How old were you when you bought your first house?

[Budnicks]

Sort of a bit off track but on subject...

I must admit I saw my step-dad Bob & my Mom struggle for years
he was 29 when he married my mom & bought his 1st house
on Cowell Rd Concord, lil' ranch style 3 bed 1 bath slab home
it was like $23K (not 100% sure), before they stepped up & bought a nice
2 story like 3,000sqft 2-1/2 bath, big 3 car garage & pie shaped huge lot,
in the center on the end of Cobblestone Ct., in Canteberry Village
Concord subdivision...
I think it was like $30k (not 100% sure), a lot bigger house...
But; him being a lifer Union pipefitter, he made great $$ when he was working
he was unemployed/on unemployment funds, like 4-6 months a year...
I wanted nothing to do with that stuff...
I learned a lot about racing & cars from him too &
He did provide a nice home for us always...

I wanted to be my own boss, not have someone dictate when or if I work
or some Union BS, politics dictating it, I did work for a couple unions too
Carpenters, Plumbers & IBEW, before I went out on my own...
1st started a plumbing co., a C-License 1st & then got my general contractors license
went out framing at 1st...
I made sure when I could, I'd buy real-estate, my Uncle & my Grandad
were great influences on me, what to do...
Stay for about 5 or so years (as not to pay capitol gains) & move up...
Bigger better...

I was destined to own property, it was the way out...

My dad Harvey, & my step dad Bob, were working stiff/grunts
working for someone else most their lives...

My dad had a construction business when I was a kid in HS
& when he left my mom, 12 years prior, he had an
Orinda Stage Lines deliveries bus. co., seemed like he was doing well...
Prior to that, when he remarried now his 2nd wife,
he ran/part owner/mngr in a shoe store bus.
Shoe Stable in Lafeyette Ca & Pleasanton, he never made much $$$...
But was comfortable, she worked too at a bank too...
Really nice house in Lafeyette hills, kept going up & up in value...
She took everything, literally only thing left was
his record collection, & player, the refrigerator & the bed
& she took the car a newer 68 (?) Corvette, they just bought,
left him with the 65 Skylark Conv.
Emptied out the bank account...

Then after she/Crystal dumped his ***, he got married to his 3rd wife,
Fatty Patty, she had 4 kids, 2 boys (1, 4 month younger then me, we were 12-13 IIRC),
& 2 adopted girls...
She uprooted him, made him move from Lafeyette, sold that place,
for big $$ at the time & they moved to the Garden Valley, ElDorado county,
bought a 165 acre ranch...
With a double wide trailer, while we built the main house above...
(that place/property did nothing but go up in value, quadrupled)
Probably the best investment he ever made...
Fatty-Patty she then got her degree, all on his dime, became a school psychologist,
uprooted him again, moved them up north to Yreka,
she then dumped him...

see a pattern here ?

And dad came back down to Miwuk Village here in Tuolumne Co. 1980-ish
a place where my family would vacation usually, he always liked it up here
we'd go to the lake or fishing or camping etc.
And then went to work for the school district, driving bus, working in a liquor store
part time & doing security at HS sports/games, here in Sonora area,
& did school maintenance in the summer months...
living in a camper 1st, Broke, Alone...
Barely eked out a living, lived in a small A-frame in the mountains, after the 3rd wife
Fatty Patty, took him for all he was worth...
My Granddad paid off his $51k loan on the cabin...
Dad, still just working for the school district... until he was 62

Until my Grandad died at 9 days before he turned 90
& he/dad inherited a small fortune,
my Granddad was a very smart investor & a savvy financial man
Dad retired the next month, bought a big *** expensive
36' Diesel Pusher/Cummins/Alison 5 speed Class A Motor Home
& traveled, pissed a lot of it away, has never looked back...

He now lives with me since Sept. 2005...

I never wanted to end up like that...
Real Estate, buying right & moving up (& owning my own businesses)
helped me so I never had to, live like that...

 

[T2R9]

I was 24 and my wife was 26, 2 bedroom 1 bath and a single car garage on a steep hill in San Diego. 87,500 @11% FHA in 1987. Only had that one a couple years when we upgraded.

 

[QuickBpBp]

I was 24 with my girlfriend who then became my wife. Small 3 bedroom cape cod which we re did everything and I built a 24X24 garage behind it then developed the alley to it and put off street parking next to it..

 

[YY1]

34

I was not interested in a "starter home".

I also had a list of four things that I would accept any three of, and three things that I would not accept at all.

Despite that, I went through four agents that kept showing me three houses that either did not have 3 of the 4 or had one of the nots...and after 3 or 4 showings, never called again.

I finally found a house I liked and then found an agent.
All I asked her to do was schedule a showing and then put in an offer.

115K in 2002 at 3.6% for 20 years
2000 sf on 1/2 acre with a 450 sf screen porch and a 528 sf carport under the house roof.
Refinanced in 2012 at 3.2% for 20 years
Payment went down $100, financed amount went down $12,000
Paid off in 2024, 8 years ahead of schedule.
Zillow says 330K today although one down the street sold a few months ago for 425K.

