by Witness 007 57 Replies latest jw experiences
If you are referring to anyone here, my husband leases buses to singers, bands, etc. We sold the house we were in for 8 yrs and made about $50,000. We only put about $25,000 down on our $400,000 mortgage. We got 2 mortgages to avoid the PMI. Our lender made it very easy and we closed in our new kitchen.
momz
In south Africa property prices are getting very high. The avarage 3 bedroom 2 bathroom home is about R1.3mil You could get a home for about R850 000 but then you'll have to spend a fortune on security because of the high theft in the area. Unfortunately the crime is so out of control that you could by in a relitavly safe area and within a few years it becomes a theft target and then your property value drops.
The interest rate on the morgage is also very high 14.5%, this make repayments very difficult. The prime rate has gone up 6 times in the last two years. When we bought our home in October 2006 the interest rate was 10%.
The avarage South African cannot afford to own their own property and with the prices esculating like they are fewer and fewer home owners are managing to keep their homes
We have been burgled 3 times in the first 2 weeks of this year! If this continues we will be forced to look into leaving the country for good. Australia here we come!
mkr, most lenders will lend 4 x salary depending on how much the house is worth, I have heard of some lenders prepared to lend 7 x salary or more if the borrower had a decent downpayment. You don't have to earn a fortune to get a mortgage anywhere - one of the reasons for the sub prime mess.
We had $100k from our UK house to put down on our place and the bank would have lent me a hell of alot more than we asked for.
Mrs Smith, you won't be the first South African to move to Australia; we have loads of friends who have got fed up with the endless crime and feeling of being unsafe and either moved here or are back in the UK.
Mrs Smith, you won't be the first South African to move to Australia; we have loads of friends who have got fed up with the endless crime and feeling of being unsafe and either moved here or are back in the UK.
Crime is getting really bad here. You may just get to meet me soon! My husband is getting very serious about going.
Here in South Florida, we have been hit by a dramatic drop in prices, particularly the speculative condo market.
However, a decent 3br home in a decent neighboorhood can still be had for about 300K in at least a decent neighboorhood.
The prices of condos have dropped 20-40% in some cases and many speculators that put down deposits just walk away. So many huge condos have been built or under construction that have very few people buying them. You can get a nice 2br condo now for a little over 200K if you don't mind paying monthly maintenance fees in the $300-$500 range.
Rub a Dub
The average here is about 450k.
Burn
In the area I live currently $150K and up for a livable house. Rent is $700 for an apartment
In the area I am moving to is under $50k for a livable house. Though you will have to remodel most of the houses were built pre 1950's the rest are mobil homes moved in later. Also forget about getting rid of it you are better off renting if you decide to move. Rent is $300 for a house there really are no apartments there currnetly though they are coming.
Both places are in Texas.
They range from $114K to $1.4 Million in my town, which has an extremely bad school system. I rent an apartment. The next town over (regular/good school system) that I actually would buy a home in go for $335K to $2.8 Million. I cannot afford the lowest house.
According to homefair.com, the average home sale price in my zip code $450,000.
I rent in a moderately priced building. It is not luxury by any means. A new condo building went up right next door and they were advertising prices from 400k-1 million. I never went in the place, but I'm fairly sure that 400k wouldn't get you anything more than a 600-800 sq ft. studio.
Is it affordable? It's affordable to someone. Not me.
