Revisiting the Unicorn Criteria 5 Years Later: 626 W. Belden in Lincoln Park
This vintage 3-bedroom at 626 W. Belden in Lincoln Park came on the market in August 2016.
Built in 1890, this greystone has 3-units.
It has many vintage features, including 10 foot cove ceilings and moldings.
It also has 2 fireplaces, including one in the master bedroom.
The master bedroom also has a marble bath with a steam shower and a rare walk-in closet. Vintage units are usually light on the closets, so having a walk-in is unusual.
The kitchen is in the front of the unit and is open to the living/dining space. It has cherry cabinets, granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances.
It has front and back outdoor spaces.
The unit also has the other criteria that buyers look for, including central air, washer/dryer in the unit and a coveted garage parking space.
This property was the closest thing I could find currently on the market that seemed to fit Anonny’s old “Unicorn Criteria” from 2011.
If you recall, 5 years ago, Anonny was looking for a condo in East Lincoln Park that fit a set of criteria he dubbed the “unicorn criteria” because he didn’t believe they existed.
Here was his list:
1) Absolutely required:
* 2/2
* garage
* LP east of Halsted
* w/d in unit
* not on ground floor or “low first floor” (and no duplex down)
* wood floors (or permitted installation of wood floors, with a corresponding discount in purchase price)
2) Strongly preferred (bordering on required):
* LP east of Clark
* kitchen is not open to the living room (but may certainly be open to the dining area)
* master bath
3) Greatly desired (bordering on strong preference):
* powder room/half bath
* some sort of private outdoor space (at least big enough for a grill, and ideally big enough to also fit a smallish table and four chairs)
* central air
* working fire place
Anonny was willing to pay $3,000 a month (inclusive of assessments and taxes) with 10% down and expected to pay in the mid-$400,000s to get his dream home.
This 3-bedroom on Belden appears to fit most of the criteria with the exception of it being east of Clark. But it is east of Lincoln, so many would consider this East Lincoln Park as well.
Priced originally at $575,000, this unit has been reduced to $550,000.
Doing the calculations on one of the realtor web sites, with a 3.75% 30-year mortgage rate, taxes, PMI, insurance, HOAs and 10% down, his payment on this place would be around $4050 a month.
With this strong housing market, is Anonny’s 2011 price point now completely unrealistic for the unicorn criteria, even with low mortgage rates?
Cindy Wilson at Berkshire Hathaway KoenigRubloff has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #2: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, no square footage listed
- Sold in April 1995 for $279,000
- Sold in February 1999 for $338,000
- Sold in July 2003 for $445,000
- Sold in October 2006 for $533,500
- Sold in July 2008 for $460,000
- Originally listed in August 2016 for $575,000
- Reduced
- Currently listed for $550,000
- Assessments of $550 a month (includes exterior maintenance)
- Taxes of $10,103
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Garage parking included
- 2 fireplaces
- Bedroom #1: 12×11
- Bedroom #2: 13×9
- Bedroom #3: 13×9
This condo looks pretty rental grade for $550,000. Small, cramped, lower end fixtures (black countertops are like the 2nd cheapest available other than that uggo beige from HOme Depot)… Not impressed.
Yes, his 2011 price point is unrealistic now. 2011 was a special year.
The pictures offer no sense of how this place actually lives. The agent may as well have not posted any pictures at all. I would be upset if I was the seller and my agent took awful pictures of my property.
Why are those taxes so high? Guess its not owner occ?
“The pictures offer no sense of how this place actually lives. The agent may as well have not posted any pictures at all. I would be upset if I was the seller and my agent took awful pictures of my property.”
The problem with being a realtor is that you actually have to do the work of selling the property. More often than not, you can’t just list a property in the MLS with your crappy flip-phone camera pictures and expect it to magically sell. You have to hire a professional photographer to take decent pics, or just do the pics yourself; you have to contact the owner/tenant to coordinate a schedule to tidy up the unit for sale; and you have to conduct open houses, return buyer’s agents phone calls/emails, etc. Or in this case – HIDE THE TOOTHBRUSHES ON THE SINK FROM VIEW SO YOU CAN GET A DECENT BATHROOM SHOT.
Too many realtors just want to check in, check out and collect a commission. Of course it doesn’t really work that way. You would think they would learn, but they do not.
Those are not recent photos. They are certainly not from last month, August 2016. There is a pine Christmas garland on the front fence. There are no leaves on any trees.
