Clubhouse Grille (*** NO LIV DISCUSSIONS ***) (*** NO POLITICS/RELIGION ***)

[Conrad1953]

Quite a few good reasons to own real estate Sco.

 

Equity is one.........growing equity even better

Tax write off of interest and property taxes

 

When we bought our last house in California we had it built....so it was new. We sold it 4 years

later for twice what we paid for it. That's a good reason. When we listed it it sold in 2 hours for

full asking price.

 

Now, that's not going to happen with our house in Bama but we don't really care at this point

because we are not selling it......but we are few months away from owning it free and clear.

Our property taxes and insurance don't amount to much. It's still relatively new; built in 2000.

 

I can't for the life of me imagine why we would sell it and go rent a place somewhere and be subject

to rent inflation and so many other negatives associated with renting, including a lifestyle we have

no desire for.

[tolmij]

Two things amongst many we love about Australia.

 

The trees are mainly evergreen, so we have foliage all year round, some imported trees lose their leaves but they are in a very small minority. Their are two deciduous trees that are spectacular in the spring the flame tree has bright red leaves and the jacaranda tree which has a spectacular blue flower. The jacarandas in particular used to be planted all along back streets so as you drove or walked along the area was bathed in blue with the pavement and road being carpeted in colour.

 

It is now mango season, this is without any dispute the best ever tasting fruit and as we are in the top half of Australia and close to the mango farms we can purchase them at really good prices. The photo below is a some of our fruit purchased today, the mangoes in particular are very large this year, the ones in the dish weighing 2 1/2 lbs each and only cost $3.50 each. Breakfast for the next few months will be mango, red papaya and cereal. We may be able to arrange for it to be a special in the Grille.

 

 

 

 

 

Oh Tol! I love mangoes. The year I spent in Thailand I got to eat really good ones. I have had good ones in Mexico too. Sadly many of the ones we get here are stringy and not good. We do get some good small yellow ones at Costco once in a while.

 

We have stringy mangoes, wild ones not cultivated, there are dozens of them on my local golf course, the wildlife love them and they are not bad to eat as long as you have a tooth pick. The ones in the picture are called R2E2 they are a hybrid and the best tasting mango ever, in summer, not wishing to rub it in, we have them 3 times a day, the other good point with this one is the stone is very small so most of it is flesh.

 

Message to me, “ happy mango season :)”

 

 

One of our first impressions of Australia was the variety of fresh fruit, after being in such a restricted market such as the UK, we were in fruity heaven.

[tolmij]

Quite a few good reasons to own real estate Sco.

 

Equity is one.........growing equity even better

Tax write off of interest and property taxes

 

When we bought our last house in California we had it built....so it was new. We sold it 4 years

later for twice what we paid for it. That's a good reason. When we listed it it sold in 2 hours for

full asking price.

 

Now, that's not going to happen with our house in Bama but we don't really care at this point

because we are not selling it......but we are few months away from owning it free and clear.

Our property taxes and insurance don't amount to much. It's still relatively new; built in 2000.

 

I can't for the life of me imagine why we would sell it and go rent a place somewhere and be subject

to rent inflation and so many other negatives associated with renting, including a lifestyle we have

no desire for.

 

 

Totally agree, we have rented for a short time whilst we were building, never liked it even if the popular theory is it’s more expensive to own. Overall owning is best, at least there is a chance of getting some back if you sell, renting to my mind is dead money.

[tolmij]

 

pl

 

Plurocrat

[scomac2002]

Quite a few good reasons to own real estate Sco.

 

Equity is one.........growing equity even better

Tax write off of interest and property taxes

 

When we bought our last house in California we had it built....so it was new. We sold it 4 years

later for twice what we paid for it. That's a good reason. When we listed it it sold in 2 hours for

full asking price.

 

Now, that's not going to happen with our house in Bama but we don't really care at this point

because we are not selling it......but we are few months away from owning it free and clear.

Our property taxes and insurance don't amount to much. It's still relatively new; built in 2000.

 

I can't for the life of me imagine why we would sell it and go rent a place somewhere and be subject

to rent inflation and so many other negatives associated with renting, including a lifestyle we have

no desire for.

 

It all sounds so wonderful when you can write off interest expense and property taxes. If I own rental real estate I can do that, but not for my principal residence, so those costs are fully out-of-pocket.

