Land lease housing?

[Sijray21]

hey, as long as it's not buying a house on leased land i would consider it a much better choice of investment - work with what you have man. the choice of building on your own land sounds like a pretty cool idea as long as you have a good say in what the house is going to look like

[Evan]

dont forget that you wont always work where you are now.
central locations are much preferred
i think you mentioned that you are in the intel field, and if you are, then you will probably have to work up by Ft. Meade sooner or later.

but i certainly wouldnt mind having my own custom built place on a nice peice of property, so if you have the cash and the desire, go for it.

[HAULN-SS]

Well, I'm on a different set of contracts than say Chad. I have some control of where I'll be in the near future by picking the right projects. I think I could be here at least 2 - 3 years pretty easy.

[.RJ]

I have some control of where I'll be in the near future by picking the right projects.

lol...

I think I could be here at least 2 - 3 years pretty easy.

And then? You wont have enough time in the house to sell it and not lose a bunch of $$$.... so if your job wants you to go to ft meade, ft belvoir, etc, a 1.5-2 hr commute will suck ass.

[HAULN-SS]

I just ran the numbers on the ginnie mae calculator - at a 1% appreciation, in 4 years, i'm $3,000 ahead buying. $8,500 after 5 years.

Worst case scenario I stay in it 2 years, get a job i have to commute, and do that for 2 years - get ahead, and sell. But I really don't think I'd have to do that

[Ginger]

Are houses in PWC even appreciating when factored for inflation?

When I say it's not a nice place I don't mean 'nice' house I mean not a nice community. I don't know about you, but I'd rather have a smaller place in a nice, central location than a nice big place in the middle of a dump.

And when they say you won't always have control of where you work they mean you won't always be with your current employer, it's not realistic to expect that you will be. Eventually a factor will force a move - theirs or yours - to another employer.. and then?

Why are you so agressively pursuing owning right this second? Your current rental situation is abnormally awful, probably brought on by the same rush with which you're attempting to approach ownership.... rental places can be had for less money than you're spending now with garage use. More than any other purchase, home ownership require patience to make the best choice.

[HAULN-SS]

I am being patient. I have at least 6 months to decide something and do it.

There is a lot across the street from the lot I looked at friday. It has a modular/doublewide type house on it. From the tax records - they spent around 100k putting this on there. In 1997 the land was worth 35k. add another 95,000 for the improvements. The owner built a 2 car garage onto the house, and a couple decks. In 2006, the property sold for 330k. That seems to be to be approx 220% increase..allowing $20,000 for improvements. 20% a year for 10 years is quite a bit better than the inflation rate.

Now obviously, I can't expect to see that kind of return immediately, but I bet the owners of the land 10 years ago never saw selling it for that much either. Remember, I put in 1% on the ginnie mae calculator, and after 4 years I was already ahead.

[Ginger]

Remember also that housing trends from the last decade aren't going to be a very good indicator of what you're going to expect in the next 10 years.

That's all I've got. You couldn't pay me to live there. But do whatever you want.

[HAULN-SS]

Well I appreciate the input, no kidding. And I havent signed anything yet. Just looking around. I am going to look at several lots/options in different places before I decide on anything. I may even end up renting again..but I guess I'm just on the "if I can afford it, why not" wagon

[HAULN-SS]

ok fine - so i bought...well, am getting contract tomorrow for a house in wv. It's far out, but laugh all you want, cause i got it for a steal. I'm already preapproved for the loan, so as long as it checks out, it's as good as mine.

[Ginger]

Dude - please don't be serious... really.

Didn't you just say you weren't rushing?

[HAULN-SS]

sometimes something comes along good enough you have to jump.

[HAULN-SS]

[mrbaggio]

That house looks huge. Nice looking place, but really in WVa????

[HAULN-SS]

Yeah - it's going to be aabout an hour commute for me, but in free-flowing traffic for the most part. People do that around nova in gridlock- so not much difference eh?

[.RJ]

If you buy a house in WV, you're asking for headache. I used to work right up the street from your office and a coworker bought house out there - without traffic it was 40 minutes, but some days would take up to 2 hours - and the only efficient way in from leesburg was the toll road - and that will cost you over $7, every day you go to work.

Unless you can work from home for most of the time, or adjust your hours so that you come in (and leave) at very early hours its not worth it... IMO.

[HAULN-SS]

Yeah - thats what my manager does - and he lives out this way. Comes in early, leaves early. And I dont know why i'd take that toll road - just take 7 down, and hit the herndon pkwy off 28.

[.RJ]

I dont know why i'd take that toll road - just take 7 down, and hit the herndon pkwy off 28.

The first time you get out of the house a bit late, and spend an hour sitting in traffic between Leesburg and Route 28 you'll know.

I might be a bit different than most with commuting, but I put a 20-25 minute cap on a commute - anything more turns into a chore and a giant waste of time. My current commute is 10 minutes - my first job was 1.5 miles and took me 3-4 minutes

[HAULN-SS]

Yeah. I mean. it's going to be a lot different than my ~400' commute i currently enjoy. But i really...really...am getting a killer deal on the place. I'll think about that while i'm stuck in traffic.

Anyway - assuming this doesnt fall through..party in WV? we can get liquor way late into the night. haha.

[Ginger]

That's WAY outside the beltway..