This begs the question of why they are using old photos. And why photos that are poorly lighted and badly staged. Is it the best they can do?
“Too many realtors just want to check in, check out and collect a commission. Of course it doesn’t really work that way. You would think they would learn, but they do not.”
And you would think that the consumer would learn to check out a realtor before listing with them. Like…look at their other listings online to see what the photos look like and how their descriptions read, check out their Yelp, Google, and Zillow reviews, get a list from them of everything they are going to actually DO for you. But they don’t and it mystifies me. They hire friends and relatives or someone whose signs they see all over the place. And so Darwinism is not at work in this industry.
My guess is that this place is being rented out and the current tenants are slobs, so they used the old pictures from the rental listing.
Yeah, sometimes clients tell us they have their own photos and they want us to use them. We try to push back but maybe the place looks worse than the old photos. Oddly enough a lot of sellers think their amateur photos are just fine but you can tell the difference. The professional photographer comes in with a tripod, a flash, and a wide angle lens. And you can also get high dynamic range photos.
In the description it says there are better pics in the virtual tour, which I found on the listing site:
http://tour.vht.com/433476206/626-w-belden-ave-2-chicago-il-60614/photos/idx
Not sure why they can’t use the same pics in the listing though.
I do not understand the logic behind these listing photos – – virtual tour photos are night and day better and… why on earth is there a picture of the washer / dryer and not of the actually quite nice second bath? I initially figured they left the second bath out of the listing photos because it likely sucked but it is NICER than the one they included.
Someone needs to de-list and re-upload photos from the tour ASAP.
“Doing the calculations on one of the realtor web sites, with a 3.75% 30-year mortgage rate, taxes, PMI, insurance, HOAs and 10% down, his payment on this place would be around $4050 a month”
Who’s taking out a 30-year on this type of place? And why PMI?
That said, I imagine the monthly would still be close to the $4000 level, given the high taxes and assessments.
wasn’t there a bowling lane and pizza oven part of the criteria?
“Who’s taking out a 30-year on this type of place? And why PMI?”
A 37 yr old single female (or maybe male) who has been working for 15yrs and has moved up the corp ladder. She (ok, maybe a he) has no immediate prospects for forming a union that will produce offspring and so she (ok, maybe a he) decides now is the time to buy a home after renting for 15yrs. This person is now also in a position to obtain multiple cats and/or dogs. They plan to stay indefinitely. LOL
PMI if you put less than 20% down, right? Or are they waiving that already (again)?
Annony, you’d be surprised how many borrowers prefer 30 year fixed rates even though statistically, they’d be better off with an ARM on a condo. People have an irrational fear of ARMs exploding even though something like 90% Of mortgages are refinanced or paid off within 7 years.
Most borrower’s would do an 80-10-10 or 80-15-5 to avoid PMI.
I took a 30 year out on my condo with 20% down. I didn’t want to have to deal with refinancing every few years once the ARM reset. I’ve been there 5 years and am starting to consider moving since there has been increased crime in my neighborhood. Otherwise, I would stay indefinitely.
I also did a 30 year fixed with 20% down, rates are so low that the ARM rates weren’t enough difference on a monthly basis to bother with not fixing the rate… 3.5% is pretty good IMO
if rates go up, yay?, if they go down I can always refinance again
Who keeps the same mortgage more than 15 years these days? You will have moved or refi’d in that time. Why pay for 30 year amort?
“PMI if you put less than 20% down, right? Or are they waiving that already (again)?”
Not exactly. There are some good “lender paid” products out there (i.e., the lender pays the PMI, which typically adds about .5 percent to one’s rate; unlike PMI costs, it’s tax deductible).
“I took a 30 year out on my condo with 20% down. I didn’t want to have to deal with refinancing every few years once the ARM reset.”
I don’t think ARMs reset every few years. After 5, 7, 10, or whatever fixed period chosen by the borrower, they are subject to adjustment. And there’s no requirement that one must deal with refinancing every few years following an adjustment.
How about the 15 year fixed. My rule to my employees is that if you can not afford it at that 15 year am rate then you are buying too much home. And if you stay for 7+ years (average) or get stuck like many did in 08 the finish line aka ZERO debt day may be sneaking up right around the corner.
After 10 the equity position moves very quickly. At that point if you want to keep and rent it the place is much quicker to a paid off asset. I’m sure that many will rip my theory to threads but a paid off asset is a good thing!
