Comment by sleepysysadmin | Hacker News Reader

Comment by sleepysysadmin | Hacker News Reader

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>I’ll start off by saying that I work 60 hours a week, at least.

Too much, even if you want to work that much. Do 40 for your primary and then 20 where you are your own boss.

>Based on the neighborhood I live in and my compensation, I am extremely privileged. I don’t have money concerns that my parents had. Most things that I might need, I can buy them without having to think too much or without putting a dent in my net worth.

HN is very likely >90% part of the zoom class. Though you it might not be zoom but rather whatever flavour, teams, etc. Welcome to being rich. You got there because of whatever skillset you have learnt. Good for you.

>But Seattle has become a lawless dump. The east side has started homes for $1.4MM where the inspection report shows you that you’re basically just paying for the land.

Welcome to high energy costs fueling inflation and pushing high energy things like homes so expensively.

>If I have to be a renter my whole damn life and can’t even afford a house, what is the god damn point? Yeah I get paid very well, but I am a pawn of people who earn significantly more.

You're looking at it the wrong way. What is your investment strategy? Rent vs own calculators certainly exist. Maybe you're out of real estate because you predict a crash? If you expect they continue rising. Then buying is the way to go.

housing is not stocks, thus you cant think like a house is a stock. They are a leveraged investment that lacks the price discovery and liquidity stocks provide.

imagine a 1m$ house. you have to put 200k$ down into a single house (no diversification). A 10% decline means a 50% decline on that 200k. selling it takes days to months with usually at least 6% fees. So this thing is highly illiquid. so its not like stocks where you can say 'well just buy and hold'.

given that they dislike Seattle, Seattle is as bubbly as ever, there is a new condo in construction on every other block, and things like the mayor saying 'we are not going to enforce the law in favor of safety towards the protestors', purchasing a home in Seattle is a scary idea.

Also another issue with Seattle its not like you can buy and rent out. a typical home that costs 3500$/month to own will only rent for max 2500$. so you have to be in something thats 1k$/month cash flow negative. even if you are networth positive, that may be unsustainable for the individual

>housing is not stocks, thus you cant think like a house is a stock. They are a leveraged investment that lacks the price discovery and liquidity stocks provide.

Even better :)

>imagine a 1m$ house. you have to put 200k$ down into a single house (no diversification). A 10% decline means a 50% decline on that 200k. selling it takes days to months with usually at least 6% fees. So this thing is highly illiquid. so its not like stocks where you can say 'well just buy and hold'.

But you cant buy 1m$ of stocks on borrowed money. 10% increase means 50% increase on your downpayment. Even better, when does housing crash? The governments just printed a bijillion dollars to prevent it crashing and rates have real yields of negative. It's free money. There is a rent vs own calculator and even in bad cities the ROI will be only a few years tops.

>given that they dislike Seattle, Seattle is as bubbly as ever, there is a new condo in construction on every other block, and things like the mayor saying 'we are not going to enforce the law in favor of safety towards the protestors', purchasing a home in Seattle is a scary idea.

The antifa rioters aren't about race or whatever they claim. It's about destroying a neighbourhood to push people like you out of the market and reduce demand. The george floyd riots have caused billions in damage, very much higher than the few hundred million in insured damages. Those markets like Seattle and Portland are going to pay for in the long run. House insurance will be exorbitantly high.

>Also another issue with Seattle its not like you can buy and rent out. a typical home that costs 3500$/month to own will only rent for max 2500$. so you have to be in something thats 1k$/month cash flow negative. even if you are networth positive, that may be unsustainable for the individual

That's the funny thing about investing. The first hit at your mortgage is the worst. You amortize for 25 years. You pay some principal in say the first 5-10 years. In those 10 years you also got a raise and are earning more. So the next time you are coming to bat to refinance you're in a better situation owing less and able to pay more. You will then be winning. The calculators out there will tell you buying vs owning is only a few years. The question is whether or not you're staying in seattle that long.

There's also the spin of the dice. There will be homeowner moments where oh shit I have tospend $5000 to fix that sump pump or roof. So its not so easy to calculate.

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