Sunday, June 07, 2009

Closing Costs for Retards

Posted by at 6:11 AM
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9 comments:

  1. AnonymousJune 07, 2009 2:46 PM

    Funny, stupid video!

    I am moving out of DC all together! This city has unrealistic prices, very horrible weather and lots of crime.

    I am going back to southern France. Enjoy your muggy summers!

    Adieu :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. ON3I1June 07, 2009 3:51 PM

    As an actual "first time home buyer" I didn't think the video was that unhelpful.
    And arcticerose22, it seems to me that much of southern France, despite being idyllic, is either very expensive or quite dangerous. Do hold onto your purse in Marseille!

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJune 07, 2009 4:24 PM

    The point is very simple! It costs 50% less to rent than to own. 50% LESS!! Buying is like saying look at me I am STUPID!.

    By the way I own a place in Nice. Enjoy DC!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. JamesJune 07, 2009 6:00 PM

    ON3I1 said...
    "As an actual 'first time home buyer' I didn't think the video was that unhelpful."

    Whether it's helpful or not, the presentation is annoying. My post title is a play on the "...For Dummies" and "Complete Idiot's Guide..." books.

    ReplyDelete
  5. JamesJune 07, 2009 6:12 PM

    arcticrose22 said...
    "I am going back to southern France. Enjoy your muggy summers!"

    Have fun in Nice. I'm debating an eventual move to Florida, where home prices are half what they are here, and the weather is much nicer. The only downside: not many tech jobs there. Although, I have two co-workers who recently moved to Florida and now telecommute.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousJune 08, 2009 2:42 AM

    That was helpful for me as a first time home shopper/buyer as well. Not sure I'm buying that "renting is %50 cheaper" argument. Usually renting is the cost to buy + whatever profit the owner wants to make.

    That means renting, outside the bubble we just had, will usually end up costing you more than renting.

    ReplyDelete
  7. JamesJune 08, 2009 5:39 AM

    Infinity8Ball said...
    "That means renting, outside the bubble we just had, will usually end up costing you more than renting."

    I think you meant to say "owning" as the last word of that sentence, right?

    Ignoring the current bubble, I think that renting is usually cheaper in the short run but owning is cheaper in the long run. I say this because according to John T. Reed, real estate investors usually have negative cash flow when they first buy a property. The benefits of owning seem to come from inflation, which raises rents and home prices over time.

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousJune 08, 2009 8:36 AM

    What James said. Keep in mind that in the simplified equation, Rent = Cost + Profit. Rent is NOT a variable dependent on the other two. Landlords CAN'T simply charge whatever they want. They can't charge more than people are willing and able to pay. Rather the price that they are willing to pay for the purchase of a rental propety is dependent upon their estimates of rent (today and into the future) --Jim A

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  9. AnonymousJune 08, 2009 2:31 PM

    All I know is that the condo I was renting was $1100 a month, but if I bought it in 2006, my mortgage would have been $2900 a month. Hell if I were to buy it now, my mortgage would still be over $1100 a month.

    ReplyDelete

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