My words, not his.
Scott Van Voorhis, late of the Boston Herald and now at The Boston Globe and Banker & Tradesman and Boston Courant (although perhaps he’s gone, I think?), has a thought-provoking post on the Boston Real Estate Now blog on boston.com.
I like my Natick fixer-upper, defects and all.
And, no, I don’t regret the $200,000 or so my wife Karen and I put into it either.
As stated above, I bought a home, not an investment product.
And with all things real estate, the only judgment on success or failure that really matters in the end rests with the one who is paying the mortgage.
Sorry if I am testy – I may sound that way – but I’m not. But some of the comments on my post earlier this week – “For Greater Boston buyers, renovation mindset needed” – got me thinking on how we now value homes and real estate.
REALmaven, as always, challenged me with a thought provoking comment.
“Scott – I think you should step back and take a broader look and honestly evaluate your project. I think that your saga would be a classic what not to do, and should be used by others to avoid getting over their heads.”
Really? Well why should I?
I concur. We bought our first condo in 2003. I was 38-years old and had never owned, before. We closed on our purchase in the Court Square Press building and lived there for two and a half years. We sold it in spring 2006 for a $100,000 profit, paid off some bills (all mine) and put $50,000 toward a condo in the South End. It’s smaller than our old place and on a busy street (Tremont) but it had everything we wanted. Top floor (no noisy upstairs neighbors), it was conveniently-located (we could both walk to work), it had a spacious roof-deck, it was recently-renovated on the inside (by an architect – it looks very cool), and it was the right price.
We bought during the height for several reasons. For one, we needed a place to live. For another, we liked what we saw.
I bought a home, not an investment.
Would I feel differently if we lived in a neighborhood or city where home prices were off 10-25 percent, or more? Perhaps. Perhaps we’d feel we were prisoners. But, we’ve both continued to be employed, we can continue to pay our mortgage loan, we have no desire or need to move.
If we have to stay where we are for ten years in order to make a return on our investment, so what?
Related posts:
- Northeastern professor suggests new “stimulus” plan
- FHA steps in where Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae can’t (any longer). Help us!
- The South End of Boston has been expensive for a long time
- Boston: We’re #4! – MA owners have high-level of equity in their homes
- How do I qualify for the first-time homebuyer tax credit?
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