Jump to content
IGNORED

A thread to discuss Central Texas real estate


bestbike85

Recommended Posts

51 minutes ago, TheX said:

Younger people seem to be oblivious to the fact that debt is modern slavery. So many of them are deep in credit card debt, student loans, and more car than they need/can afford. It's nearly impossible to get ahead once that starts.

I think they know full well and, like slavery, there's little they can do about it short of building a guillotine.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, rockshins said:

The housing market is scary stuff for a millennial, got hit hard in the my early 20's with the financial crisis, lost my job and didn't have the ability to own a home at that point.  Fast forward to a year ago, finally debt free and looking to buy a house in an expensive city, got crazier from there. Wife has aging parents and was born and raised here, we are staying. Financially we can afford buying a house but not sure we want to enter the fray right now, not that it's going to get any better. We were hoping that things would slow down at some point, seems really nuts to pay these prices right now 

Hang tight, bud. I had a tough run at it myself finishing grad school in 2014 to enter the oil market and immediately get slapped in the dick with the 2015 downturn. Fortunately I was able to squeeze my way out simply due to knowing a few skills I learned working since I was young, but I was absolutely homeless through 2016 sleeping in my truck or on a random couch with my trusty wiener dog. 

I don’t think there will be much of a dip in the housing market, but I do think we will see a flattening of the curve here in the next 6-12 months once forbearance is exhausted for every type of situation and building materials stabilize. 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, TheX said:

Younger people seem to be oblivious to the fact that debt is modern slavery. So many of them are deep in credit card debt, student loans, and more car than they need/can afford. It's nearly impossible to get ahead once that starts.

 

YES!  Interesting that you bring this up.  My oldest son is now 18 and just this week began getting credit card solicitations in the mail.  My wife likes to keep a clean fridge, but this is one thing we wanted to broadcast to our kids loud & clear.  CC debt = death!  Besides our house (which is now worth 2x what we paid 3.5 yrs ago), we have no debt and are doing our best to train up our kids this way too.

IMG_1240.thumb.jpg.0ba17991ff6c2e871db0b1c0f0ec0ef5.jpg

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, TheX said:

Younger people seem to be oblivious to the fact that debt is modern slavery. So many of them are deep in credit card debt, student loans, and more car than they need/can afford. It's nearly impossible to get ahead once that starts.

That trap is not new! I'm your age and people from our generation and even the generation before us got caught in that same trap. I lived pay-check to pay-check into my forties even though I made decent money. Discipline is the key, i.e. being able to separate needs from wants. I've never been able to do that myself, which is why I'll be working until I'm 70 vs. having retired at 55. Still, I have no regrets, as I've provided for 4 wonderful kids, helped 3 of them through college, enabled my wife to be a stay-at-home mom, have a nice home and other nice things, etc. Of course with the value of our home being what it is now in Cedar Park, I could possibly retire soon if I could convince my wife to move to Bentonville! 

Bottom line is that there are still opportunities for young folks, but they have to live smarter and possibly work harder than generations before them. My daughter and her husband are both mid-level healthcare practitioners who just opened their own anti-aging clinic, while retaining their regular jobs. Allied health professions can be targeted for good wages in medical imaging, physical therapy, lab testing, etc. I believe too that there is a huge opportunity for young folks to turn away from higher education and instead acquire a skilled craft, which could be leveraged to earn good wages or start a small business. Most importantly young folks will be more active in government / politics than we were, hopefully enacting positive changes for generations to come. The continued erosion of the middle-class is the greatest threat to our country, and the younger generations need to figure out how to wrestle a big chunk of the wealth away from Wall Street and the greedy lobbyists, schemers, and overpaid executives that to do "whatever it takes" to retain wealth and power. I have faith that the younger generations will figure out how to do this without destroying our free-market, capitalistic economy.  

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Death throws of a dying government. Average lifespan of a government being 200 years we're getting near the end and all the people with wealth already are trying to gobble up as much as they can in hopes of being able to ride it out until the next form of government comes along. The money grabbers need to keep in mind that you can't spend a confederate dollar anywhere these days.

New Zealand just increased its minimum wage to $20 an hour. The increase is up a $1.14 from what it was. They also increased the tax base for the wealthy to 36%.

