How Much Did You Pay?

[Jeff]

The basement however is not finished. 

But you'll be "finished" when you start filling up that basement and the Mrs. sees how much stuff you truly have!


Back to the topic at hand, I believe when we bought our house (2001), we paid about $180,000 for it.  It is a 4 Bedroom, 2 Bathroom split-level house (built in 1987) - about 2100 sq.ft. total.

Since we bought it, we've replaced all the bedroom carpet with Pergo, repainted/remodeled both bathrooms, built a deck, and totally re-landscaped the backyard. 

Upon the latest inspection/appraisal we had done (last summer for insurance reasons), we learned that it is now worth about $265,000 now so we are pleased. and planning on staying put for a while.   

[Tracy]

yet we're only 15 minutes from uptown (they don't call it downtown) Charlotte.

That's awfully positive of them.

Yeah, they seem to think is sounds so much more positive and upbeat

[Tracy]

It is a 4 Bedroom, 2 Bathroom split-level house (built in 1987) - about 2100 sq.ft. total.

Since we bought it, we've replaced all the bedroom carpet with Pergo, repainted/remodeled both bathrooms, built a deck, and totally re-landscaped the backyard. 

Upon the latest inspection/appraisal we had done (last summer for insurance reasons), we learned that it is now worth about $265,000 now so we are pleased. and planning on staying put for a while.   

Jeff --  with your rapidly expanding family sounds like you guys are set it in the housing department.  Its nice that you don't have to worry about looking for a larger home -- yet

[Morgbug]

The basement however is not finished. 

But you'll be "finished" when you start filling up that basement and the Mrs. sees how much stuff you truly have!

Shhh, it's my 13th anniversary today, don't jinx it

[JesseVader08]

Jesse,
You need to clarify a point on the square footage.  Many homes either don't have a basement or the square footage doesn't include the basement in the square footage of the house as it is listed by real estate agents.  That varies by market. 

"Varies by market" is right.  I was so confused about the square footage when we started looking because in Kindersley the basement isn't included in that amount.  So a 1750 sq ft bungalow is actually 3500 when including the basement.  However, in Kelowna, the only part that isn't included in the "official" square footage is an undeveloped part of the basement, ie. the furnace/utility room.  So a 1750 sq ft house could be 3500 if the basement isn't developed, but if it is, the total may only be 2000 sq ft.  Annoying to say the least.

We've since started looking in Winfield, a town 10-15 mins north, and the houses can be up to $100,000 cheaper for the same house in Kelowna.  That's a lot of SW figures my friends.

[Deanpaul]

Since we bought it, we've replaced all the bedroom carpet with Pergo, repainted/remodeled both bathrooms, built a deck, and totally re-landscaped the backyard. 

Your pictures aren't linked on page two anymore, sunshine. 

[Jeff]

Your pictures aren't linked on page two anymore, sunshine. 

Apparently, links don't last forever...

Try these:

http://www.jedidefender.com/images/jlsdeck/sidedeck.JPG
http://www.jedidefender.com/images/jlsdeck/landing.JPG
http://www.jedidefender.com/images/jlsdeck/sideview.JPG
http://www.jedidefender.com/images/jlsdeck/back.JPG
http://www.jedidefender.com/images/jlsdeck/backview.JPG

[Hemish]

Wow seems like you guys in the US get good deals on houses as well
The current place i'm in cost us $315000 and its just on 320 sqm which works out to around 3444 sq ft , block size is only 700 sqm but its closer in to stuff, our previous place we built in 96 was on an acre of land and around 3000 sq ft all up it only cost us $187000 we sold it last year for $320000.

[ruiner]

Man, that deck kicks ass Jeff!

Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside when you build something like that with your own bare hands, doesn't it?

[Xander]

We got an old bungalow (100 years old) in intown Atlanta for a steal 6 years ago, at $54,000. We did about $30,000 in renovations, so now we're looking at, maybe in a couple of years, getting 4 times what we paid.    The house next door, formerly home to a wanted guy named "Angel", just sold for $259,000, and its a similar construction.

Seems so amazing, until I hear about how ridiculous the market has been in California during the same time period. I shutter to even check home prices there.  Overheated!  Same in other big cities. It is good to note just how much more house you can get in other areas, but I like where I am now.

Things may cool a bit now, since interest rates were so low for several years. 

[Jim]

House prices are so hard to determine.  In the Northeast where we live, it is one of the top markets in the Country.  Right before 9/11 we bought a home with 1700sqft.  It was a split on a 1/2 acre of land.  3 Bedrooms, 2 Baths, 2 Car Garage, Finished basement, Open Concept Living, Dining, Kitchen with 20 foot high ceilings, Fireplace and a nice small deck in the back.  Price? $129K.  Our mortgage at the time was financed with a 8.25% 30 year loan.  Two years ago we refinanced for 5.125% and signed a 20 year mortgage.  So our mortgage dropped from $800 to $600 a month. Our house was just listed at having a $250K value according to the town.  That doesnt even count as the $25K we put in for home improvements over the last year.  We had considered just recently moving into a bigger house which would force us to move a  bit farther away.  We could of sold the house 6 times over in a week, so people do have crazy money to piss away. Either wait til prices drop or move a good distance from the city like we did  I dont see how people can afford them nowadays unless you make 6 figures or both the wife and yourself working It aint easy.

[Morgbug]

Ooh, another big difference between the US and Canada with respect to homes:

In the US your mortgages tend to be very long term at relatively "low" rates.  North of the border rates are typically higher though we just signed a very good rate at 5.3% for 10 years.  Prior to that the longest I'd held was a 5 year mortgage which is considered long term here.  Banks won't usually give anything longer than 10 years so seeing those 20 or 30 year mortgage terms is pretty amazing.  I'd love to have Jim's mortgage that much is certain.  BTW, I negotiated fairly hard on the mortgage as well, the "listed" interest rate for a 10 year mortgage is 7.4%

Another huge difference between the US and Canada as I understand it is that your interest on the mortgage is tax deductible in the US.  In Canada it is not (you REALLY want socialized health care?) so there's no tax break there at all.  Mind you I believe you pay tax on your income tax return whereas we do not.  I'd prefer the US option.

[Jim]

I'd love to have Jim's mortgage that much is certain. 

The only thing that sucked about getting our low mortgage is that we refinanced 4 times in one year.  Because at the time rates kept going down.  Fortuneately the closing costs were not too bad each time since we stuck with the same bank, lawyer etc.  With 18 years left on the mortgage we are finally seeing the principal grow.  We actually hope to have it paid off within 10 years.

Best advice someone gave me and i'll pass along is: try to stick in just one extra payment a year on the principal.  You'll drop several years off. 

Owing a house is a no brainer IMO.  We rented for the longest time and it really is just pissing money down the drain.  A couple pieces of advice for new home buyers.  Pay off all your credit cards beforehand.  Have enough down payment to eliminate your PMI.  And put as much cash down when you purchase even if it means taking money that was put away for other reasons.  I unloaded all my accounts from childhood, trust funds, stocks, etc.  This allowed me to put 30% down right off the bat.  Sure we were totally broke for about a year but it was all worth it.  We had no kids at the time, our cars were paid off, etc. 

I actually went to some finance classes beforehand regarding buying a home.  They can offer some excellent no brainer ideas. 

[Tracy]

Something we did the second time we bought to eliminate the PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) was to get an 80-10-10 loan.  We got a primary mortgage for 80% of the value, a 2nd mortgage for 10% and we put 10% down.  Saved us about $140/mo on our mortgage.  I think they also have 80-15-5 loans too.  Why pay the PMI if you don't have too?