To buy a horse....? or a house?

[gbean]

I’ve been saving for a while and have the dilemma of do I use my savings to buy a horse or buy a house??

I’m at that age (mid-20s, single female, steady well-paying job, graduated >3 years ago) where I am looking to settle down and I’m tired of renting for exorbitant amounts in my area - a mortgage payment would be cheaper than rent. Added advantage is that mortgages build up equity that I could use later down the line. I’m actually hoping that posting this thread will force me to think about pros/cons and help me that way.

I recently sold my previous horse back in May. It wasn’t a good fit and we were never going to go very far together. My trainer wants me to go look at a young warmblood with good pedigree - really fancy movement - and really quiet, but still a bit green (started over fences and auto lead changes though). This WB horse would be the type that would be expected to increase in value significantly to be a competitive child/adult amateur minimum 3’ hunter. This horse could double in value with training/showing considering how quiet it is said to be (by my trainer, the breeder, and current horse trainer). Of course, have to consider all the risks of horse ownership… loss of use, etc.

So: Do I use my savings to buy another horse and potentially be in a situation where it will take me years to save up for a house (since all my money would go to horse & training & showing), though the horse may be able to be sold later down the line for a significant amount (may is a key word)… OR… Since I have the money now, do I invest in a house and half lease an old lesson horse (he’s a good boy, jumps up to 3’ very easily, but not a pretty mover) for a while until I save up some more?

It would take a while to save up the same amount for a horse (we’re talking close to the amount for a house down payment) to spend on another horse, but at least my housing payments would be going toward my own mortgage. Plus, advantage is that mortgage interest rates are low right now, but expected to rise soon.

My parents aren’t really a help here since they’ve never been involved/cared for horses. My dad thinks the house is a wiser investment. My trainer doesn’t want to push me, so she is abstaining from providing much input (however she does want me to look at this horse - she wishes she was in a place to buy it, but she just purchased a young project horse). I’ve set up a trial for the horse next weekend - could be that I don’ t like the horse anyway, so I’ll at least go try… but where does that leave me if I love the horse?

This is a huge dilemma for me. I keep on flipping back and forth - I’ve made my mind up one way and then change it the next day. Looking for advice from older equestrians. If you (not your parents!) haven’t bought a house or horse before, your input is really not valuable to me.

[arapaloosa_lady]

[QUOTE=gbean;8263375]

My parents aren’t really a help here since they’ve never been involved/cared for horses. My dad thinks the house is a wiser investment. [/QUOTE]

Of course the house is the wiser investment!

But that doesn’t need to be the deciding factor for you ;). You can spend your money however you’d like! I’d buy the house & lease the nice lesson horse. That would make me happy. Would it make you happy or would you forever regret passing by the opportunity to buy a fancy horse when you have BOTH the time AND the money to enjoy him?

[AKB]

Buy the house, as long as you find a house that you like, that is well within your budget, that is close to work, and that doesn’t need a lot of repairs. After you have owned the house for a few months, you can start saving towards buying a horse.

Project horses usually do not make money for the owner. Often, they go lame, have vet bills, don’t compete well, or don’t fit well with prospective buyers.

[CHT]

If your job is such that you are likely to remain in the same area for the foreseeable future, buying the house makes so much more sense to me than continuing to pay rent.

If however, you see a possible major change in the future, renting makes more sense, as you have to live in a purchased house for a while for it to make sense (to pay off the legal fees and commission).

Owning a house and building some equity before you buy a horse will also give you some equity for a line of credit which may be useful “just in case” with the future horse.

[st_francis]

I vote house

[st_francis]

And I am barely sensible

[Bluey]

Remember, the better the horse is, the more expensive he may be, the smaller to minuscule your market will be and, unless sold cheaper than he is worth then, very hard to get that money for him.

Many end up like your trainer, they finally bought a great prospect and here comes another, maybe better one!
It is a small market at the top.
There is not that much money at the top for prospects, because, well, they are prospects and not that many have that kind of money to gamble.

If you had money for all you want, a house and several prospect and there are people that have that kind of money, sure, buy the house and the horse and you still have money for all else you want.

