Yet another reminder to take into account other costs. Property taxes in NY can be pretty high.
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The people I have seen be able to cash in during the crazy hot market had a second property or move in with someone.
It’s tempting to sell at peak, but if you have to purchase a replacement house you will be buying that at peak…
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I’m wondering how many people who are buying for way over asking realize that it will be years before they could even have any equity in the house? Unless they paid all or most in cash, they had to pay the part over asking themselves, because you can only get a mortgage up to the appraised value. I wonder if you can get mortgage insurance for the amount over appraised value too? I wonder how homeowner’s insurance works too, when you pay way over asking?
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well, my BIL bought a house last year. paid* 800k for it.
A month ago or so the bank contacted him ‘the house is worth one million’.
The idiot drew the 200k of ‘equity’ and bought new toys with it.
I am waiting for the bubble to burst…alas.
on the brighter side, a gift from a childless uncle allowed us to pay our house off.
But unless I am moving back home with my mom, we are not leaving!
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My neighbor and I just had this conversation last week. Our modest little (1250 sq ft) houses on a SoCal beach are now worth 980K (it’s the location, not the houses themselves that rate this price). I told her we could be millionaires if we sold out, but where could we afford to buy? She jokingly said “Bakersfield”? (Probably only Californians will understand the humor, though no offense to anyone in Bakersfield).
There are people who love the very hot weather in the interior of CA. This beach-raised girl just isn’t one of them. So, no moving for me.
However, I would think there are many states where you could find 10 acres and a decent house for 700K. I’m thinking the Midwest, South and certain areas of the Southwest would be the likeliest locations for moderately priced property. I think I would make a “must have” list and start seeing which locations would check the most boxes.
Must have lists are so subjective, though, so maybe you will discover your answer is staying put if you don’t find anywhere else that has whatever criteria you decide on. It’s fun to think about the possibilities, but something needs to meet most of your “wants” if you would be giving up a place you love.
I’m approaching my dotage (hopefully, just joking) and a mild climate next to an ocean is now my personal number one priority. I had too many years going wherever the military told me to go. I can’t say any of those places were in a mild climate next to an ocean. So now that I can make my own choice, I’m choosing to stay and, apparently, will never be a millionaire.
I’d be interested in hearing about your search, though. Best wishes.
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Do it! Sounds perfect for you.
Signed,
the Chief Enabler
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Yes. I was once stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. It was my first time living in the Midwest. Beautiful place.
This was many, many years ago. No one in that area knew what dressage was. I remember calling a farm in Columbia (can’t remember the name) because they bred Traks. I figured they would know what dressage was. 
I had a nice chat with them, but unfortunately they didn’t know any dressage places in the FLW area. I’m thinking that has probably changed after all these years.
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OP. If you work for a company, and can work from anywhere, make sure your salary is locked and will not slide to the COL in the new area
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You can certainly find 10 acres and a house for $700k in a lot of places like you listed. But most of those places will be in the middle of nowhere, where every grocery/supply run will take a couple of hours. If you have to do any sort of work that isn’t telecommuting, this will be another issue.
Most of the single-home open land close to cities and towns is either already developed with McMansions, or the landowners are holding out for a huge payday from these same developers.
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Rolling hills…very green. Four seasons, winters are (relatively) mild. And, to my newbie eye…seems like dressage here is currently blossoming. A stable nearby just added five rated shows per year. There are dressage training barns in Columbia now, and plenty of jumping discipline barns.
actually we holding out fighting the property tax appraisal district’s belief the land is made of gold… (actually in the 1930s there were some roads north of here that were paved using sand that contained gold, sections of U.S. Highway 81 and a portion of adjacent U.S. Highway 287 are actually paved with gold, one million dollars worth in today’s money)
in the last seven years they have increased their though on the horse’s pastures an even 600% …they now are valuing it by the square foot,
But, I am over 65 so its taxable value is pretty much locked … but I do not think our kids will like the new value once this place passes to them in our estate
So do not plan on going anywhere
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The only thing I know about Bakersfield is that it was mentioned in a Rolling Stones song. “The Girl with Faraway Eyes” if memory serves.
The place I have my eye on is right next to the Taconic State Forest which if you ride south far enough, connects to the Berlin State Forest. Looks like there’s some decent trail riding in the area and not far from the eventing scene.
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I crassly asked a family member this. Her reaction was a shocked “of course it’s going to keep accruing value!” She believes she made a worthwhile investment. Didn’t seem to have crossed her mind before my question that it’s possible there is a bubble and this asset could become a liability.
House was purchased over asking, all cash, waived all contingencies including a home inspection for informational purposes only. House is in the $1M range.
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OP, aren’t you in VA? I’m in central VA and my place sounds like it fits the bill.
Big county-wide initiatives to install high speed internet in their communities. Orange, Culpeper, Nelson, Albemarle are all investing in internet infrastructure.
That’s called treating your house like an ATM. Refinance up to the current value, taking money out every time.
That’s how someone I used to work with, and former co-worker did with her house. It started out in 1996, in the $80-$90k range, with a 30 year mortgage. She’s refinanced at least four times, always up to the appraised value, taking cash out every time. This house should have been paid off in 2026, but since the mortgage term starts over, it would be paid off in 2046 or so . Because of the higher loan amount, what was affordable in the 90’s, is so much she really can’t afford it now. No one knows where the extra money went either, she only puts what she has to for the appraiser report to get the value up to the market. She really needs to sell it, but with the refinanced mortgage, very little equity, and having to pay all of the commissions, she’ll be lucky to break even.
Unfortunately, treating a property like an ATM, and always being house poor is so common.
Bicoastal, I’m always shocked at the number of people who waive all inspections, and then are surprised when the house has big issues. What I am afraid of is that the ones who waive everything, won’t have enough money if something big goes wrong with the house, or if there’s a problem with their income, or any number of things go wrong, they’ll lose everything. .
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I am in Middle TN, and our values have doubled in the 8 years we have been here. If you want larger parcels, meaning anything over 10-15 acres, be prepared to spend upwards of $750K. Taxes are still much more reasonable than say the Northeast, but ours have nearly doubled since we have been here.
yeah, BIL ain’t the smartest…
I know from Bakersfield. I have to drive through it to visit my parents who live near you. Yeah, thanks but no thanks!
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Reading through this thread (very interesting, BTW), I just realized I haven’t seen or heard many ads for reverse mortgages lately.
Another wrinkle in looking at taxes. In the county I lived in in NY, there were several taxes, some tied to your property value and some not. So there was your property tax, a government tax (we had a county legislature) a school tax, a fire tax, and maybe more! I dont know what they have to disclose as “property tax” in a real estate listing,but beware of those additional fees!
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