OLD SCHOOL (must be 30 and over ITT) Forum

[r6_philly]

Yeah. Hopefully it will be better in 5 years. If my house can simply appreciate equal to inflation for the next 5 years I can make 50K off it. A good down payment and 10K for the kid's college fund.

Same thought, if I can wait 5 years, the likely appreciation in price (even if it just go back to pre-2009 levels) can justify me paying the interests for the next 5 years. It's sort of a no-brainer. I can possibly rent it out and only have to cover the taxes (rent would be lower than total mortgage payment). But it probably make sense just to have it sit and have a place to go for the summer.

[haus]

Yeah. Hopefully it will be better in 5 years. If my house can simply appreciate equal to inflation for the next 5 years I can make 50K off it. A good down payment and 10K for the kid's college fund.

Same thought, if I can wait 5 years, the likely appreciation in price (even if it just go back to pre-2009 levels) can justify me paying the interests for the next 5 years. It's sort of a no-brainer. I can possibly rent it out and only have to cover the taxes (rent would be lower than total mortgage payment). But it probably make sense just to have it sit and have a place to go for the summer.

Word of caution. Other than the bubble that occurred from roughly 2002-2007, median house values by region have closely followed a multiple of regional median incomes. Depending on the region this multiple has been between 2.3 & 3.3, during the bubble the multiples went much higher. I suspect that for most regions, any significant increase in home values is going to be dependent upon an increase in median incomes for that region. With continued poor employment numbers, and a recent historical trends for corporations to side step increasing wages even when employment is tight, it seems like large increases in incomes are going to be tough to come by.

[r6_philly]

The single biggest factor in my local market is the inability to get mortgages. I think banks are overreacting at this point. I am in a largely working class/immigrant area - lots of potential home buyers have undocumented/underdocument income. They can afford the houses but can't get mortgages, which leads to excess of inventory. Prices in my area has only dropped because so few houses are sold, not because of foreclosures like many other areas. I have an above median house so it's hard to sell right now - people are shopping purely for prices (due to necessity because of financing) and not need/want.

[sidhesadie]

Yeah. Hopefully it will be better in 5 years. If my house can simply appreciate equal to inflation for the next 5 years I can make 50K off it. A good down payment and 10K for the kid's college fund.

Same thought, if I can wait 5 years, the likely appreciation in price (even if it just go back to pre-2009 levels) can justify me paying the interests for the next 5 years. It's sort of a no-brainer. I can possibly rent it out and only have to cover the taxes (rent would be lower than total mortgage payment). But it probably make sense just to have it sit and have a place to go for the summer.

Word of caution. Other than the bubble that occurred from roughly 2002-2007, median house values by region have closely followed a multiple of regional median incomes. Depending on the region this multiple has been between 2.3 & 3.3, during the bubble the multiples went much higher. I suspect that for most regions, any significant increase in home values is going to be dependent upon an increase in median incomes for that region. With continued poor employment numbers, and a recent historical trends for corporations to side step increasing wages even when employment is tight, it seems like large increases in incomes are going to be tough to come by.

This...Best thing to do is look at the values in your area for 2000, (what did your house or similar houses sell for around that year) then add 3% for every year till now. That will tell you an ESTIMATE (obviously it's not exact) of what your house would be worth now if the bubble hadn't occurred and appreciation had stayed steady. How far off that number are you now? what would 3% per year for the next five years on top of THAT number net you? That's your best case scenario.

[r6_philly]

This...Best thing to do is look at the values in your area for 2000, (what did your house or similar houses sell for around that year) then add 3% for every year till now. That will tell you an ESTIMATE (obviously it's not exact) of what your house would be worth now if the bubble hadn't occurred and appreciation had stayed steady. How far off that number are you now? what would 3% per year for the next five years on top of THAT number net you? That's your best case scenario.

This does not apply to every neighborhood because of demographic changes. If I use 1.03^15 * Price(2000) we will arrive at a price lower than the current price (which is stable). We don't really have a housing bubble problem here (price increase was driven by demand, not speculation), we have a mortgage problem like stated above so a quick sale would be hard. I would have to lower price to compete with lower end properties.

[Rotor]

For those talking about waiting five years to sell: don't forget about capital gains.

