Shopsmith Forums

Renting an apartment here in the Twin Cities is really expensive (I'm sure it is most places). Our under-employed son, whose still paying off his college loan, has been pissing away precious dollars on rent - and collecting rent receipts for 3 years.

My wife and I decided to pull some of our retirement savings and give him the money for a down payment to purchase a house. We're changing our wills, to deduct that amount, assuming we still have some cash left when we reach the end of the trail.

He's looking for a larger house than he needs and intends to get a room mate. He may also rent a stall in the garage if he ends up with a two car garage.

I don't know about where you all live, but here prices have hit bottom and started up again. We bid the asking price on two properties this month and were outbid twice! One place was shown first on on a weekend and by Wednesday they'd had 6 offers, accepted one and it was over.

Wish us luck.

Best of luck! I hope you get to find which suits you best that is well within your budget.

Here where I live in western Colorado, rentals are much higher than payments very often. We rent our three rentals for about 135% of payments and could easily get more. With interest rates low, the payments are lots lower than they would have been several years ago, but qualifying is much harder now. We have not purchased any thing for 5 years, but are always looking. Here is what we always do. On any property, but especially a repo, get a good inspection and appraisal before you do anything! I 'll have two done, and make sure the second is working for me, not the lender, seller or lister. Know your own repair limits and stay away from anything that presses those limits and you can't reasonably hire done. ( I have learned that the hard way.) Be careful with title insurance as well. ZGo with the shortest mortgage term you can afford, no adjustables. Check out local codes, ect, and be sure you can actually do the work needed yourself. Renting out part of a house might be an issue in some locations, especially the garage. Do not get pushed into something, housing is still plentiful and you will eventually find what you need. The fact that you made an offer and were out bid, does not surprise me. You can bet that the guy who got it was told about you!. Remember the listing agent works for the seller. We have used a second realtor as our rep on several occasions and while it can be a bit of $$ to do so, it can be well worth the effort. I have done what you are doing and it worked out well. My other advice is to be sure you have everything done well and legal, family and finances can get complicated, especially when a new spouse enters the picture. Sounds like you have that under control, Good luck.

Living in the Twin Cities I know your pain. I think the last Case-Shiller index that came out listed the metro as the 2nd highest behind Phoenix for growth. My parents are looking to move back to the area and I've been pushing for them to not take their time.

Locally, townhouses may limited upside potential, but many of them have been extremely depressed. If better times occur may have greater appreciation in the short-term. Of course, there is the issue with no one wants a 30 year old townhouse either.

I think the local news reported that inventories are the lowest in the last 7 years right now. Also the economy here has been stronger than a lot of places which helps too.