I always like to go for the longest term on a loan I can get at a given rate. For instance if I can get a 4 year car loan or a 7 year car loan at the same rate, I would take the 7 but make payments as if it were the 4. That way if financial disaster hits, I can drop down to making the minimum payments to free up some monthly cash and not necessarily have to give the car up right away. And if no disaster hits I’ve lost nothing over the 4 year term.
“Who keeps the same mortgage more than 15 years these days? You will have moved or refi’d in that time. Why pay for 30 year amort?”
Depends on where you’re buying and the situation in your life. Is a 25 year old going to keep a 30 year on a condo? Look at the sales history on this property. The answer is most likely “no.”
But the payment is lower than it is on a 15 year so that may play into it for some people.
Also- you’d be surprised how many people don’t, or can’t, refi for a variety of reasons. And with rates near record lows, unless they go nearly to zero, who is going to refi?
I think the only real issue with ANY loan is simply moving.
“People have an irrational fear of ARMs exploding even though something like 90% Of mortgages are refinanced or paid off within 7 years.”
Wow. That stat is incredible. But it’s a sign of the bond bubble. We’ve only known falling mortgage rates. For 17 years they’ve basically been falling. So of course people just refi after refi after refi (if the bank lets them, of course.)
I’d like to see the stats on mortgages from the 1980s when rates were over 10% for over a decade. Probably the reverse.
“PMI if you put less than 20% down, right? Or are they waiving that already (again)?”
I haven’t heard that they are waiving it. The realtor website I used included it.
“Who keeps the same mortgage more than 15 years these days? You will have moved or refi’d in that time. Why pay for 30 year amort?”
Most people get a mortgage because they are managing their cash flow. If the interest rate is incredibly attractive you want to lock in that rate on the biggest balance possible for as long as possible.
“Who’s taking out a 30-year on this type of place? And why PMI?”
You pay the PMI now one way or the other, if you’re only putting down 10% (as you said you were doing back in 2011.) So if you did the same today (put down just 10%) you would have to pay the PMI, which the realtor website figured was around $200 a month.
I did a 30-year for convenience sake.
“Who’s taking out a 30-year on this type of place? And why PMI?
That said, I imagine the monthly would still be close to the $4000 level, given the high taxes and assessments.”
If you did a 15-year at 2.55%, the national average, monthly payment including PMI/insurance, HOAs, taxes would be about $5000. Also with 10% down.
Gary – I’d argue that they are not actually managing cash flow. They are just getting the big mortgage at lowest rates to enable more monthly SPENDING of that excess cash. And they are not inventing it but rather spending it on depreciating assets like cars and other mostly frivolous spending.
Few mortgage buyers are ever thinking about retiring. But I’d say that if you are the 35 year old buyer or older that it should factor into the equation. After 10 years on the 15 year note you are 65% paid off on the principal. And that’s really important.
That may be true and the current investment environment is definitely different than the past environment. In the past you had a real chance of earning a higher rate on your investments than your mortgage rate. Not so sure today. However, if you want to lock in a low rate and think rates may be going up or if you are a two income family and you want to max our your 401Ks and IRAs you might be cash squeezed without being financially irresponsible.
Again you are correct but you are also biased as your commission based role depends on people buying and selling homes often while moving up to higher priced properties.
“if you are a two income family and you want to max our your 401Ks and IRAs you might be cash squeezed without being financially irresponsible.”
That could be true but it really just means that they are buying too much house. I stand with my premise that too many people are making bad decisions on purchase price of homes. If you are over 35 and can not qualify to buy it on a 15 year amortization schedule while still meeting all of your obligations (401K included) then you are living too high off the hog.
And lets imagine that hypothetical 50 year old that is now debt free on a fully paid for asset with 15 years left until likely retirement. If they are just starting to invest for retirement at age 50 it is a different disaster but if behind they can make up some ground quickly.
And I’d bet money that if that same individual were on the 30 year mortgage there would still be substantial debt left on the mortgage and not much more invested into retirement funds as “something else” always came up that prevented that annual savings.
Most Americans nearing retirement only have $100K saved up. And if they plan to live another 15 years (80) then they have aprox $555 per month to spend from that principal to zero. Or as the experts say 4% per year drawdown. And that is a meager living….
