I know it's only Easter but by Christmas I'd like a new phone.
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What are you buying...
- Thread starter dontpanicbobby
- Start date
So much depends on where you live, or want to live, because housing prices vary wildly across the US, and I'm sure it's the same in other countries. Some places are just more desirable than others--and their housing prices reflect that fact.
There ARE still places that have ridiculously low-priced housing in the States, but they don't appeal to a lot of people for a variety of reasons.
I'm glad I'll never have to buy another house; I own this one outright and plan to die in it.
I feel sorry for first-time buyers whose American dream of owning their own home looks hopeless. My advice: keep your eyes on the prize, stay focused, be diligent about socking away money every month in your 'house fund,' find a way to make extra money and put all of that away, too. Maybe consider a smaller house, or a fixer-upper, or one a little farther from your ideal location. If you're really determined, it should be doable--it just might not look exactly the way you envisioned it.
Detroit and Baltimore? What's South Central LA like these days?
Sure, some declining urban areas have cheap housing and subsidized programs for first-time buyers, but what @MoodyBlues is referring to is simple geographical location. Let's look at my house for example. A comfortable 3 bedroom two story in the suburbs. If i head 25 miles to the east (closer to Philadelphia) the same house would be almost double in price ... so I chose to drive the 25 miles to work (28 actually) rather than have a ridiculous mortgage. In the 16 years we've been there the house and property have appreciated about 30%, partly because of rising prices generally and partly because those people to the east who are also looking for more affordable housing are driving the local prices higher. Good for me, not so much for the first time buyer who works locally and makes less.
My brother lives in the San Diego area (La Jolla $$$$) and my house there would easily cost 3 times what it's worth here in PA. Of course prices tend to be a bit lower in the south outside of the vacation areas or cities. I just did a quick Zillow search and found a house in my neighborhood, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1,800 sq. ft. of living space, in decent condition for about $195k. I also found an equivalent house in Lynchburg, South Carolina for $174k. While this doesn't seem to be a large divergence in price, consider that the house in PA is on a 1/4 acre lot while the house in SC includes almost 18 acres of land.
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Deleted User
Guest
You're right, it does depend on location. For example, I could buy this street for £1 
You're right, it does depend on location. For example, I could buy this street for £1
View attachment 141452
Yeh, all boarded up, and has a demolition order on them probably.
Looks like my nan's old house and street in Bootle, Merseyside, Now demolished and redeveloped.
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Deleted User
Guest
Not photoshopped, it is legit. Let's just say there are some very deprived and grotty areas in England. Notice most of those houses are boarded up and uninhabited.
But they are houses!
Does someone different own the land under them amd charge rent?
Does someone different own the land under them amd charge rent?
I suspect they're either city corporation or housing association owned, like my nan's 1900, four room, two-up two-down terrace was. I can still remember the outside toilet, and no bathroom when I stayed there sometimes in early 70s. Later on they were modernised, and had a proper bathroom added at the back.
Some people did buy them on 99 year leasehold in the 80s, under Margaret Thatcher's "right to buy" scheme.
I just heard about a plan like the "Iron Madiens" in the US recently.
I always thought mobile homes had wheels. Who'd a thunk "Not Necessarily".
Is that why John Oliver left the UK?
I always thought mobile homes had wheels. Who'd a thunk "Not Necessarily".
Is that why John Oliver left the UK?
I'm happy my nan's old house survived long enough to be on Google Street View. The one on the right, not boarded up yet.. It's all gone now though, and all new housing in its place.
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Deleted User
Guest
Probably not by much. Those things are shoe box size.
I think they are called Railroad houses in Philidelphia USA...
Coach houses? Something like that.
I'm pretty sure she didn't own the land.
Not even her gardens.
Coach houses? Something like that.
I'm pretty sure she didn't own the land.
Not even her gardens.
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I don't really know, but I seem to recall hearing that Detroit has made big strides since its lowest point some years ago. It was really...really bad, with a lot of vacant houses taken over by druggies and homeless, police stations closed due to lack of city funds, etc.
Personally, I have no clue. Arcadia, where I live, in the beautiful San Gabriel Valley, may as well be on another planet. But I've heard that its median home price is ≈$600,000 (dirt cheap in SoCal), and that it's had its own renaissance, much like Detroit. I know I don't see reports of constant crime (gang activity, drive-by shootings, etc.) like I used to.
Precisely. Here in SoCal, for people willing to do a long[er] commute, there are houses to be had for hundreds of thousands less than in closer areas.
Here in Arcadia, it's the Asians who've driven our prices up. They so badly want to live here, they're willing to shell out big bucks.
That's where my [estranged] father lived the last few decades of his life.
I joke about it, exaggerating for effect, that if I sold this house, I could go back to Carrollton, the upscale North Dallas suburb where I lived, and buy back my house PLUS the entire block with the proceeds!
See above.
Zillow's estimates...I don't know where they get their data, but they're always way off in my neighborhood. Their 'zestimate' for my house is always 5 to $600,000 less than it should be. NextDoor is much, MUCH better, accurately estimating my 2BD/1BA 1200 sq ft house, on a 10,000 sq ft lot, at $1.7M. If you're not on NextDoor, I highly recommend it. It's actually a neighborhood meeting place, where only verified residents can access any specific neighborhood. It's great for communicating with neighbors, asking for or giving recommendations for gardeners, pool guys, plumbers, painters, just about anything.
Yep!
Yes! Or Pullman houses...something to do with trains. My mom told me about theirs in NY, an apartment laid out in a straight line, like a Pullman car. They were quite cramped/small, apparently.
About twice as long. There was also a very small yard at the back, no gardens here. I played with the other kids on the street, when I was staying with nan. My dad was born in that house. The area was called "The Klondyke".
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Around 1900s they built millions of them in towns and cities all over the UK. Bristol has some, and those are still standing, fully modernised, and lived in.
From what I've seen in the UK, they're still building shoe box size these days.
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Deleted User
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Well it varies, but the general trend for modern housing estates, is to build tightly packed. So nobody gets much garden, and your front door opens right on to the street. That's great, considering most families these days have multiple cars, so where are they supposed to park them all?
Shotgun84
Extreme Android User
Yeah it is ridiculous. I can't completely pass the buck though as I waisted so much money in my youth and screwed my finances up big time. Only recently got a good enough credit rating again for a mortgage. If only someone had said to me when I was 18 "Put a few quid a side each week and then you could buy a house when your 34"
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Deleted User
Guest
Yeah it is ridiculous. I can't completely pass the buck though as I waisted so much money in my youth and screwed my finances up big time. Only recently got a good enough credit rating again for a mortgage. If only someone had said to me when I was 18 "Put a few quid a side each week and then you could buy a house when your 34"
You probably would have spent it anyway
Shotgun84
Extreme Android User
Milo Willamson
Android Expert
Or just move in with your friends house, help pay for the bills as well as learn to cook as well tooSo much depends on where you live, or want to live, because housing prices vary wildly across the US, and I'm sure it's the same in other countries. Some places are just more desirable than others--and their housing prices reflect that fact.
There ARE still places that have ridiculously low-priced housing in the States, but they don't appeal to a lot of people for a variety of reasons.
I'm glad I'll never have to buy another house; I own this one outright and plan to die in it.