next_to_normal (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
next_to_normal) wrote2010-11-19 10:19 am
next_to_normal) wrote2010-11-19 10:19 am
Entry tags:
Being a grown-up is hard :(
I've been getting more serious about the whole condo-buying thing this week. I started the process of getting approved for a mortgage and have been talking to a realtor. And I can feel it already starting to stress me out.
I think the trouble is that I feel pressured to buy something, no matter what it is or how much I like it (or don't). Because of course I can't afford the place I really want - something that's not closet-sized, walking distance to the Metro, in a nice neighborhood - which is not really that much to ask except that everything in this area is absurdly expensive. (There are condos that cost more than my parents' four-bedroom HOUSE.) But at the same time, I know that mortgage rates are really low and the market is already starting to recover and so now is the time to buy and I don't want to miss the opportunity. And then I've got my mother saying, "You're just throwing your money away on rent!" and I need to build equity and whatever.
But, you know, buying a condo is kind of a big commitment. I'd have to expect to live there for at least five years, and I don't want to be stuck living somewhere I'm not happy just to build equity. But it seems like I'm supposed to just buy something, anything, and suck it up until I can afford to buy something nicer.
Anyway. I feel like I have a lot of things to write about - the end of Lost season 2, Side Jobs, a couple movies I've seen - so I'll try to get to those sometime soon. If I can just tear myself away from browsing condo sites... (I keep checking the same sites, hoping for an open house to pop up that's in my price range, even though I know that nothing is going to have changed since the last time I checked. Yay for neuroses, right?)
I think the trouble is that I feel pressured to buy something, no matter what it is or how much I like it (or don't). Because of course I can't afford the place I really want - something that's not closet-sized, walking distance to the Metro, in a nice neighborhood - which is not really that much to ask except that everything in this area is absurdly expensive. (There are condos that cost more than my parents' four-bedroom HOUSE.) But at the same time, I know that mortgage rates are really low and the market is already starting to recover and so now is the time to buy and I don't want to miss the opportunity. And then I've got my mother saying, "You're just throwing your money away on rent!" and I need to build equity and whatever.
But, you know, buying a condo is kind of a big commitment. I'd have to expect to live there for at least five years, and I don't want to be stuck living somewhere I'm not happy just to build equity. But it seems like I'm supposed to just buy something, anything, and suck it up until I can afford to buy something nicer.
Anyway. I feel like I have a lot of things to write about - the end of Lost season 2, Side Jobs, a couple movies I've seen - so I'll try to get to those sometime soon. If I can just tear myself away from browsing condo sites... (I keep checking the same sites, hoping for an open house to pop up that's in my price range, even though I know that nothing is going to have changed since the last time I checked. Yay for neuroses, right?)
no subject
I know nothing of these things (let me show you how I fail at being grownup), but I thought you were supposed to rent until you could afford to buy something nicer?
no subject
It'd be different if I were living at home and could save up to buy a place while I didn't have a lot of expenses. Then it'd be worth waiting until I could afford something nicer. But unless I get a new job and/or a big pay increase, what I can afford isn't going to change, so I might as well put the money I'm spending toward a place I'll get to keep.
The other part of it is, like I mentioned, the market. Because the housing market collapsed, it's really the best time to be a first-time buyer, because mortgage rates are low and there aren't enough buyers so most places are selling cheap. (Of course, "cheap" is relative.) Now's the time to buy in order to take advantage of that. If I wait a few more years, I will likely end up paying even more for a less nice place.