Has anyone here ever lived in a home worth $1,000,000 or more?

[Kento]

Did you not read any of this thread?

You desire the following:

1. A quiver of snow shovels
2. Tacos with iceberg lettuce and velveeta cheese
3. Traveling to the land of Oz via tornado
4. To reenact every scene from the movie Gummo
5. To get a free coat hanger with each condom purchase
6. Increased cow-tipping opportunities.
7. Kudzu worship
8. Paying more money for poorer quality weed.
9. 3.2% IPAs
10. Finally being able to call it Cali without ridicule.

 

[grapedrink]

Tacos with iceberg lettuce and velveeta cheese

+ sliced canned black olives
#wouldbang

screw everything else on that list though

 

[hammies]

Let's pretend I bought a house for $400K in the 1990s in San Francisco.

Let's pretend Zillow thinks it is now worth $1.5MM in the late 20teens.

Now lets pretending I have a decent enough memory to sum up the ownership costs.....

Lets start subtracting 25 yrs of prop tax, say $4.5K a year, so minus $113K

Lets subtract off two house paintings and some inside painting, say minus $30K.

A new roof means another $25K gone, oh wait, what about the temp roof we put on ourselves a year after we bought the house (ooo, my back), minus $5K.

Electrical upgrade is minus another $5K.

Copper pipe is another $6K.

New fences is $7K

Yardwork, plants, etc, over the years, $5K

Insurance is $2K a year, so $50K there

And last years big job, say $203K

That is $449,000 of upkeep.

So, if I sold today and got $1.5 million, then subtract off cost to purchase of $400K, then another $449, I have a net profit of $651K (this number is an approximation because I am not including purchasing costs, purchase tax, fees, no real estate mortgage write offs for my taxes, and probably any number of other items).

So, on the net side, no, I do not live in a million dollar house.

But you would have blown many hundreds of thousands in rent had you not bought that house. You have to factor that in. It's kind of like you lived rent free in the City for 25 years and made $651K in the process.

 

[ElOgro]

But you would have blown many hundreds of thousands in rent had you not bought that house. You have to factor that in. It's kind of like you lived rent free in the City for 25 years and made $651K in the process.

That’s what I thought too.

Hey Sr. Doof, think how much you’d be ahead if you’d lived in a van with sweetipie all those years!

 

[SteveT]

Almost there.
Place has almost doubled in price since we bought back in '08.
A lot of improvements made has helped, especially the kick-ass outdoor Cantina BBQ/entertainment area we built in the backyard last year.There's probably an adjustment coming our way soon but no worries, we're in the the long haul.

 

[Sharkbiscuit]

Simple answer vs more complete answer....

About a decade ago, one of the nephews has figured out money, or more likely, the sister in law is putting ideas in his head.

"Hey Uncle Mr. Doof, your home is worth a million dollars!"

"Ummmm, where is this going?"

"You're a millionaire!"

"Uh, let me tell you about the other side of the balance sheet..."

"You're a millionaire!"

"Ok, what do you think that means?"

"You are a millionaire!"

"Then why am I still living in this neighborhood and why do I still look at Craigslist for used surfboards?"

At least there is some sense in the family. The nephew has a good head on his shoulders. Understands that if you owe a 30 year pile of cash plus usage, upkeep, property, tax, insurance, etc. you magically have that much liquidity you can go not just spend, but leverage to make bets. Perhaps on a Bowl Game that interests you, or the future price of the security of your choosing!

Also you are cracking at the end there. It is the simple fact that you live in that neighborhood that led your nephew to the conclusion, so that's not a good counter, and the Craigslist thing is a straight up farce. I can assure you that nobody is looking at Craigslist for used surfboards, because otherwise, there'd be people trying to buy my used surfboards.

 

[Muscles]

Yes. The current home I live in is worth around that much. It is a 65 year old home in Hawaii in need of a serious remodel. The plus side is I'm the 6th house from the water line and I have deeded water access. I'm slowly fixing it up myself when my budget permits.

But, I have to agree with others in this thread. Sometimes when I pay my mortgage I want to say Fuck it, pack up, and move inland to somewhere where I can have a nice house for less.

 

[Muscles]

Million dollar houses are everywhere in Honolulu. Most of them are poorly-designed, poorly-built architectural abominations. At least in California you get a nice house fora million bucks.

You just described my house.

900 SF craftsmen with a half assed 1000 sf "living room" added on 30 years later. All of it is single wall construction. I look at houses in San Diego and you can still get something pretty nice for $1M.

 

[One-Off]

Here's a look at 2 bedroom(+) houses under a million in Los Angeles. Notice anything?

 

[Sharkbiscuit]

Here's a look at 2 bedroom(+) houses under a million in Los Angeles. Notice anything?View attachment 83407

City of Compton is where it takes place, so when asked, your attention?

 

[Mr Doof]

But you would have blown many hundreds of thousands in rent had you not bought that house. You have to factor that in. It's kind of like you lived rent free in the City for 25 years and made $651K in the process.

