February 24, 2011
Deadbeat Diary, 1
It was 2006 when we sold the townhouse my step-father had bought with us, splitting the proceeds with him and walking away with just enough money for a down-payment on a new place. Even then, the market was starting to soften and we felt lucky that our home sold as quickly as it did – it had only been on the market for hours when we had our first offer. The townhouse sold for just under $300,000.
Almost immediately, we went into contract on a house, new construction, half a mile from my office in a suburban business park outside of Sacramento. It would be another nine months before we moved in. Construction was delayed and the market began to show more signs of weakness. We pushed ahead. At 26 we’d own, without help from anyone, our first house. We made plans to sell a car. We picked out furniture. We took the buckets of free upgrades the builder offered us for “sticking in there.” If we considered leaving our deposit behind and getting out of our now overpriced investment it wasn’t for very long.
We moved in April 2, 2007. The house was already worth less than the $360,000 we’d paid for it, but it was ours. And, really, in California? A $360,000, 1600 square foot, three bedroom house, still seemed like a good deal. We sold a car and paid off the other. We didn’t have a lot of expendable income, but we had some. Our house was our only debt.
At 26 we were living the American dream. Next up, babies. And Babies change everything.
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Good. I’m looking forward.
Thank you. Keep it coming, please.
Without help from anyone? How’d you get in on that townhouse deal with the stepfather? What did you put in, what did he put in, and how much did you make?
I’m just curious, because I’ve been working for 20 years and I still can’t come up with the $60,000-$80,000 needed for a down-payment….
That’s an interesting way to frame it.
The only way Daryl and I were able to get the house we now have is that he had a good profit-sharing plan at his job that allowed a one-time withdrawal toward a home purchase. We had to pay a penalty and had a staggering tax bill that year, but it was worth it in the end.
Right now, I’ll just say that we put down 5% and wouldn’t have been able to had it not been for the kindness of our families.
I rent in Boston and I don’t know how anyone here can buy a place who (a) doesn’t come from money; or (b) doesn’t have family willing to loan/give them tens of thousands of dollars; or (c) doesn’t have a job in the finance industry that pays 250K a year.
A shitty, 600sf, run-down, 2-bedroom “condo” in Boston costs $300K, and banks want 20 percent down or else your interest rate (and monthly mortgage payment) goes up…
I’m hooked.
See, also, I grew up in the Bay Area and the prospect of home ownership has always felt a hundred years away. 26 is wildly impressive.