 

Yes, you are building equity, but what you are really doing is taking advantage of leverage. I can do the same thing with a margin account at a stock brokerage. If you take the difference between what you spend in rent and what you pay out in total home ownership costs -- interest, principle, property taxes, insurance and maintenance -- and invest that money in the markets you might just find that you end up in about the same place 20 years down the road with a whole lot less hassles in the meantime especially with rent controls keeping your costs inline as a tenant.

 

You did well with your California property, but that was luck as much as anything of timing your entry and exit in that market. Were condo owners in Florida quite so lucky who bought in 2006 when selling 4 years later?

 

There's this prevailing notion that real estate can't go down, only marginally and temporarily at that, but that's just the industry talking its book. With the current prices being paid by home buyers especially those who are so desperate to get into the market there is the potential for a whole lot of hurt out there should interest rates go up a further 2-3% when it comes time to renew mortgages. What happens to those who qualified at 3%, but can't get a mortgage renewal at 5% or 6%? You'll see a revisit to the real estate crash of 2008-09 only this time it won't be sub-prime lenders!

[Conrad1953]

You must have different laws up there Sco. Down here taxes and interest on a primary residence can be

itemized and deducted from your income. It's a long standing policy by the federal govenment to encourage

home ownership.

 

As far as leverage goes I agree to an extent. People can buy homes with as little as 0 to 5% down here.

That's some pretty good leverage compared to a margin account.

[scotee]

pl

 

plagiarized

[Conrad1953]

pl

 

plagiarized

 

plumtuckered

 

I'm wiped. Need to go sleepy night night. :lazy2:

[tolmij]

Quite a few good reasons to own real estate Sco.

 

Equity is one.........growing equity even better

Tax write off of interest and property taxes

 

When we bought our last house in California we had it built....so it was new. We sold it 4 years

later for twice what we paid for it. That's a good reason. When we listed it it sold in 2 hours for

full asking price.

 

Now, that's not going to happen with our house in Bama but we don't really care at this point

because we are not selling it......but we are few months away from owning it free and clear.

Our property taxes and insurance don't amount to much. It's still relatively new; built in 2000.

 

I can't for the life of me imagine why we would sell it and go rent a place somewhere and be subject

to rent inflation and so many other negatives associated with renting, including a lifestyle we have

no desire for.

 

It all sounds so wonderful when you can write off interest expense and property taxes. If I own rental real estate I can do that, but not for my principal residence, so those costs are fully out-of-pocket.

 

Yes, you are building equity, but what you are really doing is taking advantage of leverage. I can do the same thing with a margin account at a stock brokerage. If you take the difference between what you spend in rent and what you pay out in total home ownership costs -- interest, principle, property taxes, insurance and maintenance -- and invest that money in the markets you might just find that you end up in about the same place 20 years down the road with a whole lot less hassles in the meantime especially with rent controls keeping your costs inline as a tenant.

 

You did well with your California property, but that was luck as much as anything of timing your entry and exit in that market. Were condo owners in Florida quite so lucky who bought in 2006 when selling 4 years later?

 

There's this prevailing notion that real estate can't go down, only marginally and temporarily at that, but that's just the industry talking its book. With the current prices being paid by home buyers especially those who are so desperate to get into the market there is the potential for a whole lot of hurt out there should interest rates go up a further 2-3% when it comes time to renew mortgages. What happens to those who qualified at 3%, but can't get a mortgage renewal at 5% or 6%? You'll see a revisit to the real estate crash of 2008-09 only this time it won't be sub-prime lenders!

 

Our second house in Australia almost broke us, we had it built and the interest rates at the time we secured the mortgage were 10%, this was very high but we considered it was worth it. The amount of our loan was the maximum we could borrow, to save money we even told the builder to leave the inside and we would paint it ourselves, which we did over time. Before we moved in this was whilst building the interest rates went up to 15% and a month after we moved in it was 17%.

 

We struggled I ended up doing three jobs and this was the same house involved with the state government moving us to another authority and losing money on the sale. It was hard work, we survived it, we would still not have done anything different.

 

A funny side story, when we moved in DW said she was talking to other mothers at a play group and they were complaining about the lack of farriers in the district and suggested I should take it up. Now shoeing horses is a highly skilled profession, and to boot I was absolutely terrified of them, when we went near horses I used to hide behind my wife and keep well away from them. Long story short, I did a night school course on horses, they introduced me to an old bushy farrier who took me on as a trainee, I found out I loved working with horses and passed out as a farrier in double quick time due to my extensive trade skills.

