Well That Was Quick

[JPolen01]

If you buy a house you're not tethered to it, you can always rent it out, so its up to you if thats a commitment that you want to make in your 20's. 

Not a good idea for a first time home buyer IMO. Especially if you end up moving out of state. Who is going to manage the property? What happens when the fridge goes tits up in the middle of the night? Any profit you make on rent is going to the property manager. Not worth the hassle. 

I am also in the camp of keeping the Jeep. I assume the new long block is going to come with some kind of warranty on the parts and labor. You won't find another vehicle for $15k that is 'nearly' new as Jake said.

[Ken]

If you buy a house you're not tethered to it, you can always rent it out, so its up to you if thats a commitment that you want to make in your 20's. 

Not a good idea for a first time home buyer IMO. Especially if you end up moving out of state. Who is going to manage the property? What happens when the fridge goes tits up in the middle of the night? Any profit you make on rent is going to the property manager. Not worth the hassle. 

I am also in the camp of keeping the Jeep. I assume the new long block is going to come with some kind of warranty on the parts and labor. You won't find another vehicle for $15k that is 'nearly' new as Jake said.

Yeah - renting out/being a landlord is not as easy as some think it is. It definitely requires time and effort, a lot of it if your tenant sucks ass. 

Count me in the just get rid of it camp. Then again, I just lease everything.

[D_Eclipse9916]

If you buy a house you're not tethered to it, you can always rent it out, so its up to you if thats a commitment that you want to make in your 20's. 

I am also in the camp of keeping the Jeep. I assume the new long block is going to come with some kind of warranty on the parts and labor. You won't find another vehicle for $15k that is 'nearly' new as Jake said.

Is it just me or I think that he is saying he has a $15k loan, not that the Jeep is worth $15k.

[Jake]

If you buy a house you're not tethered to it, you can always rent it out, so its up to you if thats a commitment that you want to make in your 20's. 

I am also in the camp of keeping the Jeep. I assume the new long block is going to come with some kind of warranty on the parts and labor. You won't find another vehicle for $15k that is 'nearly' new as Jake said.

Is it just me or I think that he is saying he has a $15k loan, not that the Jeep is worth $15k.

Correct, a $15k loan and he thinks "something cheaper" is a better idea. I'm not sure what will be as good to drive, as reliable, and have some of the amenities he's used to for LESS than $15k, so keeping the Jeep seems like the better idea.

[GTBrandon]

If you flip it and sell it (or trade it in) now you'll probably take a big hit, losing sales tax/reg/etc fees at minimum.  Have to decide if its worth it to you.

As far as buying property, there are lots of first time buyer programs that get you into a house for 3% down so you dont need huge cash reserves.

Like mentioned above, I still have not paid taxes on this vehicle, leading me to believe I could sell it before ever paying said taxes. Also I have to call DMV to confirm, but if I pay taxes and then say sell the car one month later then I think I get refunded for the 11months of time that I paid for but didn't actually own the vehicle.

[GTBrandon]

Lemon law requires multiple visits for the same issue, correct? Unless there's some part that applies to buying a used car that immediately blows up. I'm pretty sure used cars are always "as-is"

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A car can also be considered a lemon if it's out of service X days within Y timeframe of purchase.

Lemon laws can apply to used cars if there is a written warranty included with purchase... which there is in this case.

edit: Looks like Iowa's out of service condition is 30 days.

Good catch, might be worth looking into. Not really trying to lawyer up for all of this, but if there is a simple out then I might take advantage of it to avoid losing any money.

[GTBrandon]

Do not buy a house right out of school. Renting can seem like throwing money away, but it gives you the ability to drop everything and move somewhere else if you want to. We rented for about a year and then bought our house. Every once in a while both me and the wife kick ourselves for buying so quickly. The equity we have built is great, but we could have lived in a few places before settling down somewhere permanent.