If it is the horse OR house, well, no question the house is the more sensible choice by far.

Just think, next time you want a horse, you will already have the house and be no question.
If you get the horse now and still don’t have the house, you will lose all that equity you are building on the house and the horse may end up being a dud, or hurt, or just not worth much after all the money and training you put on it, or who knows, you may hit the horse lottery and he be worth more and find a buyer for him then, from the much smaller pool of buyers for those horses.

If you decide up front on the house, don’t even go look at the horse, not fair to the seller and to you if you like him and then have to give up that dream.

Whatever you decide on, no regrets if you hit bumps along the road, move on with your life and decision.

[Laurierace]

You know the answer to this question.

[Dreamwalker]

The house is the sensible option, but only if you want a house and all the things that go with ownership, like repairs and maintenance.

I drive an old beat up truck, my horse is worth significantly more, my parents (and I’m middle-aged!) keep suggesting I buy a nicer car and sell my horse to do so. I don’t want a nicer car, I’m perfectly happy with my old truck and nice horse.
When I bought a float, one of my non-horsey friends had a moment, because she thought of all the overseas travelling I could do with her instead. I don’t want to travel a whole lot, I want a nice horse and nice horse float.

I had a small farm and a bunch of horses and I never had enough time or money to do anything with them. Now I’m older and broken down, I can’t achieve the goals I would like to horse wise and that really sucks. But at the time I wanted the farm more than my horse goals, I was happy for them to take a backseat and I don’t regret that.

What will you regret more? No one can make this decision for you. Although, I’m a firm believer in tossing a coin when you can’t decide. Nothing clarifies your wants quite as clearly when that coin hits the top of its arc;)

[Shine]

You can’t live in your horse but you can live out-side your house.

[luvmypup]

I was in a similar situation a few years ago… Sold the horse (who was also a bad fit for me) and bought a house. It’s been nearly 3 years of home ownership and I’m finally looking at buying again.
Something to consider is its not the cost of the horse… It’s the cost of upkeep of both the horse AND the home. Sure I can afford board monthly, but can I afford board and fixing the furnace/updating the bathroom/painting the living room etc.

I know I felt that my monthly bills would be smaller with owning a house, and that I didn’t need to update everything right away. But it’s difficult to not get caught up in home ownership and want to make it yours right away which costs more $$ then you would think.

[gbean]

[QUOTE=Bluey;8263401]

Whatever you decide on, no regrets if you hit bumps along the road, move on with your life and decision.[/QUOTE]

Good words to live by. Thanks for the advice.

[gbean]

[QUOTE=luvmypup;8263415]
I know I felt that my monthly bills would be smaller with owning a house… costs more $$ then you would think.[/QUOTE]

So the amount you were paying monthly for the house (including your repairs, upkeep, decorating, etc) go up compared to when you were renting?

Both houses and horses have all sorts of strings attached $$$ wise… I think my brain has chosen the house and my heart wants the horse.

[tangledweb]

[QUOTE=gbean;8263375]
This WB horse would be the type that would be expected to increase in value significantly to be a competitive child/adult amateur minimum 3’ hunter. This horse could double in value …[/QUOTE]

Only you can decide if buying a horse or a house is the right lifestyle choice for you, but it sounds like you think you can make a profit on this horse. If that’s part of your decision making process, you need to put the cap back on the vodka, step back, take a cold shower, and think about how crazy that is as an idea when you sober up.

If you want to enjoy a horse and spend all your money on it, and live an otherwise fairly modest life compared to other people with the same paycheck, not many people here could sincerely criticise that.

If you want a horse to make a profit on after paying board, training, entry fees and whatever else, then you should take your savings to your nearest race track and bet the lot on the horse with the prettiest tail. Your odds of profiting are about the same and you get the good or bad news much more quickly.

[tucktaway]

[QUOTE=Laurierace;8263406]
You know the answer to this question.[/QUOTE]

exactly!

[tucktaway]

[QUOTE=Laurierace;8263406]
You know the answer to this question.[/QUOTE]

exactly!

[Macimage]

I also vote to purchase the house.