In order to claim the capital gains exemption (up to $250K single or $500 married), you have to have lived in your house for two of the previous five years. So, if you are moving to go to school, you should probably sell in three years. (It would suck to hold on for a couple of years to get, say, 6% more in the sale only to have 15% go to the IRS). Obviously, if you're underwater and you're just trying to get to break-even, this isn't an issue. [Example: If you bought a house for 100K, and you can sell it at year 3 for 200K or year 5 for 212K. At year 3 you take home 100K. At year 5 you take home 95.2K]

Also, be sure to check with an accountant or something about the tax rates, because it may make more sense to sell when you're in a really low tax bracket (i.e., when you're not earning anything going to school) rather than when you are back in the work-force (especially if you're able to get a biglaw/market salary job). I'm not a tax expert, nor have I taken tax yet, but I think the CG rate may vary for low income brackets.

[r6_philly]

CG rates is lower for lower brackets, at least for now. What about residency? If you don't establish residency at a school away, your permanent residency is still at your house - you would just be subletting. But I hope 3 years will be a good enough time to sell.

[firemed]

See? The last page about housing makes me have an anxiety attack. I am going to forget about anything having to do with my house for five years starting right now, and just hope for the best. Eff it anyway, since there ain't shite I can do about it right now anyway.

[oldhippie]

agree firemed...i got the damned thing rented out, to the tenants from hell to be sure, but rented, and i hope to not think about it again until it's time to renew the lease...plenty of other stuff to worry about instead!!

[ardvark666]

Wow, hello everyone, I am jumping in late but this thread is perfect for me. I posted on the regular choosing a school board about picking t14 and having loans or going to rutgers and having my job pay. I too have a house that would barely break even on a sale. I have decided to stay and go local. Its a tough spot but I can't pull the trigger on a total start over approach. I'm envious of those who can do it. At 33 I can't see my age hurting me in the job market but I'm still not sure how much my work experience will matter in the job market. As a side note, does upenn look at work experience for 14 years or is it a negligible stat?

[r6_philly]

Wow, hello everyone, I am jumping in late but this thread is perfect for me. I posted on the regular choosing a school board about picking t14 and having loans or going to rutgers and having my job pay. I too have a house that would barely break even on a sale. I have decided to stay and go local. Its a tough spot but I can't pull the trigger on a total start over approach. I'm envious of those who can do it. At 33 I can't see my age hurting me in the job market but I'm still not sure how much my work experience will matter in the job market. As a side note, does upenn look at work experience for 14 years or is it a negligible stat?

I have slightly longer experience, I think they value it to a degree. Did you apply to Penn? You won't be the oldest at least lol

[ardvark666]

I didn't apply anywhere yet. I'm taking the kaplan course this summer and the october lsat. Prob just Rutgers camden. If I'm over a 165 I will try for penn as a goof. I have a 3.52 gpa. Since I am not a urm or a spectacular student (3.5 is good for me, not ivy tho) I doubt penn really cares. Unless they find my life experience amusing enough. I was in a band for many years. Maybe I can include that. Penn seems musical. Are you applying to the philly area schools?

[r6_philly]

I didn't apply anywhere yet. I'm taking the kaplan course this summer and the october lsat. Prob just Rutgers camden. If I'm over a 165 I will try for penn as a goof. I have a 3.52 gpa. Since I am not a urm or a spectacular student (3.5 is good for me, not ivy tho) I doubt penn really cares. Unless they find my life experience amusing enough. I was in a band for many years. Maybe I can include that. Penn seems musical. Are you applying to the philly area schools?

I only applied to Penn in the area and placed a deposit, but still waiting on WLs elsewhere. I don't think your experience would overcome your 3.5 unless you score a 172+. I feel like they place value on work exp. but not to the extend that it would make up for academic credentials. So do well on the LSAT! I think it's well worth the money if you can get in, especially if you want to remain and work in Philly post grad.

edited for clarity

[ardvark666]

Yeah, that's my plan. Take the prep course, shoot for the stars, enroll somewhere. if not penn I am going to rutgers or temple part time since my job pays for it. I have friends who have good jjobs via rutgers and good jobs via penn. I have a relative in D.C. who pushed GW but its too much to deal with. I also think Penn owes me since I gave them over 10k in vet fees for my dogs

[r6_philly]

It just depends on what your goal is and what odds you want out of any of the schools. I know plenty of people with good jobs out of Widener but I wouldn't count on working at the top firms out of there. That said, if you don't want the most coveted positions in town, you will do fine out of Temple/Rutgers especially it will be free.

