[erickonphoenix]

I've got a home out in the country that I used to live in and I commuted into Houston. But around 2011 the commute had escalated to about 90 minutes each way so I tried to turn in my resignation and look for work closer to home. My boss hit me back with a counter offer too good to pass up so I just used the raise to fund an apartment closer to work.

So now it's ten years later and maintaining a property AND an apartment is just not adding up anymore. So I'm considering leasing the country property but then I'll still be renting.

OR selling the country house and buying something in the city but then taxes and HOA fees will probably add up close to what my rental rates are.

I've considered splitting the difference and buying a place closer in but those properties are as expensive as metro properties.

A buddy of mine just bought a property near the office and he said straight up the taxes are about triple what I currently play out in the country.

Any ideas?

[turboawd]

I'd need to know some more figures.
How much is your property worth?
Rent?
Cost to buy property closer to work?
Taxes?

And do you use your country property at all?
Will boss allow remote working? Not sure of your job...

[evil-G-nius]

Well as a person who has rented for way too damn long, my recommendation is to buy something. No matter what kind of drain or headache it might be you still get somethign out of it. Tax breaks, gain equity and you can always sell and collect money because its yours. If you rent, you are going to probably pay more than what a mortgage is (you do in California anyway) and you have ZERO say as to what happens. If the owner decides to sell you are assed out. If the owner decides to raise your rent, you either have to suck it up or move again. Renting is stupid and a waste of money IMO. I'd say buy something you want and use the country place as a source of income by renting it out or VRBO it. Just my 2 cents

[P1]

Sell the country property and use those proceeds to buy a property in a good part of Houston.

[turboawd]

Originally Posted by evil-G-nius

Well as a person who has rented for way too damn long, my recommendation is to buy something. No matter what kind of drain or headache it might be you still get somethign out of it. Tax breaks, gain equity and you can always sell and collect money because its yours. If you rent, you are going to probably pay more than what a mortgage is (you do in California anyway) and you have ZERO say as to what happens. If the owner decides to sell you are assed out. If the owner decides to raise your rent, you either have to suck it up or move again. Renting is stupid and a waste of money IMO. I'd say buy something you want and use the country place as a source of income by renting it out or VRBO it. Just my 2 cents

But it depends on the figures.
If your rent is 1000, and your house is 2500 with taxes maintenance and whatnot, then renting is smarter.

[CTinline-six]

I'd see if you can find employment closer to your country home if that is where you enjoy living the most. Even if it's a slight cut in pay, you won't have the rent of the apartment or the high taxes if you move closer to work.

[CTinline-six]

Originally Posted by turboawd

But it depends on the figures.
If your rent is 1000, and your house is 2500 with taxes maintenance and whatnot, then renting is smarter.

This.

It depends if you really want to own a home/property or not. Personally, I love living in the country, having property, a garage, doing yard work, etc. An apartment wouldn't suit that need, but I also wouldn't have the expenses associated with owning a home.

[evil-G-nius]

Originally Posted by turboawd

But it depends on the figures.
If your rent is 1000, and your house is 2500 with taxes maintenance and whatnot, then renting is smarter.

Not entirely. Your rent maybe 1000, but you are still going to pay more come tax time because you no longer have that break and at the end of the day you have nothing to show for it. What if the place you rent is smaller than where you live now and you have to get a storage unit...that is more outgoing money.

IDK, I still think you would still come out better owning because you gain equity that you can pull from where as renting is just outgoing money with no say about what happens to where you live. I highly doubt (again jaded by California) you are going to find a place to rent that you are going to want to live in for $1000 a month.

[CTinline-six]

Originally Posted by evil-G-nius

Not entirely. Your rent maybe 1000, but you are still going to pay more come tax time because you no longer have that break and at the end of the day you have nothing to show for it. What if the place you rent is smaller than where you live now and you have to get a storage unit...that is more outgoing money.

IDK, I still think you would still come out better owning because you gain equity that you can pull from where as renting is just outgoing money with no say about what happens to where you live. I highly doubt (again jaded by California) you are going to find a place to rent that you are going to want to live in for $1000 a month.

$1000 in CA will get you a nice tent on someone's front lawn.

[evil-G-nius]

Originally Posted by CTinline-six

$1000 in CA will get you a nice tent on someone's front lawn.

No lawn! LOL

[Noneya]

If you decide on rent vs own based on what you think is better financially in the long run, you'll almost certainly make the wrong calculations. You may still make the correct decision since it's only two choices, but it'll be due to luck rather than math.

Instead decide based on what you need from your abode and choose whichever option can provide that for you.

