I’m curious.
How old were you when you bought your first property, my reader?
It could be as a residence or investment. Actually, if you bought your first house and it wasn’t for your residence, I’d probably be even more interested in hearing that tale. I bet you have some good stories just waiting to be let out of the bag behind that one.
But were you in your early twenties, mid-twenties, late-twenties, early thirties, mid-thirties, late-thirties, forties, fifties, sixties… or never – a lifelong renter bucking the trend like Percival’s quest for the grail?
Although, a first-time homebuyer in your sixties is probably an interesting narrative as well. Any of you out there reading this?
Anyway, I’d be curious to know your own personal trajectory about home ownership in the comments below if you ever so incline to humor me.
Getting back to the main trajectory…
Growing up, I’ve always wanted to own a house.
Yet I never have.
Call it the American dream, call it being brain washed since a small child by capitalistic marketing propaganda, call it whatever you want. It doesn’t matter. It’s just something that I’ve always wanted.
Why? I can’t actually pinpoint it for you. Maybe it was watching my parents always have their own home, maybe it was watching too much TV. Who knows?
But what I do know, is that things haven’t unfolded how I thought they would. Precise calculations, educational tinkering’s, career power moves, late night insomniac dreams, staring out glass windows yearningly on long car rides, or compromised ambitions from the carousel of life, haven’t sprouted from my seeded machinations as once so thoroughly planned and schemed.
I always had this picture in my mind that I’d have my own home no later than my late twenties. I was a good saver. Sure, I lived in an insanely high cost of living area, but I could beat the odds. Even though renting always made more sense, for some reason home ownership was still that light at the end of the tunnel for me.
It’s funny how the more years you live in life the more you see how things never turn out how you think they will. You have these golden expectations molded from the clay of certainty that this is who you will be, this is what you will do, this is what you will have by a certain age.
Yet, I find myself grasping at empty air more often than the lofty promises I had chiseled in stone for myself so long ago.
Maybe this isn’t the same for you. Maybe you’ve achieved everything you set out to do in exactly the way you had envisioned it. Sounds pretty remarkable if that is the case. Perfection must be a blissful path to be trodden. Maybe I even envy you… maybe I’m a little jealous on some days. But then I remember half the fun is playing in uncertainty like a cloak to wear, buried on the beach as if it were your own sand box. Lapping up the rays from a winking sun, while building your own castles and parapets from the biogenic grains of time that you know the inevitable rising tide will eventually demolish someday.
Because biology always wins. Nature will have its last laugh. All things must end.
Yet it was the journey that formed you – sculpted that weathered and determined mind like a river winding – not the destination.
But I digress.
I almost bought my first house in 2007 – a duplex to be exact. And holy fucking shit what a disaster that would have been right at the peak of the financial crisis!
But I was young, only 26 at the time. FOMO had the world wrapped around it’s little finger like an obsessed lover.
How would the next generation get ahead? How could they ever afford home ownership in LA? Do whatever you can, whenever you can, to get into the market somehow or it will pass you by. Home prices will never go down again!
I had a plan.
My sister and I couldn’t afford a house each on our own. So, after crunching the numbers we decided to look for a duplex that we could split and at least start building some equity with. We went so far as to start seeing properties with a realtor, but we couldn’t find anything we thought was worth putting an offer on. I mean at this point in time, absolute piece of shit properties were selling for off the charts. Most of you probably still remember this firsthand.
Anyway, I lucked out that my own ignorance and inexperience didn’t saddle me with one shitty asset that could have had a life changing effect on me.
Then just the other day, as my own house search has progressed, my Dad was sharing his original homebuying story with me that I found pretty fascinating.
My parents have only lived in one house their entire lives. That being said, they’ve been through a few remodels to make it what it is today. But we’re only talking about adding a pool and changing a 2/1 to a 4/2 over a 50-year span. So, this isn’t some monumental upgrade I’m talking about. Just a few key additions throughout the years.
But as I’ve been looking at buying my own fixer upper these past few months, he’s telling me that their original house was so bad, they had trouble even getting a loan from a bank. Hahahaha. This house was so beat up and run down, no one in their right mind wanted to finance it. But they kept searching and finally found a lender that would help them. Both groups of parents had told them they were fucking insane, and this would be the worst decision of their lives.
However, they knew what they wanted, and what adventure they were determined to embark upon together. It was more than the house; it was a lifestyle and a dream that they wanted to share and accomplish on their own.
That piece-of-shit house they bought 50 years ago is now worth well over $1M in a neighborhood that their successful son will probably never afford. Well, I use afford metaphorically here, as a conscious decision when a pragmatic FI timeline is involved. Technically you can afford whatever a lender is willing to give you.
