Well to answer the questions below Jim, I guess an actual example of the
houses I am referring to in this thread is more relevant to the
conversation. A two or three bedroom house can actually take on different
shapes and sizes.

The message originally was a comparision to the immediate surrounding
counties and the property values in this county of which I live. It is
merely something about Midland County!!!!!! In surrounding counties, that
same 75K can get twice the house!!!!



"N2EY" wrote in message
...
In article , "Ryan, KC8PMX"
writes:

Around here in this county I live in, home ownership is next to
impossible,
except for spending at least $75,000 or better.

That;s very inexpensive, Ryan.

The average small 3 bedroom
house, no basement or garage (slab built) on a half to full acre runs *at
least* 75 grand or better.

What would you consider reasonable?

Check out

http://www.realtor.com

for an idea what houses cost in other parts of the country. You can search
by
zip code, town name, etc. Set limits on house size, price, etc.

You don't want to know what a house costs around here.

Yeah.... probably not.... Guess it would depend on what you are getting.



Go immediately outside of the county lines of
this county, and the similar/equivalent structure is anywhere from 25-50%
less. I guess it is something about Midland county I guess.

Under $50,000? Amazing. But remember the three most important things about
real
estate....

Yeah... most all of the properties I have considered are in the townships
outside of the county seat/City of Midland which do not have all the
benefits of certain things like city water, sewage, trash pickup, and in
some case road maintenance as that is usually left up to the county. These
are areas where the value listed is merely a function of how much the real
estate agent wants to get as a commision on the property. The more he/she
wants to make the higher the property value/listing price needs to be.....




What are the taxes like?


Between 500 and 1000 dolllars yearly depending on what is on the property.
(size etc.)




--
Ryan KC8PMX

"Health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die."

People allow themselves to fail and become victims of circumstance.

Following that logic, then the people IN the WTC buildings are also as
well
then......


No it does not follow. The people in the WTC buildings were subject to a
circumstance that no one could ever have even guessed might happen or
foreseen might happen. That was not within their power to prevent or
solve.

Dee D. Flint, N8UZE


According to your statement, an absolutism, yes they were in control. THEY
chose to work in that building. THEY chose to go to work that day, not
calling in sick or taking a vacation day.



--
Ryan KC8PMX

"Never take life too seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway."

"N2EY" wrote

I wonder what the Book of Bokonon has to say about all that...

from the Last Rites of Bokonism....

God made mud.
God got lonesome.
So God said to some of the mud, "Sit up!"
"See all I've made," said God, "the hills, the sea, the sky, the stars."
And I was some of the mud that got to sit up and look around.
Lucky me, lucky mud.
I, mud, sat up and saw what a nice job God had done.
Nice going, God.
Nobody but you could have done it, God! I certainly couldn't have.
I feel very unimportant compared to You.
The only way I can feel the least bit important is to think of all the mud
that didn't even get to sit up and look around.
I got so much, and most mud got so little.
Thank you for the honor!
Now mud lies down again and goes to sleep.
What memories for mud to have!
What interesting other kinds of sitting-up mud I met!
I loved everything I saw!
Good night.
I will go to heaven now.
I can hardly wait...
To find out for certain what my wampeter was...
And who was in my karass...
And all the good things our karass did for you.
Amen.



--
I found it! http://tinyurl.com/upn9

Ryan, KC8PMX wrote:
If your interest rate is less than 5%, the best loan to get is a 30 year!
It's cheap money. Paying off a house quick is foolish. And the monthly
rate is usually a hell of alot less too. Spend the difference of that
paying off bills or invest it in a mutual fund or something.



Ahh, a financial truism! This belongs with:

The stock market ALWAYS goes up!

(It soitanly do, but over long time periods that are not relevant to
most of us who don't live over 150 years. More importantly it is what
the market is doing around the time you take your money out.)

Move your money into high yield accounts shortly before you retire, that
way you'll have more money when you retire!

I've listened to investment consultants actually pull this one out of
their hats. I know some older folk who have done this and now have
almost no retirement funds.

I have to chuckle at your truism. first, because your friend the real
estate agent uses those sort of arguments to talk you into buying
several thousand or tens of thousands more dollars worht of house.
Second is that You are saying a person who gets out of debt is foolish.

Best way to not be a fool is to not go heavily into debt in the first
place. I have a 5 percent loan, but I'll pay it off quickly, I think.

Instead of paying off that low interest loan quickly, one is smarter paying
off the higher interest loans like automobiles, department and credit card
charges, and other loans/debts.

Again, it's better to not get into a situation where you would have to
choose which loan you're paying off early.

- Mike KB3EIA -

On 17 Nov 2003 01:28:48 GMT, N2EY wrote:

Here's another one for ya: I bet neither of us would have any problem getting a
30 year mortgage, even though we'd be nearly 80 when said mortage was paid off
(barring any advance payments). Huh?