Per the lemon law, the situation seems to have worked out better than any lemon law outcome would. Lemon law cases take a lot of time and they are not obligated to buy the car back. Most of the time companies settle out of court and send you a check leaving you with the car.

My father in law just settled with Volvo for 11 thousand fucking dollars because his XC90 has gone through 3 sets of rotors in 3 years, numerous wiper blade arms (how does this even break?) and some issues with the radar system. It took over a month for this and they still have the car. In his case all the rotors have been covered under warranty and the warranty still stands so it worked out for the better.

I guess my thought is that this property will be my "home base", but I also will have the ability to travel with the advent of RedDoor or AirBNB to rent out the property while I'm traveling either long term or short term. 

Also, if that's the case with the lemon law where he got a check and a to keep the car, that sounds um...amazing?

[GTBrandon]

Something I rarely see mentioned regarding buying property: you're still potentially throwing away an assload of money. I think of the $1800 I spend on my house a month, ~$425 goes to principal. When I first decided to buy, I imagined that number would be a lot higher. Interest is a bulk of the difference, then there's insurance and taxes to factor in.  The bank just takes your money instead of a landlord or apartment complex.

Also my water bill is absurd at $120+ for less than 3,000 gallons so that's money I'm pissing away every single month along with my HOA fees. Not to mention repairs. If you think the Jeep was rough, look up the cost to replace a roof.

My advice: focusing on your career is best thing for ROI in your 20s. The only way to get a decent raise these days is to move jobs. That's a lot easier without a mortgage anchoring you down.

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I guess I just see the rent that some people pay as absurd when a mortgage could cost less. Also, those bills like water, electric, etc. all still have to be paid when you're renting. The only advantage I see to renting would be avoiding the liability of repairs for water heater, appliances, roof, etc.. 

But you make a good point, being flexible with moving around in order to advance my career is probably the best thing for ROI in my early 20's. I guess I just have to see the feasibility of owning property while also renting it out if I need to move. This is my overall goal, not to be in that same house/condo for 10+ years. My thought process was to buy property now, starting paying off the principle, then in a few years, I can move somewhere while now renting out that property to supplement the mortgage and repairs; all while the value of the housing market hopefully rises due to the area.

[Ken]

Do not buy a house right out of school. Renting can seem like throwing money away, but it gives you the ability to drop everything and move somewhere else if you want to. We rented for about a year and then bought our house. Every once in a while both me and the wife kick ourselves for buying so quickly. The equity we have built is great, but we could have lived in a few places before settling down somewhere permanent.

Per the lemon law, the situation seems to have worked out better than any lemon law outcome would. Lemon law cases take a lot of time and they are not obligated to buy the car back. Most of the time companies settle out of court and send you a check leaving you with the car.

My father in law just settled with Volvo for 11 thousand fucking dollars because his XC90 has gone through 3 sets of rotors in 3 years, numerous wiper blade arms (how does this even break?) and some issues with the radar system. It took over a month for this and they still have the car. In his case all the rotors have been covered under warranty and the warranty still stands so it worked out for the better.

I guess my thought is that this property will be my "home base", but I also will have the ability to travel with the advent of RedDoor or AirBNB to rent out the property while I'm traveling either long term or short term. 

Also, if that's the case with the lemon law where he got a check and a to keep the car, that sounds um...amazing?

I can't even imagine how much a headache renting out an AirBnB would be over normal renting. I can't stress enough that it is not as easy as sitting back and cashing checks.

[GTBrandon]

I'm with everyone else who says to NOT buy a house. You are young both in age and career, you want the flexibility to move around with ease. If you buy a home and don't stay in it for 5ish years, you'll be likely to lose your ass on it when you sell.

As far as the Jeep. You have a brand new longblock going in and the loan is only $15k? What else can you buy for $15k that will have a zero-miles engine and be a nice place to spend time? UConnect has proven reliable (check to see if yours needs a software update, yes that is a thing now) and the transmission is just a ZF box like everything else these days.

