What should I do?

[PalmerWMD]

I have the URGE again.Vote in my poll to help me decide.Last time I went with what the poll said (buy Rex's modded 94Qt)

Fred...I CRAVE more power-- What should I do?

[AZhitman]

FP, at your age, you really need to start to take advantage of the tax benefits of home ownership.

You JUST got the Q! Dude, sounds like you might not be satisfied with ANY car - Time to focus elsewhere and remember: After all is said and done, it's ONLY transportation.

[SmithSR]

Dood, get the house, built some equity, buy whatever you want. think long term.

[miteymax86]

Be a p0rn star, more power is the key, if you have a job and housing, nothing else matters SUPERCHARGER BABY!!!!!!!

[Tino]

FP, at your age, you really need to start to take advantage of the tax benefits of home ownership.

You JUST got the Q! Dude, sounds like you might not be satisfied with ANY car - Time to focus elsewhere and remember: After all is said and done, it's ONLY transportation.

I dont know who has more wisdom here talkin bout age haha, but go for a house.

[MaineExport]

Well, since you're a military man; how stable is your present location? Buying a house (as long as makets are decent and property value is stable present and future) is obviously the best choice for someone who ISN'T going to have to relocate in a few years. In order to make the purchae of a home a financially sound proposition... you need to be in that house for upwards of five years. It usually takes at least two or three years to build enough equity and value in the home just to recover closing costs and legal fees. If you aren't being relocated for a while... buy the house if the numbers work... if not than supercharge that pig!!!

[skydragoness]

:withstup

[Dano]

6SPD G35 COUPE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Dan

[PalmerWMD]

maine you hit it on the head.

There is a house here for sale (cherap) ownewrs is willing to knock off 7 k for me.Its very affrodable it's in an area where a there is a good speed racer scene and real convinient for everything, my loan for it is already approved BUT,...

I dont know how long I will still be at this location.Might be as little as 6 months if I put in for the transfer I suspect I may need if I want to get promoted.

As a title 32 soldier I could stay foreve,r w/o being transferred, but it would put me at a career disadvantage (w/ my units internal dynamics being what they are).

I really want to buy a house, would be great for parties and I <need> a garge and room for tools and equipment.

but I cant buy one, at leats not too soon until I know a couple of things about develpments at my unit.Until then I need to keep my mobility high.

Fred...

[Bubba1]

Fred. I'd ease up on the car stuff and save your money for a house. It's not as interesting I know, but cars are not investments. At least not what you're buying. Not only will a house appreciate in value, the interest you pay toward it is tax deductible, and you build equity. The cars you buy on the other hand, will only go down in value. If you're single, I'd go with a daily driver and one very fun car and SAVE the rest for more important things. Just my $.02

[90Q45blue]

I'm young and I'm dumb. Get the G!!!

Nick

[Repo Man]

OK, I have one question before offering my omnicient opinion. That question IS: Have you even filled the bottle yet??????????????????????????????????????

[miteymax86]

Why hadn't anyone previously informed me that Strongbad was the greatest thing on the internet since stick people fighting?

[Repo Man]

Where the hell have you been miteymax? Haven't seen your Michigander arse around lately.

[theTony]

I say enjoy the Q you have and save your money, which is a luxury in itself. Wait and see what happens with your job. If you end up staying here for a while, then maybe see about a house. If you end up being transferred, then you still have the savings for something later. If it were me, I would do nothing and just save, but take some money and enhance my current ride a bit.

Having a nice car helps curb my new car urges, but when somenone I know gets a new car, ie: Mayhem_J30 and his new Evo VIII, it becomes more difficult to be content with what I have. That's when I wash mine and make it shine and go out and drive around and notice all the cars that are not as nice as mine. It's even better when someone from Louisville Streets recognizes me and yells over that my car looks great with a thumb's up. Then, the urge subsides and it's not so bad after all!

[miteymax86]

Different server issues with ATT switching to Comcast, a couple fishing trips, and the whole attempting to find a job since I've told the foodservice industry to F OFF!!!! have consumed most of my time recently, That, and plans for world domination.

[Queamore]

I Think It's always great to own your own. That way you can buy as many cars as you want and put them on your own property with the neighbors complaining. I have 4 cars and I'm working to get my 5th the neighbors complain all the time to me cause I take up all the parking spots. HAHA :ylsuper But get a house that way you have to answer to noone but yourself.

[PalmerWMD]

queamore:

Yes thats exactly my thought!.

I still have the URGE:eyecrazy, maybe a R33 GTR thru Daunt at the end of the year?

Fred...

[Rockenreno]

I still have the URGE:eyecrazy, maybe a R33 GTR thru Daunt at the end of the year?

I vote for that one

[Rex]

I'm gonna hear alot about this, but buying a house (unless in a growing/expanding area) is actually a loss not a gain.

An accountant/numbers crusher once ran the numbers and showed a group of us at work, that unless the market value for houses in your area go up at 20-30% higher than the rest of the world, you actually would be better off to rent/lease and invest the difference.

I won't go into all the details as I don't remember them all, but some of them costs he factored in were....

1 major home repair (plumbing, leak, foundation, drive way, sidewalk,etc) every 5 years1 major appliance every 5 yearsInterest rates were higher thenPainting 1 every 10 yearsRe-shingling 1 every 10-15 yearsRe-financing (cashing out some equity)

And the fact that no one stays in a home for 20 yrs like our parents did.

