Anyone have regrets about having gone full-time?

I think we're getting way off topic.

I am imagining a car I could buy to drive everyday, get it repaired when needed, pay for gas, insurance, registration and the interest on the loan to buy it would be tax deductible. And when we are done with it we could sell it for double what we paid. That would be a sweet deal.

soren wrote:

CKNSLS wrote:

2112 wrote:

CKNSLS wrote:
I just retired form Southern California a year ago. I sold my home (of 20 years) in Southern California for double the price I paid.

I'm curious: Is this considering purchase price and selling price alone or does this also include every penny you put in the house over the 20 years?
Such as interest paid, taxes, insurance, upkeep? New roof or flooring? Water heater or an air conditioner/furnace? Maybe HOA fees? Install a new pool maybe? You should include that $2000 lawn tractor and other lawn tools if purchased, or lawn fees paid for someone else to mow.

All of that applies when considering true profit, but I'm sure you knew that.

All things considered, I can sell my house for over double what I paid for it but I have at least 4X paid into it. My only profit is the satisfaction and pride of home ownership. But that wasn't free :(

Back on topic: I have never gone full time and most likely never will so I have nothing to add. Sorry to drift off-topic again.

House was new when I bought it. Consequently, no capitol repairs. The vast majority was TRUE PROFIT. In addition to my home, I own several rental properties, so I am quite familiar with ROI, CAP rates, etc.

Back on topic-I will never go full time-you don't get appreciation from something on 4 wheels-usually!

You might want to further educate yourself on this topic. Quite frankly doubling your money on real estate in CA. over a 20 year period, would generally be considered a spectacular failure. As for the delusion that the vast majority of the poor return was (as you seem to need to claim) , "TRUE PROFIT", I believe you will find that any competent accountant needs little effort to show you otherwise. Once you are willing to factor in ALL expenses and lost opportunity costs, doubling any R.E investment in a twenty year span is a clear indication that it was an extraordinarily poor decision, given your claim to be a successful R.E investor. In contrast, pre-tax return on a well balance all index stock fund, during that period were well over 600%, with no upkeep, R.E taxes, homeowners insurance etc....

Gee...I'm retired at 53 and a pure failure. I'll take it!

waltfire wrote:
I like seeing money spent on them, not just giving them something when I'm gone.

A wise grandpa. Time with you is some thing that money can't buy and when you're gone, they can't buy it anywhere else.

Barb

This has been quite interesting to read, having actually learned a couple things. I learned I really didn't double my money when I sold my house as I thought with all the taxes and interest paid over the years, oh well. I don't think anyone who purchases a rv to travel in for while expects any appreciation in value but very much the opposite but this is how DW and myself want to spend a few years of our retirement. Leaving a legacy, wow, maybe the rockafellers or Kennedy's can do that, me a firefighter for 32 years with a good pension, I'm lucky, but can't leave much of a legacy in money anyway. We spend a lot on our kids and grand kids providing them with fun things like vacations in the summer. I like seeing money spent on them, not just giving them something when I'm gone.

CKNSLS wrote:

2112 wrote:

CKNSLS wrote:
I just retired form Southern California a year ago. I sold my home (of 20 years) in Southern California for double the price I paid.

I'm curious: Is this considering purchase price and selling price alone or does this also include every penny you put in the house over the 20 years?
Such as interest paid, taxes, insurance, upkeep? New roof or flooring? Water heater or an air conditioner/furnace? Maybe HOA fees? Install a new pool maybe? You should include that $2000 lawn tractor and other lawn tools if purchased, or lawn fees paid for someone else to mow.

All of that applies when considering true profit, but I'm sure you knew that.

All things considered, I can sell my house for over double what I paid for it but I have at least 4X paid into it. My only profit is the satisfaction and pride of home ownership. But that wasn't free :(

Back on topic: I have never gone full time and most likely never will so I have nothing to add. Sorry to drift off-topic again.

House was new when I bought it. Consequently, no capitol repairs. The vast majority was TRUE PROFIT. In addition to my home, I own several rental properties, so I am quite familiar with ROI, CAP rates, etc.

Back on topic-I will never go full time-you don't get appreciation from something on 4 wheels-usually!

You might want to further educate yourself on this topic. Quite frankly doubling your money on real estate in CA. over a 20 year period, would generally be considered a spectacular failure. As for the delusion that the vast majority of the poor return was (as you seem to need to claim) , "TRUE PROFIT", I believe you will find that any competent accountant needs little effort to show you otherwise. Once you are willing to factor in ALL expenses and lost opportunity costs, doubling any R.E investment in a twenty year span is a clear indication that it was an extraordinarily poor decision, given your claim to be a successful R.E investor. In contrast, pre-tax return on a well balance all index stock fund, during that period were well over 600%, with no upkeep, R.E taxes, homeowners insurance etc....

