[Litos]

Originally Posted by Mr Tonka

That's a sweet first house. Will make a great rental when you're done with it. You'll like it a lot more when it's making you money!

That's what we did with our first house. It was cheap, we paid it off in under 10 years, now it's producing close to $14k a year after insurance and property taxes. Since it's paid off it was easy to get a $75,000 credit line secured by the house. Just about ready to use that money to purchase 2 more rentals.

So don't go hating on your house!

dude, that's awesome. you're doing very well.

it's not that i "hate" it - it's more that i know that i could have a much nicer house HAHA !!!!

my next house will have a massive driveway with a cemented 10foot basketball goal and a backyard that i can kick field goals in.

[Billup]

Originally Posted by Litos

tried it - she won't ever let me do it again.

#girthproblems

#tightholeproblems lol

Nice house though, for serious. Reminds me a lot of my old neighborhood back in MI. Seems like you got it at a very fair price, looks like a very nice humble abode!

[kevinbahnz]

Originally Posted by elistan

Found some pics of the house in Dallas we sold earlier this year. I don't think it's the smallest in this thread, but it isn't big. 1300 sq ft!

that is a beautiful home. I just bought something similar 1700sq/ft . The outside looks bland(faded yellow aluminum siding) but it has 60 year old hardwoods hidden under the carpet throughout the whole house. I've also put porcelain tiles that looks like hardwoods in both bathrooms. If i can get it to look like yours I wouldnt mind living in it for the rest of my life.

[Litos]

Originally Posted by Billup

#tightholeproblems lol

Nice house though, for serious. Reminds me a lot of my old neighborhood back in MI. Seems like you got it at a very fair price, looks like a very nice humble abode!

thanks man.

there's plenty of space for the kids too.

it's just "bland".....

[KingOfJericho]

Originally Posted by Litos

it's not "bad", it's just boring.

cheap home builder - cheap house.

my next house will be much classier - columns, wood floors, door entrances, bigger yard, better lighting fixtures, etc.....

only paid $137K for it...

It fits in with many of the houses in this thread.

I'm shocked by how many of you guys live in brand new developments where you select from layout A, B, or C and get to pick the colors and fixtures. That doesn't really exist up here and I didn't think they were so prevalent elsewhere but I was clearly wrong.

I guess it's different around here because the area is older than the country itself but we just do not have those large developments of brand new homes. My house was built in 1935 and every house in the neighborhood is drastically different. I live in a colonial, my neighbor is in a large mediteranian, and there are a few tudors. Lots of variety and I can't really see my neighbors until winter. I'll snap a few pics this weekend if I remember...

[JasonCSU]

Originally Posted by Litos

only paid $137K for it...

Not a bad price for it, and it will be perfect for a rental home later on.

Originally Posted by elistan

Found some pics of the house in Dallas we sold earlier this year. I don't think it's the smallest in this thread, but it isn't big. 1300 sq ft!

Wow, that place looks great. Did you renovate it yourself? I'm looking at putting similar hardwood floors in my current place now.

[Litos]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

It fits in with many of the houses in this thread.

I'm shocked by how many of you guys live in brand new developments where you select from layout A, B, or C and get to pick the colors and fixtures. That doesn't really exist up here and I didn't think they were so prevalent elsewhere but I was clearly wrong.

I guess it's different around here because the area is older than the country itself but we just do not have those large developments of brand new homes. My house was built in 1935 and every house in the neighborhood is drastically different. I live in a colonial, my neighbor is in a large mediteranian, and there are a few tudors. Lots of variety and I can't really see my neighbors until winter. I'll snap a few pics this weekend if I remember...

yeah, i live in a subdivision....

there are about 6 or 7 different types of houses with different floor plans...

i can see "my style house" once in 30 houses on my street.

two are the same color and one is a different color.....

[Joekerr]

You know what I don't like? How cheap homes can be in the States.

