Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller for November 13, 2013

So does losing money…

Maybe donate it to a non-profit group before it gets donated back to the bank.

Moved into a house 8 years ago that I will most likely not recover the investment on, between the market and home repairs, best I can say is I have a place to live. And I had hoped to retire in the next few years.

Happily, I bought my house before the bubble started (2000), and paid it off ten years later. Ain’t gonna get rich on it, but I do have a place to live that’s mine. Still should have kept the previous house – but the things one does to please a wife . . . . .

Looks like his price dropped … her.

We can’t retire (like most everyone else), but we DO have the freedom of all our brain cells and the cars are paid for: we’re not sitting in a nursing home somewhere…

We rejected the wisdom of the nineties to “always buy more house than you can afford.” Paid that bad boy off in 15 years, just in time to retire with zero debt. Fixed incomes are a lot more manageable when you have no mortgage, rent or car payments.

does Helga and Floe wear the same color dress every day?

It’s certain Helga will get her commission, no fear.

Like many others, I discovered a couple of years ago that my house was so badly underwater that it would take me ten years to recover my initial investment back in 2000 let alone recover my equity. The little home that I purchased in Florida for $90,000 in 2000 was, with all of the improvements I put in, valued at $235,000 before the market went south in 2008. By 2010 , when I walked away ( under advice of my attorney ) the tax appraised value was $41,000 ! The actual real estate market value was even lower.One of the many, many reason I moved to Ecuador – and love it !

I’m there, and know fully where from you speak .

money isn’t money….its money; figure it out….

Yeah, there was a recovery. At the bottom it would have cost me $120K out of pocket to sell my house. Now I’m down to where it would only be $50K.

Let’s just hope you don’t end up livin’ in your car.

“Forget it Joe, you’re not going anywhere..”I’ve been wondering how we’d get along without Flo and Captain Eddie and Paulie.Of course Wiley could still feature them, but it wouldn’t be the same.

I used to rent……until I figured out that buying at the time was cheaper….instead of paying $260 per month for an “efficiency”(read glorified shoebox) apartment….I now have a house.taxes are about $300 per year.

Actually, if you don’t have a lot of savings to pay for medical care, and you were planning to rely on Medicare, DON"T retire at all. Just work untll you drop. That’s my new plan, and not just because my 20 year old condo is $60,000 under water…

My Dad bought his house for cash in the late 70’s. Bought for $80K, just put on the market for $800K. Not a bad profit. I own a condo that I will be paying off until I die. What is this retirement you speak of…?

Me too. No mortgage, no car payments, no credit card balance. Makes retirement sweeter.

Be glad you weren’t selling three years ago, Joe. That’s when I moved to my current place; took $100k loss because the market just wouldn’t support the full value. I was lucky to get what I did.

Had the reverse problem in the 1970’s. Owned a house with an 8% mortgage. Sold it for $40,000 (fair market value at the time). Went to Japan for 3.5 years with the military. Average house price on return $100,000 and a mortgage rate of 12.5%.Cost of Living Index was about half today.

Which one is Helga? Are those her feet?

One option is rural living, in a “Manufactured Marvel”, a double wide. I moved rural 22 years ago and both my three acres & home are paid for. Full disclosure: I stayed single so getting the home and vehicles paid off before and during retirement, was way easier. I don’t carry a balance on two credit cards and use the Debit solely for ATM withdrawals. Picking a suitable location is critical, high desert, Si, flood plains, no.

My place is worth a little less, now, but I love it. I’m never moving…So no big deal…..I do pay slightly less in taxes because of it though…..