Absolutely no commission based biased here. I am first and foremost an investor and that’s how I look at this stuff. All I care about is what is the best source and use of funds. I added cash to my life insurance plans so that it could earn 4% tax free rather than pay down my mortgage. I have other cash on the sidelines in case rates go up but that is looking more and more doubtful. My parents didn’t have a mortgage most of their lives, which I thought was crazy because they invested in tax exempt munis that were paying a higher rate than the after tax mortgage rates.
In a two income household the husband and wife can contribute $23,500 each into IRAs and 401Ks, which is a pretty good savings rate for most people.
However, in the current interest rate environment I would agree that if you have extra cash beyond that it might make sense to pay off your mortgage faster. Should you buy a smaller house? I don’t know. I personally believe in living well below your means but as long as you can hit your retirement goal….
I could do the 15 year but I like the flexibility of the lower payments from the 30 year.. I invest the difference any way I can.
I’m the same way as fred, why constrain yourself with higher payments for shorter time when you can have more flexibility over longer, theres usually no prepayment penalties for loans.
I also took out a 30-year and just pay extra principal every month that puts me on a 15-year schedule. Yes, I’m paying a higher interest rate (3.625% vs. 2.50-2.75%), but it allows for flexibility if I have an issue that requires cash (I’m single so one income household).
If rates ever go up, I may forego the extra principal payments and save the difference, however I’m happy making the extra principal payments to reduce the mortgage balance as quickly as possible.
“If you are over 35 and can not qualify to buy it on a 15 year amortization schedule while still meeting all of your obligations (401K included) then you are living too high off the hog.”
Agreed
“And lets imagine that hypothetical 50 year old that is now debt free on a fully paid for asset with 15 years left until likely retirement.”
And may now be facing college costs of 200k per child. I can’t imagine having a mortgage and college costs at the same time.
“Why are those taxes so high?”
AV = 57,760. and they won an appeal.
“Guess its not owner occ?”
It is. Would have been $480.69 without.
Yeah, funny how the 30-year mortgage is still “the standard”…even though nowadays there’s a good chance that the loan will outlive the marriage. At least that’s what my sister’s experience was.
“And may now be facing college costs of 200k per child. I can’t imagine having a mortgage and college costs at the same time.”
Maybe you can’t imagine it, but that’s the vast majority of America. In fact, there is a big percentage of Americans who still have mortgages over the age of 60.
On a middle class, or even an upper middle class salary, it’s virtually impossible to save for your 2+ kids college, put away a million dollars in a 401k, pay the mortgage on that $400,000-$500,000 house (or higher in some areas), have two $25,000 to $50,000 cars, and still take those $7,000 annual vacations to Disney or Hawaii or wherever. Something has to give.
Here’s what’s happening with the older set. More and more have mortgages into their 60s.
And the amounts owed have grown significantly, said Christopher J. Mayer, a Columbia Business School professor of real estate, finance and economics. Inflation-adjusted mortgage debt for homeowners age 60 to 65 more than tripled, from less than $30,000 to about $100,000, between 1992 and 2010, he found.
“When we updated our data through 2013, the higher amounts remained steady,” he said. “The share of homeowners in this age group who do not have a mortgage has fallen to about 45 percent. That compares to 55 percent a decade ago. These are tough numbers for retirees to overcome.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/13/your-money/paying-off-the-mortgage-is-becoming-harder-for-older-workers.html?_r=0
“And I’d bet money that if that same individual were on the 30 year mortgage there would still be substantial debt left on the mortgage and not much more invested into retirement funds as “something else” always came up that prevented that annual savings.”
You’re either good with money and going to be debt free early on or you’re not. Giving someone a 15 year versus a 30 year isn’t going to magically save those who are not good with money. They’ll just HELOC the money out of the paid asset eventually. I see it all the time. It’s too tempting for those who are “bad” at money management.
That’s why people pull money out of their 401ks when they change jobs and don’t roll it over. It’s too tempting (even with the big penalty.) It’s just sitting there. That’s also why people take out loans on their 401k to buy homes. It’s allowed but it’s the dumbest thing you could ever do.
Sabrina – good link. That spotlights my theory of too much house. But it is also slightly misleading. I know a few 60+ empty nesters that have large mortgages and plenty of income to support the purchase.
They are financially secure and always wanted a nice home. So they buy it later in life ironically after they become empty nesters. Or rather than selling and moving downtown they finally do that serious remodel on their north shore or Elmhurst home by taking out some equity to finance the project. That puts them into a mortgage in their 60’s.