I spent my first few years out of college driving beaters that didn't have AC or heat and occasionally provided concern that I wouldn't get to work that day. Buying my Focus ST was a bit of a stretch but the benefits were worth it. You are in a pretty good spot right now and if you can afford the monthly payment, I think it's best to keep the Grand Cherokee for a bit and have newish reliableish transportation to get to your new job and out for fun on the weekends. The allure of a cheap beater-y car goes away when you can't network, see friends, or travel because you have to work on your daily.

Granted, I graduated college and drove a $2,000 535i with no heat so you could totally go down that route if you want.

My goal would be to get rid of that $15k loan altogether, and instead possibly buy a super cheap car that just does what it needs, and has a decently proven track record. That would eliminate the $15k loan payment, and free up much of the downpayment I put on the Jeep to have as savings, rent/mortgage payments, down payment, etc.. I don't know if I would be happy with such a bare-bones car, but financially I obviously would love it.

[GTBrandon]

Granted, I graduated college and drove a $2,000 535i with no heat so you could totally go down that route if you want.

And now you have an X5 with... limp mode?  Look how far you've come 

If you buy a house you're not tethered to it, you can always rent it out, so its up to you if thats a commitment that you want to make in your 20's.  I might argue that any extra income is probably better served in aggressive index funds, though, for future value/retirement.  I wish I'd bought a house earlier than in my 30's, FWIW.

With the change in tax law; its also made renting out your primary home (that you are still living in) less of an investment as well.  If this was 2009/10/11 when housing prices were depressed; I would say it was worth it.  We may not be at peak, but we are certainly not at the bottom.  It's not worth the risk.  You can't hang onto a car more than 2 years and you want a house? 

So is the Jeep registered or under Temp plates?  If it's not registered/titled; I think you can get away with not paying that sales tax (due at titling) if you dump it now.  Of course; if they already signed the title its a lot trickier.  I wouldn't keep the car; but that's me.

Jeep is on transport tags currently, never went to the DMV and therefore don't' have any plates or registration. The Iowa dealer printed out a 15-day transport tag, and I had that taped up in my rear window up until the explosion. I'm honestly not sure about the titling since everything went through a loan. I assume since I was given the check from the credit union, that they currently have the title and therefore the titling has taken place? Might have to call the DMV on this one after work today.

Side note, I'll get with you offline about your experience in the renting market.

[GTBrandon]

Finally to clarify: I have $13k in the jeep cash + $15k loan. Assume to sell the car for $28k, then buy a car for $5k. That means I now have no monthly payments on the loan and have $8k left over to save.

Also: Why can I not multi-quote, that would have made this so much easier. Sorry for the response spam, someone teach me how to internet.

[Senor_Taylor]

When we had this discussion the other day, I said you probably paid the taxes when it was titled. I've bought out of state before and taxes were still paid when I titled. Maybe an out of state dealer is different, but usually taxes and everything are rolled into the loan.



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[Deceus]

Something I rarely see mentioned regarding buying property: you're still potentially throwing away an assload of money. I think of the $1800 I spend on my house a month, ~$425 goes to principal. When I first decided to buy, I imagined that number would be a lot higher. Interest is a bulk of the difference, then there's insurance and taxes to factor in.  The bank just takes your money instead of a landlord or apartment complex.

Also my water bill is absurd at $120+ for less than 3,000 gallons so that's money I'm pissing away every single month along with my HOA fees. Not to mention repairs. If you think the Jeep was rough, look up the cost to replace a roof.

My advice: focusing on your career is best thing for ROI in your 20s. The only way to get a decent raise these days is to move jobs. That's a lot easier without a mortgage anchoring you down.

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I guess I just see the rent that some people pay as absurd when a mortgage could cost less. Also, those bills like water, electric, etc. all still have to be paid when you're renting. The only advantage I see to renting would be avoiding the liability of repairs for water heater, appliances, roof, etc.. 

