Re: THe NAC Lots-O-Post Thread
I just had an opportunity for a house purchase come up...would have been a solid 6 months of renovation (couldn't do it Ken style

) but at the end of it, I'd have a nice place that I could easily sell - even in this market - for more than I'd have into it, including purchase price + materials + labor to redo it. Talking completely new second story, raising the foundation by 2 rows of block (jacking the whole house up), etc.
Regardless of the fact that it'd be a good buy, at the end of the day, I wouldn't be able to go 'home' to it and do the things I want to do. It's in the middle of a dense suburban neighborhood. I want to have multiple vehicles, work on them, have a shop area, have a place where I can play drums & guitar at 3 in the morning, etc. All things I can do at the current house I'm renting (with the exception of the shop, because I'm not going to build anything on my current lot due to my unique circumstances, but I could if I wanted to).
My current situation is renting, but at probably less than 50% of what the property and house should be renting for. Reason is on the attached photograph. My property border on the left is the black line, right is the paved road, back is the corner of that parking lot. The paved road & parking lot are part of the same commercial property, and the same company that owns that property bought the lot I'm currently renting. In the next few years they're going to expand the commercial lot and fill out that corner, but for now it's a nice house on a 200 x 200/250ft lot with a finite life span.
So I'm bordered all around by commercial stuff that closes at 5 PM, so I can do whatever I want, whenever I want, and it's fine. (Adam's been there so he knows what I mean).
I'm comfortable with the rent I'm paying now, so the last thing I want to do is put *more* money towards something I'm not going to like as much. After running the numbers on that last house, for the extra it'll cost on a mortgage, I'd rather build something from scratch on a larger lot, in a place where I'll pay less on taxes likely. For another $50-$100/mo on a 30-year note, I'll gladly do that.
So I'm keeping an eye on foreclosures, lot subdivisions, sheriff sales, that kinda thing. And if something comes up I'll make a move towards it I guess. But there's more to making a rent/buy/finance decision than just the pure economics of it.