 

Another consideration in Australia is rent control is not wide spread, private renting is subject to market pressure and that is always up as rentals are at a premium, it is more expensive to rent in some areas than buy.

[SixtySomePing]

pl

 

plagiarized

plagiarized

[SixtySomePing]

pl

plasticine porters...

[scomac2002]

It's apparent that the laws and market forces of differing countries will have a big impact on the attractiveness of owning real estate from a financial perspective. I agree with most of you that ownership is seen as the prime goal for the majority. I can say for myself that I probably wouldn't own if I was single, but this is a necessity of life for my DW so we own because we can.

 

I lived through the early 1980's and will never forget what happened with interest rates and good honest folks lost homes because of nothing more than poor advice. Our first mortgage was for 11% and then 14% upon renewal 3 years later! Those were tough times for us and I will never forget how we were treated by the banks when trying to secure financing. The only time they want to lend you money is when you don't need it! I always figured that is was a far better idea to own shares in the banks and profit from their business practices than it was to be a borrower or depositor even for that matter.

 

[Added] This conversation came up a week ago at my men's league windup. One of the fellows was telling me about their experience downsizing when I had told him that's what we were doing putting the farm up for sale. He said that after they sold their bigger house they decided to rent rather than buy a condo which was what they were looking at. That way they could try out that life style without being locked in if they didn't like it and the market turned against them. They found a property that they liked which had been originally built as a condo, but converted into rental units. That was over three years ago and they are still there with no intention of moving! If something comes along that they really, really like, they would be owners again, but in the meantime they are quite content to continue renting where they are having their capital invest elsewhere and drawing an income from that. Just good business as I see it! :good:

[tolmij]

DW found this today and I thought it was a good lesson in how to live.

[tolmij]

It's apparent that the laws and market forces of differing countries will have a big impact on the attractiveness of owning real estate from a financial perspective. I agree with most of you that ownership is seen as the prime goal for the majority. I can say for myself that I probably wouldn't own if I was single, but this is a necessity of life for my DW so we own because we can.

 

I lived through the early 1980's and will never forget what happened with interest rates and good honest folks lost homes because of nothing more than poor advice. Our first mortgage was for 11% and then 14% upon renewal 3 years later! Those were tough times for us and I will never forget how we were treated by the banks when trying to secure financing. The only time they want to lend you money is when you don't need it! I always figured that is was a far better idea to own shares in the banks and profit from their business practices than it was to be a borrower or depositor even for that matter.

 

[Added] This conversation came up a week ago at my men's league windup. One of the fellows was telling me about their experience downsizing when I had told him that's what we were doing putting the farm up for sale. He said that after they sold their bigger house they decided to rent rather than buy a condo which was what they were looking at. That way they could try out that life style without being locked in if they didn't like it and the market turned against them. They found a property that they liked which had been originally built as a condo, but converted into rental units. That was over three years ago and they are still there with no intention of moving! If something comes along that they really, really like, they would be owners again, but in the meantime they are quite content to continue renting where they are having their capital invest elsewhere and drawing an income from that. Just good business as I see it! :good:

 

I have friends who would never buy, it’s a very personal and individual thing, I can see the value of renting and investing the cash from a sale, it’s sonething I have never considered after working with an avid investor who lost everything when some deals went belly up. Are you now looking to rent?, it seems a much safer option than it is in Australia. Many young people are now having to rent as the housing market is out of control, we are constantly being told there is a downward turn in prices but it never seems that way when you are buying.

[scomac2002]

No, we'll be buying simply because we can not necessarily because it's a better idea. My wife would not be happy as a renter that's why I said that I would be inclined to rent if I was single. That way, I could try out different living arrangements to find what suited without being locked into anything, but that's just a hypothetical for a situation different than I find myself in.

 

I understand all about the deals gone bad. I have a couple of friends who refuse to put money in the market as they are convinced it's rigged and is nothing more than a casino designed to separate gullible people from their money. At least with real estate it is tangible and it can't go to zero provided you keep up with the mortgage payments. There are no such guarantees with stocks, but there are fairly low risk ways to be invested where as long as you can handle the volatility you will make out fine over the longer term.

 

I always figured if real estate ownership was such a great deal then why did we get the advent of the condo. Rental units should have been a far better investment, but developers discovered that they could get their capital out by selling the units then continue to collect over time with the condo fees placing all the risk at the hands of the owners.

[SixtySomePing]

pl

plasticine porters...

ok............ how do you post a pic without the 'Attached Thumbnails' reference showing up over the pic? I must be doing something wrong that's so obvious....