But you make a good point, being flexible with moving around in order to advance my career is probably the best thing for ROI in my early 20's. I guess I just have to see the feasibility of owning property while also renting it out if I need to move. This is my overall goal, not to be in that same house/condo for 10+ years. My thought process was to buy property now, starting paying off the principle, then in a few years, I can move somewhere while now renting out that property to supplement the mortgage and repairs; all while the value of the housing market hopefully rises due to the area.

You missed the point of the water bill probably because it lacked context. It went up $100 just because I moved across the street and am now at the mercy of a for-profit utility company that pretty much said "bend over or move out" knowing damn well most people can't/won't move out of a home they own over a water bill. That's $1200/year I'm wasting that I never foresaw being an issue. That's 3 months of progress on my principal gone every year for a while. Now this is obviously an issue fairly unique to massanutten but my point is this: Your plan is solid from the 10,000 foot view you have right now but the devil is in the details. You will not be making as much progress on anything as you think you will.

Regarding Airbnb: Rockingham county is taking 5% right off the top from my income AND making me inventory everything used in my "business" so that they can make me pay business personal property tax on it. I even have to provide a depreciation schedule along with it. I'm lucky I'm only renting a room because otherwise I'd have to include EVERY.THING. in the house. Even the damn silverware. It's a HUGE pain in the ass to deal with.

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[.RJ]

I would be very, very surprised if the dealer let you out without paying VA sales tax, tags, title fees. Normally they cant sell a car on temp tags without all of that stuff. Check your paperwork because that money is probably gone.

And, just like there are property management companies for traditional long-term rentals, there are also similar services for short-term rentals that help you turnover the house for the next tenant.... sure you pay for that but, its all in the math.... the house you buy to live in is probably also not the house you want to buy to rent out, too.

[D_Eclipse9916]

If you flip it and sell it (or trade it in) now you'll probably take a big hit, losing sales tax/reg/etc fees at minimum.  Have to decide if its worth it to you.

As far as buying property, there are lots of first time buyer programs that get you into a house for 3% down so you dont need huge cash reserves.

Like mentioned above, I still have not paid taxes on this vehicle, leading me to believe I could sell it before ever paying said taxes. Also I have to call DMV to confirm, but if I pay taxes and then say sell the car one month later then I think I get refunded for the 11months of time that I paid for but didn't actually own the vehicle.

Waht RJ is referring to is your titling/registration/sales tax fee. You paid 4.15% on your purchase price as SALES tax.  If you financed through the dealer, they probably put this all into the loan.  If you processed through your own financing, they might NOT have titled/registered it.  If they did, your 4.15% is GONE.  The "return of 11 months" is only on your personal property tax bill, not the sales tax bill.

[Evan]

every car that Ive bought from an out of state dealer (even MD) has not paid VA sales tax or registration on my behalf, I have paid it at the DMV counter just like buying a private party car. So unless things have changed recently, I doubt the Iowa dealer paid his sales tax or registration.
But its easy to tell, do you have VA Temp tags and temp registration?

I dont think it is technically legal to sell a car that you own but never registered, (there is a name for it that I cant recall) but even if it wasn't, it sounds like a messy situation considering the title is probably now with your bank.

Personally, I would try to get the F as far away from that Jeep as possible. Having 28k of debt and equity tied up in that is going to limit the flexibility that you want to have in your 20s

[Apoc]

I bought the Audi in DE, which has no sales tax, and they collected VA sales tax and had me sign Power of Attorney so they could register it in my name.

Same thing happened when I bought the Mini in Oregon.

In both cases, I financed from the dealer so maybe that has something to do with it.

[JustinG]

Bought BMW from Massachusetts. Paid VA sales tax, financed through my CU.

[.RJ]

Same thing from my 135 and my 328 wagon, they collected tax and I did the PoA