Caribou Gear

Im bowing out

My wife and I are getting priced out of Idaho already after only 3 years and have pretty much given up on buying our first house. Both of us are professionals and only have a little debt (student loans and what’s left on my truck, paid off two credits cards, most of her student loans and a car the past year). Even though we make good money I cant justify dropping 300k on a run down double wide that was 60k a couple of years ago. Even the small starter homes are running 360k in SE Idaho and if it has any land you’re looking at near half a million. But our rent has also risen multiple times and it’s like having a 250k mortgage already :/. All my coworkers from California keep telling me how great the housing market is here…
 
My wife and I are getting priced out of Idaho already after only 3 years and have pretty much given up on buying our first house. Both of us are professionals and only have a little debt (student loans and what’s left on my truck, paid off two credits cards, most of her student loans and a car the past year). Even though we make good money I cant justify dropping 300k on a run down double wide that was 60k a couple of years ago. Even the small starter homes are running 360k in SE Idaho and if it has any land you’re looking at near half a million. But our rent has also risen multiple times and it’s like having a 250k mortgage already :/. All my coworkers from California keep telling me how great the housing market is here…
That's brutal, sorry to hear.

It's pretty astounding how crazy the mountain west has gotten, especially as incomes haven't even kinda kept up.
 
Times have definitely changed. Picked up a house near downtown Littleton for 55k UNDER asking price. Sellers even agreed to using a VA loan, which we got for 4.6% with 5% down which cuts some if the lending fees down, not too shabby. We're pretty satisfied with the deal, just need to get through the inspection and appraisal
 
Times have definitely changed. Picked up a house near downtown Littleton for 55k UNDER asking price. Sellers even agreed to using a VA loan, which we got for 4.6% with 5% down which cuts some if the lending fees down, not too shabby. We're pretty satisfied with the deal, just need to get through the inspection and appraisal
That is awesome news! I’ve been nervous about the eroding applicability of VA loans with competitors waiving inspections. I’m encouraged to hear you are under contract with a VA loan! Best of luck on closing!
 
That is awesome news! I’ve been nervous about the eroding applicability of VA loans with competitors waiving inspections. I’m encouraged to hear you are under contract with a VA loan! Best of luck on closing!
I was shocked that they allowed a VA. Our agent said there are no buyers out there at this time, and it's making sellers open to other than conventional loans. The last house we bid on had at least 25 other bids, this listing resulted in one other bid.
 
Times have definitely changed. Picked up a house near downtown Littleton for 55k UNDER asking price. Sellers even agreed to using a VA loan, which we got for 4.6% with 5% down which cuts some if the lending fees down, not too shabby. We're pretty satisfied with the deal, just need to get through the inspection and appraisal

nice. congrats. i'd totally live near downtown littleton.
 
Times have definitely changed. Picked up a house near downtown Littleton for 55k UNDER asking price. Sellers even agreed to using a VA loan, which we got for 4.6% with 5% down which cuts some if the lending fees down, not too shabby. We're pretty satisfied with the deal, just need to get through the inspection and appraisal
Glad to hear we got ours like 30k under asking also. Things will probably get cheaper and maybe I should of waited but rates will also climb and I'm not a cash buyer. Plus my wife isn't miserable anymore so that's like 99.9% of the battle.
 
Times have definitely changed. Picked up a house near downtown Littleton for 55k UNDER asking price. Sellers even agreed to using a VA loan, which we got for 4.6% with 5% down which cuts some if the lending fees down, not too shabby. We're pretty satisfied with the deal, just need to get through the inspection and appraisal
Congratulations! Nice to see things are coming around a little anyway. Glad to see you found something.
 
My wife and I are getting priced out of Idaho already after only 3 years and have pretty much given up on buying our first house. Both of us are professionals and only have a little debt (student loans and what’s left on my truck, paid off two credits cards, most of her student loans and a car the past year). Even though we make good money I cant justify dropping 300k on a run down double wide that was 60k a couple of years ago. Even the small starter homes are running 360k in SE Idaho and if it has any land you’re looking at near half a million. But our rent has also risen multiple times and it’s like having a 250k mortgage already :/. All my coworkers from California keep telling me how great the housing market is here…
Take a breath and be patient. Save money and wait for the crash.

It’s coming.
 
Seeing lots of price cuts around my area. If a house is on the market more than 30days it won’t sell at the listed price and every potential buyer has done a walk through. For those looking in areas that are favorite spots for second homes, the market may remain tight. We are starting to get back to something more “normal”.
 
@DouglasR... my mom's house, my parents built it in 1998 for $300,000, which they thought was crazy expensive. Other than landscaping nothing has been improved or upgraded since 98'. Everything was the cheapest builder basic you could get at the time. Absolutely insanity.


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This made me think about how that would compare to $300k in the S&P 500. It's less than the returns would have been on $300k invested in '98 but the past couple years are bananas.
 
This made me think about how that would compare to $300k in the S&P 500. It's less than the returns would have been on $300k invested in '98 but the past couple years are bananas.
Pardon the soap box...

If we as a society treat homes as an asset class comparable to stocks, do we not see the implications of this to Americans?

A teacher/cop/firefighter in 1998 making 38k is not making 114k in 2022. This is a house, shelter...

Are we so concerned with ROR that we are fine with dissolving the middle class and returning to 18/19th century England?

Call me a commie or whatever, but our gini index has exploded in the last 50, and we pretend like the issue is folks being lazy.
 
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Pardon the soap box...

If we as a society treat homes as an asset class comparable to stocks, do we not see the implications of this to Americans?

A teacher/cop/firefighter in 1998 making 38k is not making 114k in 2022. This is a house, shelter...
You sure about that? It's about right for a college professor at a state university in a red state. In fact, pretty close to exactly right.

Homes are investments. That's why we prefer not to rent, among other reasons. But, they are also more than just investments. Many people will "down size" as they age and use the surplus money for other expenses.

Our house (2001) seems to have appreciated between 100 and 200%. With luck, we will soon know precisely. Just have to have another lilly pad to land on.
 

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