“On a middle class, or even an upper middle class salary, it’s virtually impossible to save for your 2+ kids college, put away a million dollars in a 401k, pay the mortgage on that $400,000-$500,000 house (or higher in some areas), have two $25,000 to $50,000 cars, and still take those $7,000 annual vacations to Disney or Hawaii or wherever.”
The fact of the matter is that if you load up your retirement accounts and buy a big ass house and have no savings you will get financial aid for college for your kids. You can go through the college financial aid calculators yourself.
College costs? Have you seen what day care cost nowadays? It is like I’m already paying for college for a two year old. At least you can get a scholarship for college or force them to work.
“On a middle class, or even an upper middle class salary, it’s virtually impossible to save for your 2+ kids college, put away a million dollars in a 401k, pay the mortgage on that $400,000-$500,000 house (or higher in some areas), have two $25,000 to $50,000 cars, and still take those $7,000 annual vacations to Disney or Hawaii or wherever. Something has to give.:
Then they shouldn’t be doing those things. Just because “everyone” does it doesn’t mean it is right.
Maybe you buy a $10k used car
Maybe you don’t go to Disney
Maybe you buy a smaller house
Maybe not everyone should go to college
Not everyone is “entitled” to these things.
“You’re either good with money and going to be debt free early on or you’re not. Giving someone a 15 year versus a 30 year isn’t going to magically save those who are not good with money”
Sabrina – so true, so true, so true! It pains me to say but I suspect that we fail when teaching students the basics of finance in high school. Instead we push them into many useless classes that have no life value. The info is lost within a week after the final exam. The issues is that trying to reach the average 14-18 year olds that add ZERO interest or patience to learn is challenging. And even kids that get into a college curriculum get little to no advice on the subject.
It’s often taught by a parent, close relative, or a good meaning boss. Since I mainly employ late twenties and early thirties workers who are making a decent buck it is something that I stress. Not all of my employees will actually sign up for the 401K program but I do stress the subject of savings. We do have many talks about money and savings and I’ve watched them make some great decisions. Hopefully long after they work for us some of those lessons stick.
“On a middle class [] salary, it’s virtually impossible to save for your 2+ kids college, put away a million dollars in a 401k, pay the mortgage on that $400,000-$500,000 house (or higher in some areas), have two $25,000 to $50,000 cars, and still take those $7,000 annual vacations to Disney or Hawaii or wherever.”
“virtually”?? Are you now taking the position that $150k HHI is “middle class”?
It’s nearly impossible at $150k, with the $500k house, 2 late model cars, and expensive vacations. It requires new math at $75k.
“useless classes that have no life value”
Such as…?
“Not everyone is “entitled” to these things.”
Chuck – One of our employees turned in his two week notice last week. The main reason was that he believes that he is worth far more in the marketplace than he can currently earn at my company. The guy feels that he is “entitled” to a higher standard of living.
Ironically he is in sales and so his value is crystal clear in the marketplace. While I do suspect that he may get a role that initially pays a bit more it will not last. Unless he can get motivated and grow those sales then his commissions will fall and he will eventually be fired. But that entitled mentality is one that we see all the time.
“useless classes that have no life value”
Such as…?
Geometry – seriously a waste of time for most students.
Chemistry – geared to future scientists and doctors but not much else.
English Literature – good idea but most kids have not mastered how to write a business letter or learned use correct punctuation it is a bit out of touch. (I know that my writings here are filled with those issues but I’m not checking and correcting here)
Economics – Economists rarely agree with anything so lets replace that with personal finance.
Typing – no longer needed as practically every kid is typing since birth.
Geez I use this stuff all the time. You could use Geometry in trying to do gardening or landscaping or home improvements or just trying to figure out how big something is. The basics of chemistry can be pretty useful for every day practical considerations such as how dangerous steam is vs. boiling water or how to melt ice or keep ice off your windshield or not poison yourself or how to clean something without destroying it. And people shouldn’t even be allowed to vote without getting a B or better in a college level economics class.
I partially agree on English. People need learn to how speak and write, any of which is not taught never in most English classes I take.
“Typing”
Where’s the HS that offers typing? Stone Park? I’m not aware of a decent HS that does anymore, and if there is, someone should point that out to the school board.
‘[the rest]’
Sort of depends upon what one means by “life value”. I guess if one’s ‘life value’ is as a corporate drone dope, who cares? But, really, the issue is with the absence of tracking *out of* college-prep curriculum at the right time.