Now, a lot of that appreciation is just luck and of course you can compare market returns to find better investments, but that’s not my point. You can split hairs however you want to justify whatever decision you want to. My point is, that one decision so far back, is probably one of the best decisions they ever made and led to untold happiness over the years.
Not too shabby of an outcome for all the naysayers that would have steered them in a different direction. It’s not always about the numbers, and may you have the wisdom to know the difference.
—
When I ask questions to my readers, I also like to answer them myself.
So, when I said above that I’ve never been a homeowner before. I lied to you reader. I don’t like to do that, but for this one case I’ll make an exception.
How old were you when you bought your first house you ask me again?
39 years old.
As of two days ago, the afternoon of Friday March 12, 2021 to be exact, I have joined you dear reader.
The close is official. The next adventure has begun, the succeeding chapter being written while the ink hasn’t even dried from the first page.
It feels surreal to type that.
But so goes life. The seasons shift and we dance to the tune of the spinning, spinning Earth while we watch the world pass by.
Change is only a new pair of clothes.
I sit here beyond exhausted, but with a smile stretched from cheek to cheek so wide with excitement that it’s hard to put into words. I can hear my wife packing the car outside as I type this, so I need to wrap up and get back at it. Moving fucking sucks… haha. But that’s a post for another day.
Great fun and many updates will be coming. I have a two-part series planned on the first time homebuyer – one about the lifestyle choices and the other about the actual experience (buying in this market was fucking insanity). So hopefully those updates will be sprinkled in soon.
But in the meantime, I wanted to address those other writers I enjoy reading often and apologize. Life has been fucking insane for me. Between work being as crazy as it has ever been, the house purchase and moving – my tank is empty. I’m way behind on reading my normal blogs and commenting which I don’t like to do. But, just know to my regulars, I will be reading, commenting and catching up as soon as I can. I haven’t gone anywhere, just trying to juggle some fun new adventures that I can’t wait to share. Your boy Q-FI ain’t going anywhere.
Till next week, when hopefully I’m a little more rested and saner.
-Q-FI
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Well, you already know my question which was already asked: “How old were you when you bought your first house?” And if you are only a renter, like I was for so long, why do you wait?
congratulations, q! just from what i read on here i think you’ll really take pride in home ownership. i like the mindset of owning a place is for the enjoyment of the space. good luck with the moving.
i was a lifelong renter in my early 30’s and ended up an owner after marrying a new house owner. mrs. smidlap bought our place for dirt cheap. in fact your downpayment may have been close to what we paid for the smidlap chateau. she was about 37 when she took the plunge. after living here almost 20 years we really enjoy the place and it’s worth keeping for the studio space alone. where you gonna live? up by dodger stadium/burbank?
Thanks Freddy. It’s been a journey. Lots of moving trips this whole weekend so finally getting around to answering comments.
And yeah, I definitely take pride in home ownership. I’m a yard nut, got pricked by the green needle with succulents and I have a whole vision to re-landscape our front yard. I handle the outside and garage and the wife gets her way inside. Also scored some sweet fruit trees I’m insanely stoked on – avocado (gotta have one of those for the avocado toast… haha), lemon, tangerine, orange, pomegranate, and apricot.
Where I rented, I was only a 15 minute drive from Chavez Ravine. Now I’m headed out the opposite direction so gonna be a lot farther away, but housing was way more affordable. But if you ever come to LA you got a place to stay and we’ll catch a game. I’m probably a 45 minute drive to the stadium now.
Huge congratulations Q-FI! That is awesome news, I hope the move goes smoothly and you have a long happy life as king in your own castle.
First property purchase… I was 23.
Visiting my parents for the first time in a few years. About half way through my stay, that familiar combination of boredom and needing to escape kicked in. I found myself walking through an open house. Writing a cheque for the deposit. Sourcing a lawyer to complete the transaction on my behalf. Then jetting back overseas a couple of days later.
The property was an investment. A bet on a proposed transformational infrastructure project being approved by the local council (it subsequently was). It provided the financial foundation upon which everything that came afterwards was built. I still own it today.
Thanks Indeedably. I can finally lock in the housing costs now to chisel down that irrational and misleading FI number… haha.
That’s pretty cool you bought that property so young and it worked out so well. Great job and foresight.
Also, pretty remarkable you still own it today. Thanks for sharing the story.
Maybe I’ll get bored with this house and decide to walk into an open house and buy another one as you did. That sounded pretty baller how you did it. Unfortunately, I’m a little too conservative nowadays.