We've all heard this nonsense of make America great again. America was great when the corporations were being taxed at 50%+.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, mack_turtle said:

paying to work at internships.

This is illegal. 

To be an internship you legally have to pay people. The fact that there are unpaid internships or that you would have to pay is incredible. People don't understand this fact and fall for it all the time. They are screwing themselves.

Edited by AustinBike
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, CBaron said:

 

YES!  Interesting that you bring this up.  My oldest son is now 18 and just this week began getting credit card solicitations in the mail.  My wife likes to keep a clean fridge, but this is one thing we wanted to broadcast to our kids loud & clear.  CC debt = death!  Besides our house (which is now worth 2x what we paid 3.5 yrs ago), we have no debt and are doing our best to train up our kids this way too.

IMG_1240.thumb.jpg.0ba17991ff6c2e871db0b1c0f0ec0ef5.jpg

That is brilliant!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

57 minutes ago, throet said:

That trap is not new! I'm your age and people from our generation and even the generation before us got caught in that same trap.

I agree, I feel like we had better examples back then. It may have just been my upfetchin' but my parents *seemed* smart about these things.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, skinned elbows said:

I read an article investment firms are buying up whole neighborhoods from builders and keeping them as rentals... private ownership and Independence is becoming harder to reach... social welfare programs for All Is The New Normal..

Sent from my SM-A115AZ using Tapatalk
 

Yes, listened to a whole thing about that on the radio. It's nuts. Thats just the new "free market" economy which includes more than it's fare share corporate welfare. Since Cliton, social welfare is nowhere what it used to be.

Privatize profits, and socialize losses. Yay us!

Edited by ATXZJ
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 minutes ago, TheX said:

68f2212b-2cb9-46a1-bb44-f277342758ea-png.530318

There's a kernal of truth to this, but otherwise: OK, Boomer. guess who handed out those participation trophies.

now the generation of old folks who ride e-mtbs are trying to get young folks hooked on those too. talk about gains you didn't earn!

Edited by mack_turtle
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, mack_turtle said:

OK Boomer rant:

when i was in my 20s, in the mid '00s, I was in debt because I was taking cash advances on my credit card to put it in my bank account so my rent check (cheap, in San Antonio) would not bounce. my wife and I were working full time (I had two part-time retail jobs with no insurance for a few years) while she was going to school. we had two cars, which was necessary at the time, and both were used and paid off. we later sold one of the cars and I rode the bus to work. we literally ate beans and rice and not much else. somehow we escaped from this without massive student debt and got to a healthy point now. if he had started a family (is anyone surprised that the birth rate is falling?) or had a serious medical problem, we'd be completely in over our heads 15 years later. I can't imagine we'd be able to own a home as we do. we managed to pay it off but it was brutal. the people who entered college just a few years after us have it much worse with the cost of school and paying to work at internships. it's drastically different and it's not young people's fault because they like avocado toast.

Nice work on paying off the house. You guys are probably some of the last ones through the gate and have grit. 

My boomer rant:

My opinion on boomers v millennials has changed a lot over the years. As angry, cynical, genX we used to joke that we were the only generation equally disappointed in our parents and our children. I think that kinda still stands, but with open eyes. You really can't blame the boomers for behaving the way they did as young adults and beyond. They were raised on a steady diet of american exceptionalism and saw the most prosperous times in our countries history. They witnessed huge strides in civil rights and came together to help end a war. They also saw great unrest with the potential destruction of the world through nuclear war during the cuban missle crisis. Let's also not forget seeing their leaders gunned down on national TV. All the while the access to information was extremely limited compared to what we have now.  Would you buy a house for 20k? Sure! Would you do ALL the drugs and alcohol you could and get behind the wheel? Sure! Would you treat the planet like it was your personal litter box? Sure! That's what everyone else was doing at the time. Once people reach a certain age they just kind of dig into their belief structures a little deeper and look at history in a way that is most palatable for them. We all do it, and really can't blame any generation for not adapting as quickly as we think they should, or understanding our plight. We go out of our way to avoid this and correct our kids any time they pull the ok boomer BS. 