Of course, college, as a broad (I would say liberal, but for the bastardization of the word) educational experience, has little “life value” for a substantial minority of *graduates* nevermind the huge number who fall in the “some college” cohort.
“People need learn to how speak and write, any of which is not taught never in most English classes I take.”
haha.
HS Geometry is about half mathematical logic and half ‘shapes’. Seems to me to be core knowledge.
“I guess if one’s ‘life value’ is as a corporate drone dope, who cares?”
I think the goal is to be an underpaid salesperson at jp3’s company. (jp3 seems more annoyed at the departure of this employee than he should if the employee is such a loser as to not be able to keep his job at a salary that is a “bit more” than he is paid at present.)
“Typing”
“Where’s the HS that offers typing? Stone Park? I’m not aware of a decent HS that does anymore, and if there is, someone should point that out to the school board.”
When do kids learn typing these days? I fear their typing is terrible.
Glad I took typing, though would have been less so if my HS guidance counselor hadn’t fixed my grade so it wouldn’t negatively affect my transcript.
Back in the mid 90s when our kids were like 5 years old I got them a Jumpstart Typing program. Worked like a charm.
The basics of chemistry can be pretty useful for every day practical considerations such as how dangerous steam is vs. boiling water or how to melt ice or keep ice off your windshield or not poison yourself or how to clean something without destroying it.
That all sounds like lessons from a home ec class not from learning the chemistry class I took which was more about learning the periodic table.
“That all sounds like lessons from a home ec class not from learning the chemistry class I took which was more about learning the periodic table.”
Sure, if all you want to know is a bunch of rote rules that only apply when you encounter that exact situation. But when you need to improvise/ encounter a new situation you need more extensive knowledge. I can’t even count all the bullshit explanations I’ve gotten from people who just memorized some narrow set of facts and can’t think beyond them.
Do you need to memorize the periodic table? Probably not. But it would be a good idea to understand the difference between an element and a compound and to know which elements have similar properties because they are in the same column of periodic table.
I maintain that someone who understands how salt conducts electricity in the body is much less likely to let themselves or their children develop an electrolyte imbalance when having severe diarrhea than someone who only took a home ec class.
“Chuck – One of our employees turned in his two week notice last week. The main reason was that he believes that he is worth far more in the marketplace than he can currently earn at my company. The guy feels that he is “entitled” to a higher standard of living.”
This is a great sign. This means the economy is really starting to heat up. We need more people quitting and getting higher salaries somewhere else.
“It’s nearly impossible at $150k, with the $500k house, 2 late model cars, and expensive vacations. It requires new math at $75k.”
At $75k they live in North Carolina in a $150,000 starter home (or Nashville or Memphis or Birmingham or Schaumburg or Flossmoor, where, yes, you can still buy a decent sized SFH for $150,000.) But even if they live with the $150,000 starter home, it is STILL virtually impossible to save for all of those things and still take the vacations on that salary. So- yeah- they’re not doing the 15 year. They’re doing the 30 year because they need lower monthly payments.
Doesn’t ANYONE on here have kids? My god. It costs thousands just to have them play on the traveling sports teams.
So yeah- you can’t have it all. And you’re going to have a mortgage at age 50.
And if you make $150,000, you’re only better off if you live in one of the lower housing cost cities. Otherwise, you’re just as screwed. $150k in DC is no different than $75k in Birmingham.
“Then they shouldn’t be doing those things. Just because “everyone” does it doesn’t mean it is right.”
That’s correct. This is why the vast majority of Americans have mortgages at age 50, while, at the same time trying to put their kids through college.
You’re clearly not married nor have children or else you would understand the costs involved and the choices you have to make.
“The fact of the matter is that if you load up your retirement accounts and buy a big ass house and have no savings you will get financial aid for college for your kids.”
Gary- they tap home equity. They have for years. It’s really difficult to be poor with money (aka, “hide” it on purpose) and get your kid free money. Now maybe they earn free money on a scholarship or something like that.
“You’re clearly not married nor have children or else you would understand the costs involved and the choices you have to make.”
I’ve told you my situation many times. I’ve even given you my monthly budget. I am married with 2 kids. My wife and I both work. We have HHI around 250k. I paid off my house with money I made investing. I put away $2,000 a month to pay for my kids college fund. I am well aware of what it takes. Not everyone can do it. That is life.
Oh, and I drive a 15 year old car. I bought it used when it was 7 years old. I’m replacing it this week.
“This is a great sign. This means the economy is really starting to heat up. We need more people quitting and getting higher salaries somewhere else.”