I bought a 1615 sq ft townhouse up in Ontario here (not even in Toronto or a major city like that where prices would be much higher) and paid almost $400K for it 4 years ago. And its a townhouse. Now I'm trying to sell it for $464K and it seems to be getting some interest, but you guys down there (except for New York, LA, and some other really premium places) pay less than half to get a much bigger house with all the same or better finishes.

And you have better weather generally - least in the lower half.

Why do I live here again?

[Litos]

Originally Posted by Joekerr

You know what I don't like? How cheap homes can be in the States.

I bought a 1615 sq ft townhouse up in Ontario here (not even in Toronto or a major city like that where prices would be much higher) and paid almost $400K for it 4 years ago. And its a townhouse. Now I'm trying to sell it for $464K and it seems to be getting some interest, but you guys down there (except for New York, LA, and some other really premium places) pay less than half to get a much bigger house with all the same or better finishes.

And you have better weather generally - least in the lower half.

Why do I live here again?

you would be house mad if you knew what could buy here in Houston for $440K.

imagine a compound with 5 or 6 bedrooms - a 10-12ft deep pool with about 2.5 acres of land - driveway the size of 15 parking spaces at Target - exterior lighting to shine on your house - concrete patios that look like they are straight from a magazine - 3600sqft house on a 25000 sqft lot - etc

here's a quick search i did - them houses tho !!!!

http://search.har.com/engine/5506-Fe...AR45781748.htm

http://search.har.com/engine/1319-Mu...AR91080644.htm

http://search.har.com/engine/1806-Ch...HAR9671128.htm

[Litos]

look at the backyard of this one - dammit.



http://search.har.com/engine/2637-Ke..._HAR985243.htm

[Joekerr]

"And Litos, seizing upon the opportunity to worsen the Canadian's day, does so..."

Thanks....very kind of you to happily search and find all those excellent properties that are far less money than my 1600 sq ft townhouse.

I suppose your next post will be on weather patterns and a comparison of Texas temperatures vs those in Ontario? What a helpful soul you are.

[MediaArtist]

Originally Posted by Joekerr

You know what I don't like? How cheap homes can be in the States.

I bought a 1615 sq ft townhouse up in Ontario here (not even in Toronto or a major city like that where prices would be much higher) and paid almost $400K for it 4 years ago. And its a townhouse. Now I'm trying to sell it for $464K and it seems to be getting some interest, but you guys down there (except for New York, LA, and some other really premium places) pay less than half to get a much bigger house with all the same or better finishes.

And you have better weather generally - least in the lower half.

Why do I live here again?

Depends on where in the states.

In South Orange County, $400,000+ for a townhome sounds about right, and normal. You're not getting a decent sized SFH until around $700,000+.

Sometimes I look at places like Arizona and Texas and am shocked by how much more house you can get for the money compared to Southern California.

I do think the weather is better here though.

[Billup]

Originally Posted by MediaArtist

Depends on where in the states.

In South Orange County, $400,000+ for a townhome sounds about right, and normal. You're not getting a decent sized SFH until around $700,000+.

Sometimes I look at places like Arizona and Texas and am shocked by how much more house you can get for the money compared to Southern California.

I do think the weather is better here though.

You'd be pretty disgusted with Michigans current housing market, then. $400k will put you in some gorgeous locations in some pretty incredible neighborhoods. Then again, Michigan is not nearly as desirable as southern states like AZ, CA, TX, etc.

[Litos]

Originally Posted by Joekerr

"And Litos, seizing upon the opportunity to worsen the Canadian's day, does so..."

Thanks....very kind of you to happily search and find all those excellent properties that are far less money than my 1600 sq ft townhouse.

I suppose your next post will be on weather patterns and a comparison of Texas temperatures vs those in Ontario? What a helpful soul you are.

HAHAHA !!!!

allthough 85% of my posts are intended for troll purposes, i really didn't mean that post to come off "trolly"

housing markets vary by city and state.

you can buy a house in Detroit right now for about the cost of a used 07 335i - about $15K LMFAO !!!

but then again, you're buying a house in the most toxic and poorest cities in the nation.....

[MisterSkiMask]

Originally Posted by Joekerr

You know what I don't like? How cheap homes can be in the States.