 

[64BEL]

2002 - I was 39 and the Mrs was 36. We refinanced it twice. The first time was only a year after we bought it, dropping the rate considerably. The second time we shaved 7 years off the note and dropped the payment a little more. We're set to have it paid off in less than 2 years and can ride off into retirement with no mortgage. A couple of flies in the ointment, though. The local lake association has been trying to force the development to go on the sanitary system, which would be a big hit financially. And, we'd like to be closer to our daughter and son in law, so we're considering selling and moving to Colorado after I retire. But a comparable house is probably a pipe dream out there for the same money. We've put a fair amount into remodels (siding, windows, and most recently the kitchen), so it would be hard to give that all up and move to a possibly lower quality house. The idea of moving isn't appealing, either. The climate upgrade is tempting, though. Between the winters and the humidity in the summer, WI weather has become less and less tolerable.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

2002 - I was 39 and the Mrs was 36. We refinanced it twice. The first time was only a year after we bought it, dropping the rate considerably. The second time we shaved 7 years off the note and dropped the payment a little more. We're set to have it paid off in less than 2 years and can ride off into retirement with no mortgage. A couple of flies in the ointment, though. The local lake association has been trying to force the development to go on the sanitary system, which would be a big hit financially. And, we'd like to be closer to our daughter and son in law, so we're considering selling and moving to Colorado after I retire. But a comparable house is probably a pipe dream out there for the same money. We've put a fair amount into remodels (siding, windows, and most recently the kitchen), so it would be hard to give that all up and move to a possibly lower quality house. The idea of moving isn't appealing, either. The climate upgrade is tempting, though. Between the winters and the humidity in the summer, WI weather has become less and less tolerable.

On a positive note if you chose to move the car scene at least in the Denver area is pretty good, and there is an abundance of great roads with incredible scenery waiting to be explored...

 

[jimbosride]

I had a goal of owning before I was 30. I had to get divorced to be able to afford to buy.
The ex wasted money. She spent $5 for every $3 that she earned. Within 2 years after we split, I was able to buy.
I was happy to find the place...1150 sq ft 3 bedroom with a 2 car garage and a built in POOL! Heck yeah....room to work on cars and a pool for parties and the C H I C K S !

View attachment 1893575

I was raised so cal. Never owed a lawnmower until I move to washing state, but I was an expert in pool cleaning and checking water quality.
.

 

[jimbosride]

Seattle Starter Home.

 

[Belvedere408]

I got my first place at 33 in 2015, using a VA Loan. Still here modest place 3 bed 2 bath 1200 sq ft. Fits my 6 cars, with one in the back yard.

 

[Ray70Chrg]

Bought 1st house in 1975 I was 28, married, 2 kids, and a 7 1/2 % on a $37000 new house on Long Island.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Bought 1st house in 1975 I was 28, married, 2 kids, and a 7 1/2 % on a $37000 new house on Long Island.

What's that 37K Long Island house worth today, 50 years later?

 

[MiradaMegaCab]

I bought my 1st house at the age of 25 for 130k. Detached two car garage, two kids and a deranged GF. I sold that house 6 years later for 330k and I bought another house for 350k, 942sq ft with a detached garage that I will extend to 2200sq ft. House is paid off and I just made the last payment on my 22 RedEye (2040 a month).
Zillow lists first house at 702k and my current house at 613k.
Both are on Long Island.

 

[Don selleck]

I was 19, just a pos trailer with a 1/2 acre lot, no lot rent owned the land outright, stayed there for 6 years, then purchased another pos farm house with 4 acres, raised two boys and 2 wifes . Been there ever since, was trying to purchase the neighbors spread over 7 acres, barn and house, that was going to florida every year for longer and longer. told Him I would buy it at market value don't call the realtor. Ended up letting my youngest son in on the deal, him, his wife moved in and had two girls, there 3 and 7 now. Get to watch them grow up next door, Life is Good!.

 

[hunt2elk]

The EX got her own car and custody of the silverware. She needed it. She ate a LOT.
When we went to a restaurant, we started off by getting an estimate.

Lol, that sounds exactly like something Rodney Dangerfield would have said.

 

[azblackhemi]

I was 23. I grew up in Westchester County NY but realized the housing costs and taxes were so high I didn't think I'd ever be able to buy a house. So the wife and I up and moved to Phoenix. This was 1980 and housing was cheap here back then. $59000 is what we paid. 8 years later we upgraded to a $109000 house on 2 acres where i built a 2400 sq ft shop with lift and spray booth. House is now worth about 8 times what we paid but taxes are still under $2000 per year. Yeah it's hot here but never regretted the move.

 

[Cranky]

Lol, that sounds exactly like something Rodney Dangerfield would have said.

IIRC, Rodney did have that in one of his standups lol

 

[Don selleck]

My oldest son was 30 when he bought his, was always a saver, he wrote them a check for it, no mortage ever, pretty impressed with him took me 16 years for my payoff, did remodel it a few times and pulled money out to do it.

 

[Hey-O]

Bought my first house when I was 22. Houses became a place to live and a hobby. 10 percent interest on the first one, no payments forever and now, this last one is 2.55 percent interest, free money.

 

[Ron H]

Purchased our first at 27 in 1981 in another part of the village we grew up in. This was after getting transferred back from a job out of state. 1500 sqft ranch on a cul de sac built in 1965. Needed significant remodeling, some dark panel walls, orange shag carpeting in the family room, green in the kitchen, fugly wallpaper, lol. Bad time to buy as the interest rate on the loan we had to friggin beg for was 18.5%. Plus side is we made an offer well below asking and was accepted. Refinanced several times as the rates lowered. Sold it in ’96 for about $100-grand more than we bought it for.

 

[Cranky]

Needed significant remodeling, some dark panel walls, orange shag carpeting in the family room, lol.

Sounds like the house I have now!! lol All the dark paneling and shag carpeting is long gone these days.