[wizr]

I'm 58. I bought my first home for $19,500, after renting it for 6 months while I came up with the $1000 down.

How can anyone, starting out, come up with the real funds to get an honest loan? And then be able to afford a $500K home. The property taxes in California, alone, are $5000 a year.

What I am complaining about are the people that buy, not to live in, but to resell for twice the price. To me, it's grand theft.

[Myrddin]

I bought my first condo when I was 21. 880 sq ft, 2 BR, 1 BA over the top of 4 carports. It cost me $36,000. I sold it after 5 years for $48,500 and purchased a 4 BR, 2 BA 1334 sq ft house in Mira Mesa for $105,000 in 1983. That one sold for $242,000 in Feb 2001. It would fetch $500,000 today. The proceeds of the Mira Mesa sale netted $80,000 of equity to sink in my current 3900 sq ft house on 1/3 acre in Idaho. I sold off some company stock to pay the different of $110,000. Now I just have to rent my property from the government for $3100 each year. You never really own it with property taxes.

Anyone starting out right now should relocate to a place where they can afford to buy any real estate that will appreciate. You should never plan it your residence appreciating, but it is a nice consequence if it happens. You are still parking your money in real estate and getting a deduction for mortgage interest and state property tax. That beats the heck out of pouring money into rent and getting nothing back.

I'm finished with life in California for a long list of reasons. Even as a native born Californian, it no longer feels like home. My #2 son makes a good living in real estate. He speaks fluent Spanish and closes almost 100 homes sales each year. Not bad for a 22 year old. He's off the the Marines for the next couple weeks, then will return to finish his BA in business and sit for his real estate broker's license exam. He's done the whole thing on his own nickel since age 18.