[erickonphoenix]

Good info in here. I'm definitely going to buy a property.

Financially the best decision is to keep the country house I own outright and just eat the commute. But as I get older I value my time more and spending three hours a day sitting in traffic in a car has become more of a pain point. After some considerable thought, I think I'll liquidate the country property and use those funds to get something closer to work. I know essentially I'm trading cash flow for having three more hours a day but maybe when I retire I can sell the in town property and get something rural again.

It was a good run out there but I sense it's just not a practical asset anymore.

[vreihen16]

Add those three hours of driving onto your work day, and figure out what your effective hourly pay rate is counting those commutes as work time.

Many people in my neck of the woods use this formula to decide if 30% higher pay is worth 3+ hours of commuting to/from NYC every day, if it would pay off to live closer with more expensive housing costs, etc.....

[Mandi90TT]

My uncle has a country place that no one knows about. He said it used to be a farm before the Motor law. And on Sundays I elude the eyes and hop the Turbine Freight to far outside the Wire where my white-haired uncle waits.

Keep the country place. Someday you could be the white haired uncle.

[Bonk!]

I had a somewhat similar situation. Had a house way out in the 'burbs and bought a condo downtown Boston. Used the condo mid-week and the house on the weekends until we got tired of the transition. Actually sold both and bought a new place just outside the city. Not sure if this helps - but I'm +1 for not having two places.

[erickonphoenix]

Originally Posted by Dave 90TT

My uncle has a country place that no one knows about. He said it used to be a farm before the Motor law. And on Sundays I elude the eyes and hop the Turbine Freight to far outside the Wire where my white-haired uncle waits.

Keep the country place. Someday you could be the white haired uncle.

I'm definitely going to be that uncle, but probably not the alleged Ferrari 166 but maybe an e89 Z4. Too bad there aren't many one lane bridges left in my neck of the woods.

Originally Posted by vreihen16

Add those three hours of driving onto your work day, and figure out what your effective hourly pay rate is counting those commutes as work time.

Many people in my neck of the woods use this formula to decide if 30% higher pay is worth 3+ hours of commuting to/from NYC every day, if it would pay off to live closer with more expensive housing costs, etc.....

I don't know what the acceptable hourly rate of sitting in a car in traffic listening to NPR is but I did the calculation and it's not enough. Excellent suggestion though.

Originally Posted by Bonk!

I had a somewhat similar situation. Had a house way out in the 'burbs and bought a condo downtown Boston. Used the condo mid-week and the house on the weekends until we got tired of the transition. Actually sold both and bought a new place just outside the city. Not sure if this helps - but I'm +1 for not having two places.

When rent was $900/mo it made more sense but it's been creeping into four digits the last few years. In one respect I'm a bit lucky as a good friend of mine essentially just did the same thing. Another issue I forgot about was when I was commuting I was putting about 30k a year on my vehicle. So leasing was out of the question, I was pretty much buying a new car every five years.

[stevenc]

I live in Houston and a long commute is not worth any amount of money. Do you like your country home? Do you do things in the country that you cant do in the city? Maintaining two homes is not the best idea and probably just buying a place closer to work is the best idea. I know Houston can be expensive but there are always up and coming areas that you can get in on before the price get too crazy.

Where in Houston is work located? What is important to you in a home?

[GenXer]

This.

[evil-G-nius]

Originally Posted by erickonphoenix

Good info in here. I'm definitely going to buy a property.

Financially the best decision is to keep the country house I own outright and just eat the commute. But as I get older I value my time more and spending three hours a day sitting in traffic in a car has become more of a pain point. After some considerable thought, I think I'll liquidate the country property and use those funds to get something closer to work. I know essentially I'm trading cash flow for having three more hours a day but maybe when I retire I can sell the in town property and get something rural again.

It was a good run out there but I sense it's just not a practical asset anymore.

Congrats. Glad you were able to come up with something that will benefit you mentally & financially in the long run. Happy house hunting!

[erickonphoenix]

Originally Posted by stevenc

I live in Houston and a long commute is not worth any amount of money. Do you like your country home? Do you do things in the country that you cant do in the city? Maintaining two homes is not the best idea and probably just buying a place closer to work is the best idea. I know Houston can be expensive but there are always up and coming areas that you can get in on before the price get too crazy.

Where in Houston is work located? What is important to you in a home?

I work downtown, my house is in Magnolia and I like it because of the shop, so I can work on my cars. I could probably find something in the garden oaks area. Maybe even the upper Heights. Also considering EDO.

Also, what happens if my work decides to offer a work from home option now that we’ve found that apparently works?