I have lost half of my team in the last 4 months. They all got 20-30% more money doing the same job at another company.
“Gary- they tap home equity.”
I’ve played with those college financial aid calculators before and I did not see where they expected you to get a home equity loan.
“I’ve played with those college financial aid calculators before and I did not see where they expected you to get a home equity loan.”
Some schools include the equity in your house as available funds.
http://www.thecollegesolution.com/will-your-home-equity-hurt-financial-aid-chances/
“Not everyone can do it. That is life.”
Yes. You just proved that only the top 3% (which is what you are by income) can do it. No one else.
But to say “I can’t imagine having a mortgage at age 50 and paying for college” is being ignorant of, basically, most of the population.
It’s like that college professor at U of C who bemoaned being taxed more when he made over $250,000 because he’d have to let go of the gardener. Lol.
This is why most people take out 30 year mortgages Chuk. They AREN’T you. 97% of the people aren’t.
It’s hard being middle class. Housing and healthcare are rising too fast. People can’t keep up. And college costs are a joke. It’s only a matter of time before most people just say “forget it” and don’t go. They would be better off taking the $100k and starting a business. This would be a good thing.
They expect a shortage of plumbers, electricians and skilled construction workers to last the next 20 years. There are other opportunities out there.
“But to say “I can’t imagine having a mortgage at age 50 and paying for college” is being ignorant of, basically, most of the population.”
But that’s just it. Those people would need to make MORE than me. Who can afford $3k a month for mortgage and $3-5k a month for tuition? It’s one or the other. You’ve either saved enough to pay for school, or you have paid off your mortgage. Not many people can afford both expenses at once.
“They expect a shortage of plumbers, electricians and skilled construction workers to last the next 20 years. ”
Like I said. Not everyone should be going to college.
“We have HHI around 250k”
“I have lost half of my team in the last 4 months. They all got 20-30% more money doing the same job at another company.”
Good for your former team members – they no longer work for a cheap asshole! I bet they are happy campers!
And bragging about driving a used 14 year old car on a $250k household income isn’t honorable or laudable, it just makes you look like Ebenezer Scrooge. YOu don’t need to buy a RR like Riz one year out of residency, but your rusty 2002 Chrysler Town & Country is a bit extreme.
There’s certainly nothing wrong with saving and being conservative with money – but the most miserly people I know are the ones who earn the most money. Like my friends with HH income probably in the $300’s who offer $20 bucks to pitch in for the $60 take out bill; or try to stiff the babysitter $2 an hour, but then turn around and pay $750,000 for an overpriced home.
“They expect a shortage of plumbers, electricians and skilled construction workers to last the next 20 years. ”
Like I said. Not everyone should be going to college.”
This is a myth. There are plenty of tradesmen. It’s just that few plumbers want to work for $12 an hour for 10 years for a private employer while they work their way up the ladder. Most tradesmen I know apply for every municipal government job they can find hoping to land a job working for the City or some suburb in the streets and sans or buildings department.
Furthermore, there is unavoidable overhead for most trades businesses that cannot be avoided legally; and the market for most of these trades is flat (outside of new construction). Simply flooding the trades with new businesses and tradesmen without an increase in demand is a disaster for the entire industry.
“This is a myth. There are plenty of tradesmen.”
Show us the data. Also, give us the names and contact information for skilled painters, masonry people, tile people, and carpenters who are available in the next 3 weeks.
show me the data that there is a shortage. “inability to secure labor on demand” doesn’t mean shortage.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-housing-labor-idUSKCN11C0F7
“Good for your former team members – they no longer work for a cheap asshole! I bet they are happy campers!”
They didn’t work for me. They work(ed) with me.
“And bragging about driving a used 14 year old car on a $250k household income isn’t honorable or laudable, it just makes you look like Ebenezer Scrooge.”
I drive about 6k miles a year. Most of my driving is to/from airports.
“bragging about driving a used 14 year old car on a $250k household income isn’t honorable or laudable, it just makes you look like Ebenezer Scrooge”
Wait–who took over HD’s name?
This from the guy with the $600/month basement studio roomshare with G? GTFOOH! Scrooge is the real HD’s middle name, and he wore that with PRIDE!
“my friends with HH income probably in the $300’s who offer $20 bucks to pitch in for the $60 take out bill”
You know a lot of a-holes.
I bet they’re the ones who suggest getting one of every appetizer, too.