Oh yes, this is very true, Sorry I forgot about this angle. But I also forgot to include the mortgage payments.....so $2000 a month for 30 years = $720K. There goes that $651 profit. Hardly rent free after all.

But never mind the mortgage payment thing.

Say Sweetie-pie and I stayed in her rent controlled place on Alamo Square when it was $1500 a month.

$1500*12*25= $450K on the low end

And since rent, even in rent control units, always goes up, say it is $2000 a month and we are at $600K.

So it is completely fair to say I saved $600,000 by owning a place.

And as my back of the napkin ownership cost also forgot to take into consideration, I failed to take into consideration the down payment funds I had to withdraw from the stocks and mutual funds I owed when we bought the place.

How much would $75K be worth if I left it in my mix of investments say in the SP 500 since 1995?

Teh Sp500 was about 460 Jan 1, 1995.

Now it is 3146 (12/6/2019).

That is a 391% gain.

$75K * 391% is $293K.

So, there is an unrealized gain and even that doesn't take into effect 25 years worth of income/retirement investing/etc, which I like to pretend would double that amount.

Anyway, all I am really getting at is that owing a million dollar house (on Zillow) is just one data point. What is more important is how I somehow had some plan from an early age to buy a house where I wanted to live/work/play and with luck/ skill, and Sweet-pie's luck/skill, was able to make it happen, and in slightly more comfort than living in a van by the river.

 

[Surfdog]

So, what it basically boils down to, is the we have quite a few people here in $1 mill+ homes, that have appreciated as such since they bought 10-30+ years or so. Great!

Problem is, most (not all) could never sell their home and buy the one next door or down the street at a similar price now, without a huge new outlay of income to do so. Unless you have a large $ta$h of funds (your own or potential inheritance) to do so. You're stuck there, or you'd need to move somewhere else completely different and "affordable". Property taxes alone on a new purchase over $1 million would eat up a lot.

 

[ElOgro]

Oh yes, this is very true, Sorry I forgot about this angle. But I also forgot to include the mortgage payments.....so $2000 a month for 30 years = $720K. There goes that $651 profit. Hardly rent free after all.

But never mind the mortgage payment thing.

Say Sweetie-pie and I stayed in her rent controlled place on Alamo Square when it was $1500 a month.

$1500*12*25= $450K on the low end

And since rent, even in rent control units, always goes up, say it is $2000 a month and we are at $600K.

So it is completely fair to say I saved $600,000 by owning a place.

And as my back of the napkin ownership cost also forgot to take into consideration, I failed to take into consideration the down payment funds I had to withdraw from the stocks and mutual funds I owed when we bought the place.

How much would $75K be worth if I left it in my mix of investments say in the SP 500 since 1995?

Teh Sp500 was about 460 Jan 1, 1995.

Now it is 3146 (12/6/2019).

That is a 391% gain.

$75K * 391% is $293K.

So, there is an unrealized gain and even that doesn't take into effect 25 years worth of income/retirement investing/etc, which I like to pretend would double that amount.

Anyway, all I am really getting at is that owing a million dollar house (on Zillow) is just one data point. What is more important is how I somehow had some plan from an early age to buy a house where I wanted to live/work/play and with luck/ skill, and Sweet-pie's luck/skill, was able to make it happen, and in slightly more comfort than living in a van by the river.

The last sentence. #metoo. That’s more important than any amount of money.

 

[Mr Doof]

^ Agreed

 

[GromsDad]

My experience with California so far is limited to the zone from LAX to San Diego. Its a great place to visit but I don't think I'd want to live there except under these conditions: I'd have to have money to burn and be able to afford a house West of the 5 Freeway in San Clemente. Preferably near T-Street. If I had to work at all I would want to work from home or within a quick bicycle ride of home.

 

[Kento]

My experience with California so far is limited to the zone from LAX to San Diego. Its a great place to visit but I don't think I'd want to live there except under these conditions: I'd have to have money to burn and be able to afford a house West of the 5 Freeway in San Clemente. Preferably near T-Street. If I had to work at all I would want to work from home or within a quick bicycle ride of home.

If you have money to burn, why in hell would you work in the first place?

 

[grapedrink]

If you have money to burn, why in hell would you work in the first place?

To be able to afford that, you’d have to be independently wealthy in the first place. Unless you have some super valuable niche skill.

 

[ElOgro]

To be able to afford that, you’d have to be independently wealthy in the first place. Unless you have some super valuable niche skill.

 

[One-Off]

My experience with California so far is limited to the zone from LAX to San Diego. Its a great place to visit but I don't think I'd want to live there except under these conditions: I'd have to have money to burn and be able to afford a house West of the 5 Freeway in San Clemente. Preferably near T-Street. If I had to work at all I would want to work from home or within a quick bicycle ride of home.

Next time turn north. Past Pt. Conception it gets really nice, past San Francisco even better...

 

[Kento]

To be able to afford that, you’d have to be independently wealthy in the first place. Unless you have some super valuable niche skill.

Homeschooled surf brat that never paid a due in his life?

We are talking South Orange County here after all.