Lol! It is much easier when you have no intention of living there. A pure numbers game then, no emotion.
Congrats dude! I know how stressful it is. Is it far from the current pad? Don’t recommend trying to save money on the move by multiple trips. Just do it in one shot. You know, buying a home really grounds you in the community, I feel. It’s nice knowing that nobody is gonna “inspect” your home or possibly raise rent. Now you gotta act or contend with those renters thoughts of “if it were my house I’d do xyz”.
Let’s see…I bought in November 2015, so I was 32 when I got the house. You know, at the time I thought I was overpaying on an over valued market. I remember being set in 2011 with a down payment in the account to buy, and saying F this I’m out, and using all that money to backpack around the globe lol. When I got back I was disappointed that prices had gone up and I had to start saving all over again. But man, prices have skyrocketed over here. LA is similar, so you can’t go wrong. And you know what, there’s really no overpaying if you love the house and can afford the payments. Give a house 10 years in a California metropolis and you probably didn’t overpay.
I thought I bought late, only because I was comparing myself to my parents. My dad was 30 when he bought his home. He’s one of those guys who says “your house is the biggest investment you’ll ever make”. I don’t necessarily agree with that, but he did make a killing.
Thanks bud.
The irony is I close a lot of transactions for work, but now that it’s my money at stake, man, it’s an entirely different ball game. I had no idea the whole process was going to be so stressful. I learned a ton though and just glad to be done. We got something with good bones and lot, and can’t wait to make it ours.
Let’s be honest, LA is not San Fran. I would never be able to buy in that market. Hahaha. So LA is expensive, but man, nothing compared to that enigma of the Bay. Buying your house up there was a true accomplishment Noel.
I’m moving about a 35 minute drive away. And I did the multiple trips route… hahaha. I should have taken your advice. I think I haven’t moved in so long, I was like “I got this” to the wife. But now pushing 40, this will be the last move I ever do on my own.
I agree with all of your sentiments. If you buy in a CA metropolis, and hold for a decent amount of time, you’ll do very well.
I think having that security as you mention goes a long way. Sure, you’re stuck with all the expenses, but at least you get to make the decisions now.
Congrats on the purchase and fulfilling a longtime goal! I hope you have countless great experiences and good memories there. I bought my first place, a primary residence condo in the city, when I was 30. Old enough to have some wisdom and down payment money, young enough to have a decent amount of flexibility.
Very cool FFTP. I think early thirties tends to be when a lot of us have it together enough to take the leap into homeownership.
Thanks for the congratulations. I’ll have some update posts to see whether everything worked out or not. But I’m pretty confident this is the right time and place for this decision.
Been a long time coming.
YESSS!!!!! So excited for you both!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!! Aw, I know it’s been so hard for you, especially in such an expensive market, so I was hoping this post would end with your eventual success in buying a home. YAY! Anyway, I hope we get to hear the full story at a later time, after you’ve had a chance to settle in a bit and relax and enjoy homeownership.
Like you, my life has not turned out in any way, shape, or form as I expected, other than that I’ve done some traveling. Also like you, I’ve dreamed of owning a home since I was kid. Who knows why? I just know I wanted to own a home. Now I do. (You do too!) Like you, I almost bought in my 20s. I wish I had. The places I looked at would now be worth roughly triple the asking prices of back then. Oh well. Instead, like you, I had a long, long search, complete with bidding wars and disappointments, and finally settled on a house at 34. I’m quite happy here. And, just like everything else in life, owning this home has not gone as planned. Things I had planned to do remain undone. Things I had not planned to do became priorities. Figures. Will this place ever be what I want it to be? Probably not for a long, long time if ever at all. And it may one day turn into a rental. I have no idea.
Anyway, congratulations again! I’m so happy for you. Something did turn out as you’d hoped, though maybe not as planned. May you be as successful as your parents in your investment!
You had me figured out from the start… hahaha. I can’t slip anything by you.
Thanks so much Katie. It means a lot. Although we’re both tired, we’re just so friggin’ happy to be done and moving on with our lives. Now we have more space, great neighborhood. The wife can leave her job and hopefully we start fostering around the corner. Lots of fun changes unfolding.
And man this market was brutal. Took some time, but it all worked out.
Isn’t that weird that we dream about homeownership so young but don’t know why? It’s such a bizarre thing and it sounds like you and I were identical in that.
But we made it. Here’s to hoping for a long time without any crazy surprises and happy appreciation. Haha.