“We have HHI around 250k.”
Does this include his investment gains, bc surely w his market acumen I would have expected more from cdc. How do we think this compares w how sonies is doing?
“Does this include his investment gains, bc surely w his market acumen I would have expected more from cdc. How do we think this compares w how sonies is doing?”
Nope. Almost all of my stock market investments are in retirement accounts. My non-retirement investments are/were mostly real estate for the last 4 years.
“This from the guy with the $600/month basement studio roomshare with G? GTFOOH! Scrooge is the real HD’s middle name, and he wore that with PRIDE!”
Exactly. Did he buy a new car?
And what is cdc doing giving up on a 15 y o car? Mine is almost 13 and I was just thinking I’d hit 20 years.
“Exactly. Did he buy a new car?”
Maybe Long Grove has changed him.
“Maybe Long Grove has changed him”
It sure has. I’m keeping up with the neighbors and now driving a 2015 MDX like the rest of them. What a mistake spending my life as a frugal miserly a-hole for so many years in my $600 a month studio apartment in Albany Park.
“a 2015 MDX”
Isn’t the 2017 out? You can’t be seen in a 2 year old car.
You’re getting the iPhone 7 on release day, right?
“Isn’t the 2017 out? You can’t be seen in a 2 year old car.
You’re getting the iPhone 7 on release day, right?”
My lease is up soon, so yes, I will have a new car soon; and yes, I will be getting the new iphone. I also wear only designer suits, I bought a new engagement ring for my wife (2 carats, high quality) because the small 3/4 carat ring from a decade ago is, quite frankly, embarrassing, and below her station. Our new friends always comment on how small the ring is, and say it must have sucked to have been ‘poor’ back in the days after law school graduation.
“You’re getting the iPhone 7 on release day, right?”
7 plus, surely. or does hd have wee hands?
and a watch? (why isn’t poke go available now on it???)
“And what is cdc doing giving up on a 15 y o car? Mine is almost 13 and I was just thinking I’d hit 20 years.”
Winter is coming….It’s starting to make a lot of fan belt noise. I just have a bad feeling everything is about to fall apart. I am not a car guy at all and can’t even change my own oil. Knock on wood, this car has been mostly problem free, but I have the sense my luck is about to run out at 165k miles now. And I guess its 16 years old, it is a 2001.
The stingy, tight-fisted, miser scrooge of Miu proudly owns an iPhone 4. Yes HD, I am that squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner you referred to 😉
I track the depreciation and the maintenance expenses on my cars. When the sum total of the two exceeds the estimated depreciation on a new car it’s time to get a new car.
don’t worry miu, you’ll be forced to upgrade when apple decides to ‘update’ your perfecting good operating system and your phone suddenly barely works. That’s happened to my ipad2. Worked speedy and fast for a long time, suddenly a new operating system, and the internet barely even loads any more.
“That’s happened to my ipad2.”
iPad2? That’s older than my car in tablet-years.
“your phone suddenly barely works”
i’m going back to my sony ericsson t68i or my motorola startac.
Depending on how old your Startac phone is the analog phones don’t work anymore.
“you’ll be forced to upgrade when apple decides to ‘update’ your perfecting good operating system and your phone suddenly barely works.”
I’m reading this as I upgrade my personal desktop – 9 year old windows XP machine. For the limited functionality I was using it was fine. But then Quicken will stop working on it at the end of the year. So I got a new Windows 10 machine. Now I have to throw out my perfectly good Canon printer/scanner/fax machine because there is no scanner software for Windows 10.
I hate the universe.
“9 year old windows XP machine”
OK, you win…
“Depending on how old your Startac phone is the analog phones don’t work anymore.”
Might also give me brain cancer, but the call quality was exceptional (yeah I know the networks were different). My old gsm phones still work great.
I think the goal is to be an underpaid salesperson at jp3’s company. (jp3 seems more annoyed at the departure of this employee than he should if the employee is such a loser as to not be able to keep his job at a salary that is a “bit more” than he is paid at present.)
DZ – missed the comment earlier. I have to say it was great and it made me laugh.
Yeah I guess that I was a bit annoyed as we had put a lot of time, energy, and money into this individual. And his departure caught me a bit off guard. But ironically he is actually taking a substantial hit to his wallet in the new role. Evidently going backwards in hopes that it pays off in two to three years. Headed to commercial real estate market. And I do hope that he does well!
This unit is still available.
It was recently reduced to $535,000.