[scotee]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/theres-a-winner-ticket-sold-for-dollar1537-billion-mega-millions-jackpot-in-south-carolina/ar-BBOOXV2?li=BBnb7Kz

 

Anybody heard from Stuey?

[tolmij]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/theres-a-winner-ticket-sold-for-dollar1537-billion-mega-millions-jackpot-in-south-carolina/ar-BBOOXV2?li=BBnb7Kz

 

Anybody heard from Stuey?

 

Now there is someone who will not have a problem buying.

[tolmij]

pl

plasticine porters...

ok............ how do you post a pic without the 'Attached Thumbnails' reference showing up over the pic? I must be doing something wrong that's so obvious....

 

Always use a photo shop ap and upload using the WRX more reply options, I have to alter the pic in the ap then revert back to original or for some reason it rotates the picture 90*.

[tolmij]

No, we'll be buying simply because we can not necessarily because it's a better idea. My wife would not be happy as a renter that's why I said that I would be inclined to rent if I was single. That way, I could try out different living arrangements to find what suited without being locked into anything, but that's just a hypothetical for a situation different than I find myself in.

 

I understand all about the deals gone bad. I have a couple of friends who refuse to put money in the market as they are convinced it's rigged and is nothing more than a casino designed to separate gullible people from their money. At least with real estate it is tangible and it can't go to zero provided you keep up with the mortgage payments. There are no such guarantees with stocks, but there are fairly low risk ways to be invested where as long as you can handle the volatility you will make out fine over the longer term.

 

I always figured if real estate ownership was such a great deal then why did we get the advent of the condo. Rental units should have been a far better investment, but developers discovered that they could get their capital out by selling the units then continue to collect over time with the condo fees placing all the risk at the hands of the owners.

 

As with you, DW would never rent by choice, she married at 19, spent two years travelling the world then was moving in and out of rentals for the next 14 years, a stable home life is always her priority and this can only be secured by owning. Prior to us meeting she had a very unstable life after getting married to her first husband.

[Conrad1953]

Last time I was home Cobi was showing me these big worms she was finding in our back yard. They

looked almost like a skinny snake. Have a fat little head and a spur at the end of their tail. They're

only about 5-6 inces long.

 

Since then, more have been showing up in our yard and she was worried they might be baby snakes.

It's weird because they actually move more like a snake than a worm. Alabama has some weird wildlife

and I just figured they were just some kind of worm we'd never seen or heard of til now.

 

So Cobi told some other people about it and we all started investigating what these things are. It turns

out they actually are snakes...........known as Brahminy Blind Snakes. They're non venomous and

essentially harmless but actually eat ant eggs and larvae and are beneficial to the soil........so we

stopped killing them, lol.

 

They initially were accidentally brought to the US in plant life and were quite rare here but are now starting

to show up around the country.......so, if one shows up in your yard.........be nice to it....

[scomac2002]

Dave Roberts is the worst manager in baseball! 109 homeruns on the bench for the first two games. No wonder they lose!

 

I used to think that a NL manager had an advantage because he was used to being more strategic with his player substitutions, but this guy is so swept up in his numbers that he's leaving his best hitters on the bench! :fool:

[tolmij]

Last time I was home Cobi was showing me these big worms she was finding in our back yard. They

looked almost like a skinny snake. Have a fat little head and a spur at the end of their tail. They're

only about 5-6 inces long.

 

Since then, more have been showing up in our yard and she was worried they might be baby snakes.

It's weird because they actually move more like a snake than a worm. Alabama has some weird wildlife

and I just figured they were just some kind of worm we'd never seen or heard of til now.

 

So Cobi told some other people about it and we all started investigating what these things are. It turns

out they actually are snakes...........known as Brahminy Blind Snakes. They're non venomous and

essentially harmless but actually eat ant eggs and larvae and are beneficial to the soil........so we

stopped killing them, lol.

 

They initially were accidentally brought to the US in plant life and were quite rare here but are now starting

to show up around the country.......so, if one shows up in your yard.........be nice to it....

 

These were quite common in wooded areas in the UK.

[SixtySomePing]

Last time I was home Cobi was showing me these big worms she was finding in our back yard. They

looked almost like a skinny snake. Have a fat little head and a spur at the end of their tail. They're

only about 5-6 inces long.

 

Since then, more have been showing up in our yard and she was worried they might be baby snakes.

It's weird because they actually move more like a snake than a worm. Alabama has some weird wildlife

and I just figured they were just some kind of worm we'd never seen or heard of til now.

