Off To See The Wizard

G is still adamant we need to get his paperwork filed prior to getting a house.  I was almost leaning that way, too, against my better instincts.  Notice that past-tense expression, “was”.

True, we can rent some substantially larger apartments for $200-300 per month less than what we’re now paying.  The housing industry here in Arizona didn’t just fall.  It jumped overboard and is going under for the third time.

Thank goodness for my daughter’s gay-friend.  This young man has been friends with the youngest of my girls since they were maybe 13-14 years old, if that.  They hang out, have a blast, and cheerfully agree that whilst they do fine as friends, if they tried to pretend a marriage for the financial benefits they’d end up killing each other inside of a month.

JS has known his sexual preferences since the time he was old enough to know the difference in day and night.  He also happens to be a financial whiz,  and has pre-qualified to buy his first house, at age 24.  He works for a bank and said between that, a hella lot of homework, and his fights to work around what has to be the all-time worst realtor, he’s learned damned near everything there is to know about buying a house.

JS had dinner with us a couple of times this week and while we were talking tonight (with G his usual stubborn self,) JS jumped in and pointed out that there are some humongous benefits to buying a home over renting an apartment RIGHT. NOW.

With an apartment, at best, we’re going to have to dig up moving costs of roughly $1000-1500.  We’ll be paying to line someone else’s pockets, and creating exactly zilch to cushion ourselves against the inevitable boomerang of the housing market. According to our financial guru, the second the tax stimulus expires, the feds are gonna raise the interest rates and housing prices will follow immediately.  That ain’t far away.

Yes, there are risks with buying a property. You are responsible for the upkeep and that can be pricey.  On the other hand, you can paint in your choice of colors and rip out the carpets and slap down tile and/or wood and there’s no deposit to forfeit and no risk of eviction on that bassis.  While the precise angle of value increase is in question, it’ll almost certainly be upward.  Plus when you do repairs and upgrades, you’re adding value to your own property.

The cincher to me is that with the current $8K tax break, we’d walk away with cash.  On a HUD property where you are slapping down $100 as down payment, splitting closing costs, that $8000 tax credit gets paid out as CASH.  That was one of the little details our banker buddy pointed out tonight, something I didn’t know before.  Assuming the closing costs are split between buyer and seller, and figuring the amount we expect to spend, we’d walk away with a few thousand bucks in our pockets, vs. paying out $1500 or thereabouts.

Kind of a DUH moment for me.

G’s still balking, believe it or not.  So I tried the logical approach, just sticking with facts.

Fact #1: We’d acquire net worth.  Right now our net worth is roughly -$10,000.  That’s a minus sign in front of five figures, in case you’re counting. Get a house, that number tilts the scale in the other direction.

Fact #2: With our own home can do as we like, even get a second dog (I figured that would convince him, if nothing else.)

Fact #3: There’s that $1500 paid out vs. $5000 in our pocket thing.  Even allowing we’d probably need to do fix up to a house, I would absolutely opt to pay for G’s paperwork out of a cash lump-sum.   You’d think that would convince him, wouldn’t you?

Fact #4: Even at the upper end of what we’re looking to spend, we’d be reducing our monthly costs by a substantial amount.  In the price range we’re considering, we’re probably going to shave away pretty close to the same amount we’d slice away by going to a cheaper rental.  Allowing a little more for utilities, we still come out ahead. On top of that, interest on a mortgage is tax-deductible.

Stir a little more DUH into the mix for me, will ya?

Fact #5: If at some point down the line a move makes sense, we can sell a house, presumably with a small gain that we can funnel into another home.  With an apartment, we’re just looking at more moving expenses, more deposits.

Fact #6: If we get into something reasonably priced, and my health tanks completely, we won’t have to worry over ever-increasing rental expenses.

Fact #7:  The snowballing exodus from this apartment complex has me concerned and should have G scared shitless.  I’ve heard horror stories about paying your rent one day and being evicted the next, because the apartment complex itself was foreclosed.  This isn’t the off season, but people are fleeing this location for cheaper ground, right and left.  That doesn’t bode well for a long-term future on the corner of Too Much and Money.

G knows how important it is to me to own our home.  I hate moving every year or two.  I hate not having my own home.  It’s a fundamental hole in my psyche and it ain’t going away.  You’d think G would be the same way.  He’s ostensibly worried about not getting his paperwork, but I realize it’s more the other way around.  If and when we do get that damned paperwork filed, he’s gonna have to shit or get off the pot.  Notice I’m not stocking up on virtual toilet paper.

That’s fine with me too.  Don’t you worry and shake your head, chalking up my cheerfulness as naivete.  I’m looking into ways to protect my assets, darlin’.  I’m grateful G’s here because frankly life is muchly improved since his arrival.  But I didn’t just fall off the turnip truck, either.  (Always did hate turnips.)  I am not going to buy a home just so an asshole can yank it away on a whim once he thinks he has a fake wooden leg to stand on.  There are definitely ways of insuring that doesn’t happen.  I’ve been reading up on it for a while and know just who to talk to in order to take care of business.

Ack!  It’s way beyond too late and I still have to work tomorrow.  Thank God tomorrow is my Friday!