We got a 30-year mortgage four years ago notwithstanding that I was
retired on a moderate pension, my wife was an independent contract
employee close to retirement age, and both of us would be over 90
when it matured.

Not only that, we refinanced it last year starting a new 30 year
clock.

In reality we rent the place from Fannie May or Freddy Mac, whomever
wound up with the paper..... We know it, they know it.....

--
73 de K2ASP - Phil Kane

From a Clearing in the Silicon Forest
Beaverton (Washington County) Oregon

On Mon, 17 Nov 2003 01:08:51 GMT, Dee D. Flint wrote:

OTOH, there are several "successful" enterprises that we just
wouldn't patronize - Wal-Mart leads that list.

I would go if they had a product I wanted but see no reason to do so if they
are not selling the products that I want.

We do not shop there because we do not like their business attitudes
in specific areas - hiring folks desperate for a job but only for 19
hours a week not to exceed two years' tenure, thereby avoiding
paying much above minimum wage and granting no employee benefits,
certain shenanigans about forced unpaid hours (subject of several
lawsuits across the country), and trashing the local merchants and
moving on whenever they pleased, leaving disaster in their wake.

Our choice.

--
73 de K2ASP - Phil Kane

From a Clearing in the Silicon Forest
Beaverton (Washington County) Oregon

On Mon, 17 Nov 2003 12:08:16 GMT, Dwight Stewart wrote:

"Phil Kane" wrote:

From a Clearing in the Silicon Forest
Beaverton (Washington County) Oregon


Hey, when did you move to Oregon, Phil? You were in SF the last time we
talked, weren't you? If so, you move more then we do.

September 1999 - four years ago. Last major move before that was to
the SF area in 1967.

--
73 de K2ASP - Phil Kane

Phil Kane wrote:
On Mon, 17 Nov 2003 01:08:51 GMT, Dee D. Flint wrote:


OTOH, there are several "successful" enterprises that we just
wouldn't patronize - Wal-Mart leads that list.

I would go if they had a product I wanted but see no reason to do so if they
are not selling the products that I want.


We do not shop there because we do not like their business attitudes
in specific areas - hiring folks desperate for a job but only for 19
hours a week not to exceed two years' tenure, thereby avoiding
paying much above minimum wage and granting no employee benefits,
certain shenanigans about forced unpaid hours (subject of several
lawsuits across the country), and trashing the local merchants and
moving on whenever they pleased, leaving disaster in their wake.

Our choice.

Don't forget they hire illegal aliens to do some of the work..... Oh
hey! that ws one of the original OT parts of this thread. Here we go
full circle!

- Mike KB3EIA -

Dwight Stewart wrote:
"N2EY" wrote:

Actually, now that I think about it, there is a
certain twisted logic to it. In general, people
are living longer now, so the chances of
someone actually paying off the mortgage is
better than before. Conversely, if the person
dies, the mortgage company gets their money
quickly, from the estate.

On top of all this, such policies insure that the
mortgage companies don't have to worry
about claims of age discrimination.



Or, even better, if the mortgage isn't paid off, the mortgage company can
foreclose and resell the house for a very tidy profit. That alone is enough
to attract many mortgage companies to the elderly.

It's not as lucrative as you make it sound, Dwight. Also, these people
are reasonably well off, retiring with money equivalent to upper middle
class or better.



This may also be why some
mortgage companies actually seem to seek out those who will likely not fully
pay off a mortgage (excessive debt, a history of bad credit, or whatever).
After the mortgagor has partially paid down the amount owed on the property,
the mortgage company can foreclose and retain the property for a much lower
amount than they would have paid in an outright purchase.

Hmm, there are some places I've seen that seem to cater to those
without stellar credit ratings, but they are places like
furniture/appliance/electronics rental places. Plus deadbeats have a
tendency to default pretty quickly, so a mortgage company would have a
real nuisance on thie hands.

- Mike KB3EIA -

Actually Jim, I think the things I am gonna mention are what are called
reverse mortgages.

My dad (going on 68) is contemplating taking both of his residences and
reverse mortgaging them. Apparently the bank gives him money ahead of time
for the value of the house (a little less than market value) and upon his
death, the property is immediately transferred to the mortgage company. I
may be a little bit off on the explanation but it is kinda my understanding
of how it works. I guess this way he gets the opportunity to enjoy the
money/value of the residences now, while he is still alive, as opposed to
leaving it to my sister and I.


--
Ryan KC8PMX

"Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach that
person to use The Internet and they won't bother you for weeks."

60's and up getting those mortgages. Go figure.

Actually, now that I think about it, there is a certain twisted logic to
it. In
general, people are living longer now, so the chances of someone actually
paying off the mortgage is better than before. Conversely, if the person
dies,
the mortgage company gets their money quickly, from the estate.

On top of all this, such policies insure that the mortgage companies don't
have
to worry about claims of age discrimination.

73 de Jim, N2EY