I bought a 1615 sq ft townhouse up in Ontario here (not even in Toronto or a major city like that where prices would be much higher) and paid almost $400K for it 4 years ago. And its a townhouse. Now I'm trying to sell it for $464K and it seems to be getting some interest, but you guys down there (except for New York, LA, and some other really premium places) pay less than half to get a much bigger house with all the same or better finishes.

And you have better weather generally - least in the lower half.

Why do I live here again?

much of the Bay Area/silicon valley is as bad or worse.

my house 1711 square feet, was an absolute dump when I bought it about 10 years ago for $460k now the same floor plan (1960's subdivision) just sold for $800k, the problem is that the wife wants a $1.6m house in a fancier town up the road and it would not be as impressive as most of the houses in this thread

[MediaArtist]

Originally Posted by Billup

You'd be pretty disgusted with Michigans current housing market, then. $400k will put you in some gorgeous locations in some pretty incredible neighborhoods. Then again, Michigan is not nearly as desirable as southern states like AZ, CA, TX, etc.

Never been to Michigan. My only experience is from the film Grosse Point Blank. Those neighborhoods looked pretty nice.

[Billup]

Originally Posted by MediaArtist

Never been to Michigan. My only experience is from the film Grosse Point Blank. Those neighborhoods looked pretty nice.

Grosse Point is very nice. Areas like Bloomfield Hills, Birmingham, St. Claire Shores (lots of large lake front property), White Lake. All gorgeous areas, but I think a lot of people are afraid of that "winter" word. Housing market is terrible right now, granted its slowly coming back to life, but its opened up a prime time for young buyers to get into great houses at very low prices.

[MediaArtist]

Originally Posted by Billup

Grosse Point is very nice. Areas like Bloomfield Hills, Birmingham, St. Claire Shores (lots of large lake front property), White Lake. All gorgeous areas, but I think a lot of people are afraid of that "winter" word. Housing market is terrible right now, granted its slowly coming back to life, but its opened up a prime time for young buyers to get into great houses at very low prices.

For those neighborhoods, where do people usually work?

[MediaArtist]

Originally Posted by Litos

tried it - she won't ever let me do it again.

#girthproblems

We just need a thread called Litos wife. Could be very popular.

[Billup]

Originally Posted by MediaArtist

For those neighborhoods, where do people usually work?

Mixed market. A lot of small local business owners (a lot of cutting tool / automotive / forming feeding the local stamping plants like Chrysler & Ford), typical doctors, dentists, attorneys, engineers, and so on. Its not like CA where you can be a design artist for a major company and make it big, its much more industrial defined with the typical mainstream careers that keep the community moving.

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by Joekerr

You know what I don't like? How cheap homes can be in the States.

I bought a 1615 sq ft townhouse up in Ontario here (not even in Toronto or a major city like that where prices would be much higher) and paid almost $400K for it 4 years ago. And its a townhouse. Now I'm trying to sell it for $464K and it seems to be getting some interest, but you guys down there (except for New York, LA, and some other really premium places) pay less than half to get a much bigger house with all the same or better finishes.

And you have better weather generally - least in the lower half.

Why do I live here again?

1600sf townhouse here in the Bay Area (40 min from some of the best beach in the nation) can be bought from $55k and up. $100k for a nice one, golf course or lake front.

Housing markets in NY, LA and apparently Ontario are crazy! I'm glad that the Tampa Bay Area didn't turnout to be the next SoCal housing market as predicted in 2005. There is still lots of money to be made here with little investment.

[badazzm]

Originally Posted by Mr Tonka

1600sf townhouse here in the Bay Area (40 min from some of the best beach in the nation) can be bought from $55k and up. $100k for a nice one, golf course or lake front.

Housing markets in NY, LA and apparently Ontario are crazy! I'm glad that the Tampa Bay Area didn't turnout to be the next SoCal housing market as predicted in 2005. There is still lots of money to be made here with little investment.

Lol for a minute there I thought you were talking about "Bay Area" here in San Jose.