Now, what really pisses me off are the millennials who are having multiple children, living off their parents and blaming the boomers for everything. They are more than willing to share their opinions on how screwed up the economy is, how much debt they have and how the planet is dying because of pollution/overpopulation. Cut to their hybrid with two baby seats. FK off with that hypocrisy. 

The zoomers/millennials can bitch about their boomer parents when they stop living off them, dressing like them, and listening to their music.

 

 

14 hours ago, mack_turtle said:

I think they know full well and, like slavery, there's little they can do about it short of building a guillotine.

The ruling class knows thats coming, and thats why all of our police have been militarized. Does Bastrop county need an APC? I don't fucking think so.

Edited by ATXZJ
  • Like 2
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, mack_turtle said:

There's a kernal of truth to this, but otherwise: OK, Boomer. guess who handed out those participation trophies.

now the generation of old folks who ride e-mtbs are trying to get young folks hooked on those too. talk about gains you didn't earn!

I guess I never received the box of trophies to hand out, and I don't ride an e-mtb.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

About 80% of the people I interview, and about 95% of the people I hire are what would be considered Millennials. Very few of them have degrees, but they are some talented and brilliant people. Usually it runs about 40% women and less than half are white, not that it matters. Some of the people applying fit the stereotypical mold, but not very many. They get weeded out pretty quickly.

Stereotypes are usually based at least in part on facts. But looking past that, and judging people as individuals is when you find the good ones.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fun topic.

We moved from Austin 5 years ago now.  Can't believe it has been that long.  We straight up cashed out and sold our SW Austin (Oak Hill) house for a hell of a lot more than what we paid for it.  Lady from California paid 30k over asking for cash.  I wonder what it would go for today.  

Bottom line, my wife and I are both teachers and we were house poor.  Between taxes, life, mortgage, and a kid we just couldn't get ahead.  I miss my riding buddies in Austin.  I get envious of all the trails.  But I got to move to a cool small town and pay off a house before I turned 40.  Yeah, the mtbing isn't Austin.  But you make due with the cards you're dealt with.  I wouldn't trade our decision at all.  Austin is great to visit.  

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, sherpaxc said:

Fun topic.

We moved from Austin 5 years ago now.  Can't believe it has been that long.  We straight up cashed out and sold our SW Austin (Oak Hill) house for a hell of a lot more than what we paid for it.  Lady from California paid 30k over asking for cash.  I wonder what it would go for today.  

Bottom line, my wife and I are both teachers and we were house poor.  Between taxes, life, mortgage, and a kid we just couldn't get ahead.  I miss my riding buddies in Austin.  I get envious of all the trails.  But I got to move to a cool small town and pay off a house before I turned 40.  Yeah, the mtbing isn't Austin.  But you make due with the cards you're dealt with.  I wouldn't trade our decision at all.  Austin is great to visit.  

If you don’t mind me asking, where did you land? 

This is what I’m pushing the wife for. Why be a small fish in a big pond when we can just be a small fish in a small pond? Raise kids on acreage, have chickens and a few cows, and just escape the rat race. 

Even if our income growth flattens out much sooner than we expect because we’re away from the major metro, it’s still affordable for the life we want. 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’ll throw something out there for everyone to chew on. Maybe home ownership is going the way of car ownership. Lots of young people prefer to use ride-sharing instead of buying a car. If they need one, they rent it and don’t hassle with storage, maintenance, etc. With this new hybrid work environment capability, people can be mobile now and tying themselves to one location with a home might not for their lifestyle.

Honestly, I don’t share that doom and gloom outlook on the future of our country or our generations. Things change...people change...priorities change. Just roll with it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Generally speaking, outside of Austin, the economics of home ownership have changed. It used to be a lock that you would make a good amount of value and owning a house made a lot of sense. Especially in a world where people worked in the same area and were not very mobile. 

But times have changed, the economics are different. Homes can bog you down and limit your mobility. Companies are shying away from the generous relocation packages. When we moved from Chicago to Houston and Houston to Austin we had awesome packages. Now, it's a check for a few grand.

It makes sense not to own for a lot of people. Austin is an outlier because real estate value has rocketed up. But in that world it only makes sense to be in it if you got in early. Jumping in now might not work out economically. The world is changing.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...