I'd be budgetary as possible and enjoy life. I presonally loved the fact that last year in the heat I called my property management group and told them "their" AC unit in "their" condo wasn't blowing cold air. It was fixed within 4 hours.

Just one fools opinion.

[Nathan]

Ahhh, but there's the thing, you need to actually invest the difference...I know some people (myself included) would have a very hard time not spending the difference, especially if times got even the slightest bit tight. Also, with renting a house...you have to deal with the renter...which sometimes is not so pleasant. Just another perspective, personally if you know your going to be in the same place for quite a while then I would invest in a house, otherwise just put the money away or even invest it in something low risk.

[OneFastStanza]

I'm gonna hear alot about this, but buying a house (unless in a growing/expanding area) is actually a loss not a gain.

An accountant/numbers crusher once ran the numbers and showed a group of us at work, that unless the market value for houses in your area go up at 20-30% higher than the rest of the world, you actually would be better off to rent/lease and invest the difference.

I won't go into all the details as I don't remember them all, but some of them costs he factored in were....

1 major home repair (plumbing, leak, foundation, drive way, sidewalk,etc) every 5 years1 major appliance every 5 yearsInterest rates were higher thenPainting 1 every 10 yearsRe-shingling 1 every 10-15 yearsRe-financing (cashing out some equity)

And the fact that no one stays in a home for 20 yrs like our parents did.

I'd be budgetary as possible and enjoy life. I presonally loved the fact that last year in the heat I called my property management group and told them "their" AC unit in "their" condo wasn't blowing cold air. It was fixed within 4 hours.

Just one fools opinion.

I would almost buy into that argument however, houses never really depreciate as long as you add value to your home (basically don't let it go to hell). Not to mention, investing anything right now is not the hottest thing to do. I know that it is definitely a buyers market for stocks right now just because they are so low but who knows how long it will take the market to recover esecially with the war and all the scadals going on (I don't forsee it soon). Besides that, renting is money wasted that would be more equity on your home and you could turn over to buying another house of your liking later on or whatever. I am wuite happy in the fact that I bought my house and never regret the fact especially since I was paying $550/month in apt rent previous to that. I pay barely over that now for my house and have 1900sq ft.

[Rex]

Okay, I did a little more research/numbers crunching to help explain my point (not meant to change anyones view, just sharing my own). Isn't that what these forums are all about??

EXAMPLE: A home bought in 1975 for $25,000 was sold in 2002 for $105,000, I don't know what they paid in interst rates, repairs, cashed out equity, etc, but if the buyer kept the same house for 25+ years at about 6%, they would have paid $225,000 to $250,000 in down payment (10%), payments and interest. That means that a "starter" house will have to sell for nearly $300,000 in the year 2030 to make a profit.

Notice, I'm not figuring in any upkeep/repair costs or tax breaks, but if this isn't their "last" house they may have to deal with Capital Gains taxes in relation to the buying price in 2003, not the payment totals. And yes, I realize that by 2030 there may not be any Capital gains taxes.

My only point is to make people think/challenge the idea that buying a house is a slam dunk, no-brainer, good investment. I have heard tails of both good and bad, I'm just suggesting that the numbers be looked over and some long term thinking be applied.

Again, just one simple boy from GA's opinion.

[slw240sx]

Rex , i was actually goin to mention that a house isnt and investment!! my financial planner went throught that with me and a whole lot of other crap that i abandoned !

[DAEDALUS]

I'm on the fence guys. I don't own, and I am familiar with all the arguments. Economic arguments are pretty moot IMO...they all rely on a number of assumptions that may or may not pan out (6%?). Don't you dare tell my coworker that a house isn't a good investment. He bought his home 8 years ago for less than $500k, and today it's worth more than $1M. He refinanced to pull cash out and bought a new 911. To put it simply, from an economic standpoint, a home is a wise financial choice if it increases in value more than any other investment option, in addition to factoring in liquidity, tax and risk implications. But a home is not simply a *financial* decision. A home locks you into one residence, one geography, a paycheck, and maybe a job. But a home is *yours*. Nobody will complain when you install a lift in the garage or adopt 3 dogs. You never have to worry that your payments will go up if you get a fixed mortgage, and you don't have to worry that you'll have to move cause the place got sold out from under you.If a home was only a financial decision, rest assured I would not be looking to buy one now. I am CERTAIN that prices will fall in the future, and you know they will if and when interest rates go back up. But I'm tired of not having my own garage and lugging my tools up and down the stairs every weekend!

[AZhitman]

EXAMPLE: A home bought in 1975 for $25,000 was sold in 2002 for $105,000, I don't know what they paid in interst rates, repairs, cashed out equity, etc, but if the buyer kept the same house for 25+ years at about 6%, they would have paid $225,000 to $250,000 in down payment (10%), payments and interest. That means that a "starter" house will have to sell for nearly $300,000 in the year 2030 to make a profit.

You're forgeting one very important point. If the rent on that same house was $1K per month, over the same 25 years, the resident would have dropped $300,000 in rent. He will NEVER recoup a penny of that, AND he can't write off his interest every year.

I bought my place in 96 for $70K. It was just appraised at $150K. My payment is $560/month, and the house next door (identical to mine) rents for $1100/month.