 

So Cobi told some other people about it and we all started investigating what these things are. It turns

out they actually are snakes...........known as Brahminy Blind Snakes. They're non venomous and

essentially harmless but actually eat ant eggs and larvae and are beneficial to the soil........so we

stopped killing them, lol.

 

They initially were accidentally brought to the US in plant life and were quite rare here but are now starting

to show up around the country.......so, if one shows up in your yard.........be nice to it....

I have an idea, keep them in Alabama

 

End of idea...

 

:dntknw:

[Wriggles]

It's been cold and windy the last couple days. Can't handle windy golf.

 

Today, high 40's, hope the wind is light.

 

May get out to golf if not too windy.

[billh17]

If it looks like a snake...and it moves like a snake...it will be treated like a snake in my yard. It will be exterminated !

sorry...but I do not like snakes. Spiders dont bother me...snakes...no way !

[SixtySomePing]

If it looks like a snake...and it moves like a snake...it will be treated like a snake in my yard. It will be exterminated !

sorry...but I do not like snakes. Spiders dont bother me...snakes...no way !

Amen. When we lived out in the country before we moved in town, we lived on Blacksnake Rd. I figured I'd eventually see one (even though the road was named that because it was named Blacksnake cause it had so many curves and turns it looked like a snake).

Finally one day after about 2 years I was bush-hogging the front pasture and changed out to the finish mower to do the back hill behind the house where it meets the woods. Sure enough a big old black snake had come down to meet me when I made a couple of swipes past. Well a finish mower on the back of a '53 Ferguson is pretty good sized, so I just swung it around and trimmed him into about 50 pieces (on behalf of snake haters everywhere). Then I did my best Rocky by stopping the tractor and standing up and saying "You ain't so bad!"

That Ferguson was sweet, my Dad and I restored it from pretty much junk to basically brand new, it was a blast... pic below:

[billh17]

Now Thats one fine looking tractor. I can remember many a day on one of those...It was used to keep the back field cut.Only finish mower

was for the front yard. Spent a lot of hours on that thing pulling a bush hog over the years ! Gramps painted ours bright blue with

red trim...he had it decked out like the pimp mobile of the Hollow !

[SixtySomePing]

Now Thats one fine looking tractor. I can remember many a day on one of those...It was used to keep the back field cut.Only finish mower

was for the front yard. Spent a lot of hours on that thing pulling a bush hog over the years ! Gramps painted ours bright blue with

red trim...he had it decked out like the pimp mobile of the Hollow !

Yeah I mowed the front and back, up the hill to the woods, and the 'greens' on my two holed golf course with the finish mower. Here's a pic I found of the place while starting to clean out my desk at work for retirement (yay). It was basically a double wide with a nice 30'X40' outbuilding we used for a garage/horst stall for 'Chic' the horse/3 Jersey calves/chicken coupe-6 free rangers-Golden Comets, etc and pasture/golf course/stocked pond/

6 gardens/shooting range/soccer field/badminton court/ campfires/rabbit hunting/deer hunting woods. It was a blast, especially for the kids. What you see was all ours. Nice and secluded, driveway was 800 ft. long, out in the middle of the boonies...

[billh17]

Now Thats one fine looking tractor. I can remember many a day on one of those...It was used to keep the back field cut.Only finish mower

was for the front yard. Spent a lot of hours on that thing pulling a bush hog over the years ! Gramps painted ours bright blue with

red trim...he had it decked out like the pimp mobile of the Hollow !

Yeah I mowed the front and back, up the hill to the woods, and the 'greens' on my two holed golf course with the finish mower. Here's a pic I found of the place while starting to clean out my desk at work for retirement (yay). It was basically a double wide with a nice 30'X40' outbuilding we used for a garage/horst stall for 'Chic' the horse/3 Jersey calves/chicken coupe-6 free rangers-Golden Comets, etc and pasture/golf course/stocked pond/

6 gardens/shooting range/soccer field/badminton court/ campfires/rabbit hunting/deer hunting woods. It was a blast, especially for the kids. What you see was all ours. Nice and secluded, driveway was 800 ft. long, out in the middle of the boonies...

 

Thats beautiful...mine doesn't have all of that,but I am right in the middle of almost 10 acres. I keep about two acres mowed ,and the rest is a mix of oak,maple,wild cherry,locust,beech,and sweet gum,and a ton of hickory. as you can see,autumn is here,but the colors aren't as good this year