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You Need to Buy a Home, Renting is Expensive!
The narrative that “renting and investing the difference” is always better than home ownership is oversimplified and problematic. Ramit Sethi (Author, millionaire, and financial influencer) has been on a personal crusade to encourage a generation to live as perpetual renters. Why? He is a fervent believer that most people will get rich doing this. Unfortunately, he misses the mark. Let’s break it down. Return on Investments from Renting and Owning Owning a home isn’t just about the monetary Return on Investment (ROI). It’s about having a space that’s truly yours, a sanctuary where memories are made. This intangible value is irreplaceable and can’t be measured solely in financial terms. While…
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Sharing Secrets on How We Bought Four Properties in 2.5 Years
Becoming A Home Owner And Helping My Friend Buy A Home Too – 2 Homes and 2 Rental Properties Renting vs. Home Ownership Back in the day when Facebook didn’t own Instagram, and when Amazon was still crushing Mom and Pop shops around America through low dollar-cost averaging and automation (circa 2015), I was a renter. Like a lot of other people, I had no clue about home-ownership. Besides the headlines on social media and the #cancel culture outrage, I didn’t do any research. When I asked around (through FB post), I was simply asking my peer group of non-homeowners and lifestyle credit card spenders. Homes cost too much, I’m waiting for the Next…
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How to Find an Affordable Home – Four Expert Methods that You Can Use
There’s more to buying a home than the selling price and interest rate. You can expect to pay anywhere from 2% to 5% of the purchase price in closing costs. For this reason, buying a home is not a very good short-term investment. Common closing costs (which will pop out of nowhere) include application fee ($$$), appraisal fee ($500+), attorney fees (if you need it), property taxes (because Uncle Sam and the Cheetoh), mortgage insurance (cuz we can't have nice things), home inspection ($250+), first year homeowner’s insurance premium (making it rain), title search ($$), title insurance, points (prepaid interest), origination fee, recording fees and survey fee. Just throw about…
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How to Buy Your First Affordable Home or Condo in Your 30s
Welp, I’m 30 plus. The plus part doesn’t matter because the next milestone is either crippling depression, also known as a midlife crisis or 50 years old. Yep, it doesn’t get any prettier. After searching the internet for information (Google), reading 1 article, and skimming through 5 other headlines; I am now a faux expert. “Self-Made Millionaire: Not buying a home is the single biggest millennial mistake”, in which David Bach is quoted saying that the biggest single mistake millennials are making is not prioritizing homeownership. “If millennials don’t buy a home, their chances of actually having any wealth in this country are little to none”. In all seriousness, I always recommend that you do your…
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Home Ownership – How Much Can I Afford?
*Tips and Tricks Underlined While my roommate was having a fit about AC (in late July 2016); I ended up chatting with the landlord. Turns out he was selling the other apartment; and showed it to me. He said $125k. I said sold First of all, I don’t think your first purchase should be that complicated. You need to know the price and understand how much you can afford. I ended up purchasing my first home in October of 2016. It was in the same condominium complex. Additionally, I knew the area and the price was reasonable compared to the crazy studios in DC for $250k+. Reducing my expenses the year prior…