First let me say congrats! Similar start the story for me. Nearly bought a home in 2007. Chickened out thankfully. Ended up buying a home in 2009, even looked at the home I nearly bought in 2007 which was coming off being a rental. Guess they didn’t sell out before the crash. I’m also 39 now, about 7 years into our second home. Then again here in the land of cheap real estate it’s not as big a first step. If the price was like it is there Is probably just now be buying as well. I hope you get many enjoyable years in the new place.
Thanks bud. This should be one of the last hold ups for fostering. So the plan is for the wife to leave her job in two months and we can take the leap. There’s been lots of delays, so who knows. But I feel like we’re really close now.
Must have felt pretty great buying in 2009 after almost pulling the trigger in 2007. Hey man, timing is everything and proved to be a shrewd move on your part.
That cheap real estate in your area is key though. Since you don’t have to waste it on housing, all the more investment capital. You’re probably way smarter than me for living in a more affordable area. Unfortunately both sides of my family decided to put roots down in one of the most expensive cities in the US. But it’s all good. Just gotta be that much more of a baller on the investments side… haha.
Hells Yeah! Congrats, man. I’m so happy for you. I know it’s been tough for you trying to find the perfect place amid the market craziness and so glad you pulled it off! Bust out sparking H2O and celebrate. Can’t wait to hear all the updates and hear more details.
As for me, I was 32 when I bought my 1st home.
Thanks Mr. Fate. Patience finally prevailed. I’ll have a lot more coming on it, but so happy and relieved to be moving forward now. Yes, much sparkling H2O to be popped! Maybe even some NA beer as well with ST. Patty’s day around the corner! Haha.
Thanks again man.
Early thirties seems to be the common theme on home buying with this thread.
I wouldn’t have chose the area I live in now if I had a choice when I started out. It’s lower priced because there is nothing here. But like you, sometimes you play the hand you are dealt with both ups and downs.
I also wish I could claim intelligence on the 2007 move. Again more a factor of luck. I bought a sports car instead, which my family thought was nuts and probably wasn’t the most well thought out alternative. But I was 26 and single with an ok emergency fund, in retrospect a house wasn’t really what I needed then (unless I bought it as a live in flip or something, which I didn’t)
Congrats on another step closer to fostering. We keep on keeping on. I look forward to hearing about the process for you.
I’m late to the party, but congrats!
To answer your question, I was 27, and part of a couple, when I bought my house. It was his idea. I don’t think I was at all ready for that step. The buying process went like this: take a map of the city, draw a circle with a 5 mile radius around work (we both worked for the same company), cross out all the neighbourhoods that are clearly outside our income tax bracket, look at the 5 properties up for sale in the two remaining neighbourhoods, pick one, buy it.
This incredibly simple/stress free buying process came with it’s own set of challenges, a first mortgage at 11% and a second mortgage (because we didn’t have enough for a full down payment despite the low price) of 13%.
It was a single owner, fixer upper, circa 1954, that hadn’t been updated (aka still had a wringer washing machine and a refrigerator with an ice box that you had to manually defrost). But from the minute I walked into that house I felt at home.
When my ex walked out on me 3 years later I decided to keep the house. Everyone, and I mean everyone, told me to walk away, but with (what felt like) my whole world crumbling away around me, I needed an anchor, one thing in my life that remained the same. I chose the house.
I had to perfect some serious ninja frugality moves to hang onto it given my patchy employment history. But I never missed a payment. The bank never knew I spent months and months unemployed…..
I poured so much of myself into that house. A lot of the work I did myself. As my finances got better (amazing what a steady paycheque does for you bank balance) I was able to hire tradespeople for things I didn’t feel comfortable tackling (like electrical). I kept the front looking ‘respectable’ but the back yard, hidden from prying eyes, I turned into a meadow, complete with pond, just because I could….
I sold the house in 2018. Even though it was the right decision, and I really like the flat I own now, I still miss it. It will always be ‘home’ in my mind.
Thanks Veronica. It sounded like you were able to buy in simpler times even though the rates were so high.
I love this story. I’m pretty much kind of doing the same right now. My wife just left a toxic job, and since I’m still working from home, we’ve been tag teaming a bunch of tasks ourselves. The inside is finally starting to feel like home.
I think the biggest thing I’ve learned in only two months of owning, is patience. Things with the trades, take a lot longer to accomplish then I had originally envisioned. Plus, what’s the hurry? The hard part was getting the house, now it’s time to slowly realize the vision.
I’m a big outside person, so like you, I’m turning the backyard into my oasis while keeping the front simple. Hahaha. I especially liked that tidbit.
As always, thanks for sharing and commenting. I enjoy reading your feedback.