[mvp]

Wait a sec. You are telling me that you will either spend a down payment on a house or a horse?

Do you have 20% to put down? If not, ask yourself whether or not you can afford to buy a house at all. After all, you have to pay PMI (mortgage insurance) for a lesser amount down and that’s a waste.

So if you would buy a $100K house, that means you want to spend $20K on a green horse who will minimally be a 3’ horse. If all goes right, this horse could double in value, so everyone says. And then that means you have a $40K-er to sell. But I’ll bet you spend $20K getting there. After all, it takes time to make an ammy/kid friendly horse. And it takes a lot of money to get that horse in front of people who will write you a large check.

You can do the same calculations again with larger numbers…. Now you really mean to spend $30K on something……

The only way this starts to work is when you still only spend that $20K on about a year of training and showing and the horse turns into a much more expensive animal. But to get that fantastic, say, $80K…. that meant you sacrificed a piece of real estate that was probably pretty nice (because the $40K in your formula as 20% down).

See how I’m looking at this?

If I could swing a mortgage payment on a modest starter place and a half-lease or so on a horse who could jump big enough to keep me learning-- but maybe not enough to win on-- I’d do that. You get the equity building you want. You don’t sacrifice riding altogether and you minimize the risk entailed by investing in a pretty expensive horse.

The only way I’d say “screw it” and buy the horse would be if real estate was impossibly out of reach. And that was true for me right out of school in one of California’s real estate bubbles, so I bought the horse.

I really don’t regret that decision. But I didn’t think that houses should have cost as much as they did where I was, either. In other words, the real estate market helped structure my decision.

[ellebeaux]

What a fun dilemma to have!

I vote house but I’m older and both house- and horse-less right now. Could you afford a house with some land?

[GypsyLover]

[QUOTE=gbean;8263375]
I’ve been saving for a while and have the dilemma of do I use my savings to buy a horse or buy a house??

I’m at that age (mid-20s, single female, steady well-paying job, graduated >3 years ago) where I am looking to settle down and I’m tired of renting for exorbitant amounts in my area - a mortgage payment would be cheaper than rent. Added advantage is that mortgages build up equity that I could use later down the line. I’m actually hoping that posting this thread will force me to think about pros/cons and help me that way.

I recently sold my previous horse back in May. It wasn’t a good fit and we were never going to go very far together. My trainer wants me to go look at a young warmblood with good pedigree - really fancy movement - and really quiet, but still a bit green (started over fences and auto lead changes though). This WB horse would be the type that would be expected to increase in value significantly to be a competitive child/adult amateur minimum 3’ hunter. This horse could double in value with training/showing considering how quiet it is said to be (by my trainer, the breeder, and current horse trainer). Of course, have to consider all the risks of horse ownership… loss of use, etc.

So: Do I use my savings to buy another horse and potentially be in a situation where it will take me years to save up for a house (since all my money would go to horse & training & showing), though the horse may be able to be sold later down the line for a significant amount (may is a key word)… OR… Since I have the money now, do I invest in a house and half lease an old lesson horse (he’s a good boy, jumps up to 3’ very easily, but not a pretty mover) for a while until I save up some more?

It would take a while to save up the same amount for a horse (we’re talking close to the amount for a house down payment) to spend on another horse, but at least my housing payments would be going toward my own mortgage. Plus, advantage is that mortgage interest rates are low right now, but expected to rise soon.

My parents aren’t really a help here since they’ve never been involved/cared for horses. My dad thinks the house is a wiser investment. My trainer doesn’t want to push me, so she is abstaining from providing much input (however she does want me to look at this horse - she wishes she was in a place to buy it, but she just purchased a young project horse). I’ve set up a trial for the horse next weekend - could be that I don’ t like the horse anyway, so I’ll at least go try… but where does that leave me if I love the horse?

This is a huge dilemma for me. I keep on flipping back and forth - I’ve made my mind up one way and then change it the next day. Looking for advice from older equestrians. If you (not your parents!) haven’t bought a house or horse before, your input is really not valuable to me.[/QUOTE]

Buy a house.