should they keep both homes, live in one, and rent one out? Or should they sell one of the homes? Dave recommends selling one of them.

Buying a house with Dad (in your name)

Steven is 24, divorced, and working with his father in an electrical business. They live together and want to buy a house. Due to Dad’s bankruptcy, they would put it in Steven’s name. Should they do this?

Don’t Take This Deal

Roman in Alaska and his wife live in half of a duplex. They pay $900 a month in rent plus $300 for utilities and services. His landlord proposed the idea of buying the duplex. As part of the deal, Roman would take on responsibility for managing it as well for two years. In return, his rent would go toward a down payment. Dave doesn’t like this plan.

Fighting Buyer’s Remorse

John in Tucson and his wife were set to do a remodel on their home after becoming completely debt-free, and his wife fell in love with another home before they could start it. They bought the house with a mortgage. Now he has some buyer’s remorse. He has a chance to get back into their previous situation. Should he do it?

Internet real estate search see exponential growth.

From 609,000 to 27 million in 5 years Trulia.com’s web traffic has grown exponentially. To illustrate this they’ve published a time lapse visualization showing the growth in relation to what geogrpahical areas people are searching for real estate on their website. 

Press play (at the top of the page) and watch it go. Note that most searches are done in population dense areas.