CKNSLS wrote:

soren wrote:

CKNSLS wrote:

You know I completely understand that. Real world-TODAY a college education is now the equivalent of a high school diploma. Right or wrong big business and society do not put much value in a high school education, thus the emphasis on College. And while memories are a great thing-they don't pay for college. Historically real estate has been a sound investment. Selling that investment and buying something on 4 wheels is not going to help your grandchildren. Keeping you S&B home then going Rving for extended time-nothing wrong with that. Fulltiming-you do JUST BECAUSE.

"Looking at the longer-term data, we also see quite a different picture. For the period 1890-2005, inflation-adjusted home prices rose just 103 percent, or less than 1 percent a year. One can only imagine how many fewer investors would have piled into the residential home market if they were aware of the historical evidence. As Spanish philosopher George Santayana famously remarked: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."


Quote from a recent article written by Robert Case, one of the most respected economist in the real estate arena. Another expert I read recently quoted a 4/10th % annual return based on a slightly shorter duration, 1910-2006, IIRC.

The whole concept of your home being an investment, or to quote our societal delusion, "your greatest investment" is a fraud. A Stick and bricks home should be viewed as a place to live, not some rock solid investment. There are many examples of places in this country where homes are selling for the same unadjusted dollar amounts that they brought 10-20 years ago. When you factor inflation in, these particular "investments" are a horrendous loss.

I am a builder. I just sold our 12 Y.O personal home for 71% of my replacement cost, or a bit over half the going rate to build a similar custom home in the region. In retrospect, give the expenses, lost opportunity costs, and negative rate of return, it would of been far cheaper to rent.

Far too many folks have little understanding of finance. Take the typical couple who convinces themselves that they are doing great since they paid $85K for a home in 1983 and now it's "worth" $400K. The same amount invested in a balance stock fund would leave you with a nest egg of nearly three times that at $1,127,000. Now encourage them to grab the files and figure out their expenses to maintain, repair, insure and pay property tax on "your greatest investment", and if they don't reach the conclusion that it was anything but, they really shouldn't be handling your own finances.

I certainly agree that buying an RV is far from an investment. I also think that home ownership is a vitally important part of our economy, and part of our social fabric. It would be better for the financial health of many of us if we managed to get the whole concept of what a single family home really is and isn't. It is many things, but historically it's never been an investment for the vast majority of homeowners in the US.

I just retired form Southern California a year ago. I sold my home (of 20 years) in Southern California for double the price I paid. Had I waited another 12 months-I could have sold it for additional 30% over the price I sold it for a year ago. That's REAL WORLD!

No, it's anything but representative of the real world. It's a geographically small percentage of the country, with a long history of extreme price inflation and price collapses. In less than two years, during 2005 to '07, my own father lost over $200K on a modest home in the Newport Beach area. That was also "real world" and I don't think he had much of an urge to boast about it in caps. on any forum.

Were living in san diego area

2oldman wrote:

MookieKat wrote:
WHERE are you living???!!!!!

According to the city shown below his username, Ft. Gibson.

That can't be. Ft. Gibson is in OK. I think that was where they were prior to going full-time.

2112 wrote:

CKNSLS wrote:

2112 wrote:

CKNSLS wrote:
I just retired form Southern California a year ago. I sold my home (of 20 years) in Southern California for double the price I paid.

I'm curious: Is this considering purchase price and selling price alone or does this also include every penny you put in the house over the 20 years?
Such as interest paid, taxes, insurance, upkeep? New roof or flooring? Water heater or an air conditioner/furnace? Maybe HOA fees? Install a new pool maybe? You should include that $2000 lawn tractor and other lawn tools if purchased, or lawn fees paid for someone else to mow.

All of that applies when considering true profit, but I'm sure you knew that.

All things considered, I can sell my house for over double what I paid for it but I have at least 4X paid into it. My only profit is the satisfaction and pride of home ownership. But that wasn't free :(

Back on topic: I have never gone full time and most likely never will so I have nothing to add. Sorry to drift off-topic again.

House was new when I bought it. Consequently, no capitol repairs. The vast majority was TRUE PROFIT. In addition to my home, I own several rental properties, so I am quite familiar with ROI, CAP rates, etc.

Back on topic-I will never go full time-you don't get appreciation from something on 4 wheels-usually!

Again, and I apologize for harping on this: You realized a 200% PROFIT on every penny you paid for home ownership?

The only reason I'm stuck on this is the fact that I would have to sell my house for almost 3X appraised value to get such a return and that is including the fact I haven't been paying P&I for over two years. I too have a custom built home sitting on 10 acres I built 26 years ago and has been paid off for two years now.

I'm just wondering where I went wrong :S

Don't know!