We are each responsible for ourselves. We are here to become self-supporting and provide our own food and shelter. We are responsible for helping an injured neighbor to get medical help. We are also responsible for our children to learn to become self-supporting. We may opt to extend our help to relatives outside our immediate family. Home ownership is the most common way to ensure that we continue to provide shelter for ourselves and it is a way to generate family wealth. We should plan to pay off our mortgages by age 60. We should continue to work past age 66, when Social Security begins if we can. Social Security benefits are determined by the amount you paid into Social Security over a lifetime. We are allowed to continue to work past age 66 and still collect our Social Security benefits.
Home Ownership is critical to everyone. In the US, it is called the American Dream. Our current Social Security and 401k savings programs allow us to plan for retirement. Renting is not an option. It is best to purchase a home as soon as possible. Your mortgage payment is tax deductible and home values continue to rise. Home repair, maintenance and upgrading are necessary to maintain your home value.
My wife and I were married in 1964 and moved in with my mom as my brother had done, to save for a down-payment. We were able to purchase a 4-bedroom, 2000 square foot single family home in 1966. for $16000. It was a fixer-upper headed for foreclosure, so for $750 we paid the seller’s back taxes and assumed a $150 per month mortage payment at 4% interest. It was a 4 bedroom, 2000 square foot ranch home with a full basement on a 1 acre lot in a subdivision in St. Charles County in the exurbs of St. Louis. The home was next door to my brother. It was closer to our mom’s work, so we moved her in with us to be closer to work and live by her grandkids. We rented her home in Maplewood for $500/month.
We began by replacing doors and re-stained the redwood front. My brother and I installed ¾ inch plumbing and installed central air. We had the living-room carpeted and purchased furniture. We installed a concrete patio in back and a bypass driveway next to the attached garage. We planted vegetable gardens in the back yards and added trees to the front. We had a pond next to the back yard and Ice Skated there every winter. My brother’s 2 boys painted the house and the roof was replaced due to hail damage. I build a cedar closet in the basement where we had our washer and dryer. I expanded the septic tank field drain system. We sold the house in 1975 for $36000. Our mortgage payments were $1800 per year. Our home value had doubled. We got all of our mortgage payments back. We had 6 kids an a great time in St. Charles Mo, but my career was taking us to Salina Kanses
In 1975, we bought a 2 story,
3000 square foot 4 bedroom house with a full basement on a half-acre lot in
Salina Kansas for $55,000.The mortage payment was $300 per month and the
interest rate was 6% We bought a boat
and camped on their lakes on the weekends. The kids were ages 2 to 10. We had a great time
In Salina for 8 years. My career was now taking us to Atlanta GA. We sold that house for $80,000.
In 1983 we bought a 2 story 4000 square foot, brick and siding, 6 bedroom house with a full, daylight finished basement and large screened porch, on a cul de sac on 1 acre lot in Dunwoody GA for $137,000. The mortgage interest was 13% and the mortgage payment was $1400 per month. Our kids were ages 10 to 18. My wife entered Dental Hygiene school in Dunwoody. We refinanced the mortgage at 10% and again at 7% with a 15 year loan. We paid off the mortgage in 2002. Home prices in our subdivision now range from $700,000 to $900,000.
We’ve enjoyed living here for 40 years. We
continued to maintain and upgrade this house. We did much of the work
ourselves. We moved the air conditioner
condensers to the basement patio,.We removed all the dark paneling and replaced
it with drywall. We expanded the driveway to include 3 parking spaces by the 2
car garage.
We built brick patios in back and at the basement door. We built a marble base and painted wood fireplace surround to cover the full brick ceiling to floor 1970s style fireplace.
With the help of contractors we replaced the roof with 35 year Elk, replaced the siding with hardiplank, we added a light oak floor in the kitchen. We refaced the built-in’s with light cherry laminate and cherry doors and drawers.We added a Sub-Zero refrigerator. We replaced HVAC units and modified the duct-work. We raised the ceiling in the basement.
We hired contractors to move the air conditioner condensers to the basement patio. They insalled a new oven with microwave, gas cook top, hood and dish washer, They installed the drywall. They raised the basement ceiling, They resurfaced the built-ins and installed a Sub-Zero 650. They installed a lawn sprinkling system, removed trees, replaced sewer and water lines, replaced the siding and installrd a new roof and HVAC units,
We were able to build the brick patios with 13 tons of granite sand and 14 pallets of brick with a French drain to send rain water to the side of the house. We extend the parking places, painted the siding, build the fireplace surround and did minor maintenance. All contractors followed my modifications.
I
estimate we spent about $200,000 over 40 years to maintain and upgrade the
house. We paid our $1400 monthly
mortgage with $16800 per year for 20 years for a total of $336,000 That would put the investment at
$536.000. US Estate tax begins at $13M, so even if you house sells for $900,000, our kids won’t have to pay Estate tax.That is how generational wealth is created.
We stopped making mortgage payments 20 years ago. We qualified for a senior discount on our property tax at age 70.5 and stopped paying the $4000 school tax 10 years ago.
I still cut the grass. We enjoy living in this house, because we rebuilt it ourselves. Our kids and all their friends grew up here. We maintain our home in Dunwoody as “the family home”. If the kids need to move back, they are welcome here.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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