[sarahh]

I don't think we will have a problem renting out our place, but we have been trying to deal with water seeping in the concrete floor in one of bedrooms when it rains. The fixes have not worked so far. My husband just submitted his first job application today, and we are leaving in two weeks to search for an apartment. I hope we find something - this is our only opportunity to look since we currently live on the other side of the country from the law school.

[BLin98]

Today after 17 emails and two phone calls my assigned financial aid office representative finally "found out" that there IS indeed a process to have COA increased to include dependent child care expenses and forwarded me the form. It is just sad that I had to do way more detective work to get to this point than should have been necessary.

It causes me to wonder if the policy is to just tell people NO and hope they stop asking.

[r6_philly]

Today after 17 emails and two phone calls my assigned financial aid office representative finally "found out" that there IS indeed a process to have COA increased to include dependent child care expenses and forwarded me the form. It is just sad that I had to do way more detective work to get to this point than should have been necessary.

It causes me to wonder if the policy is to just tell people NO and hope they stop asking.

wow I had the opposite experience, finaid offices have been tripping over themselves telling me that I can have my budget increased for dependent care and extra housing allowance in order to convince me that I can afford to attend.

[firemed]

wow I had the opposite experience, finaid offices have been tripping over themselves telling me that I can have my budget increased for dependent care and extra housing allowance in order to convince me that I can afford to attend.

+1

It was like the third thing they mentioned on ASD.

[rupret1]

I don't think we will have a problem renting out our place, but we have been trying to deal with water seeping in the concrete floor in one of bedrooms when it rains. The fixes have not worked so far. My husband just submitted his first job application today, and we are leaving in two weeks to search for an apartment. I hope we find something - this is our only opportunity to look since we currently live on the other side of the country from the law school.

We had the same problem with water seeping in when we first moved into our house. We put in a French drain along that side and never had a problem since. It was a relatively cheap fix as we did it ourselves. You just dig a trench along the length of the house and out into the back yard about 8-10 feet. Then you lay drain pipe covered in mesh into the hole and cover with gravel. It took a while to dig the ditch, but beyond that it was easy. It did tear up the landscaping on that side, but we just covered over with mulch to hide it.

[sarahh]

I don't think we will have a problem renting out our place, but we have been trying to deal with water seeping in the concrete floor in one of bedrooms when it rains. The fixes have not worked so far. My husband just submitted his first job application today, and we are leaving in two weeks to search for an apartment. I hope we find something - this is our only opportunity to look since we currently live on the other side of the country from the law school.

We had the same problem with water seeping in when we first moved into our house. We put in a French drain along that side and never had a problem since. It was a relatively cheap fix as we did it ourselves. You just dig a trench along the length of the house and out into the back yard about 8-10 feet. Then you lay drain pipe covered in mesh into the hole and cover with gravel. It took a while to dig the ditch, but beyond that it was easy. It did tear up the landscaping on that side, but we just covered over with mulch to hide it.

Thanks for the advice, but we are above the parking garage and have a concrete patio outside. We just have to keep on bugging the HOA to fix it. They think it may be coming from the roof, but no one is really sure what is going on. What am I paying $300 a month in HOA dues for?

[DB1]

Hello everyone, I am on the verge of 30 (August) so if I'm not welcome into the "inner-circle" just yet, I'll understand. =)

I'm still working on my undergrad and will hopefully gain acceptance into LS in fall 2012. I quick bio; married, 11 y/o stepdaughter and a 6 month old son. Ive got a fantastic supportive wife however I will be limited to applying to the three Georgia schools. (Georgia State, UGA and Emory) Not much of a career change for me as I'm leaving law enforcement for a law degree. Our biggest fear is paying for school. Were going to need loans, loans and then some more loans to cover our bills for three years. My wife works, but cant support us on her salary alone.

We've got almost 12 months to improve the credit so loans will be a little more possible. =)

[inchoate_con]

Hello everyone, I am on the verge of 30 (August) so if I'm not welcome into the "inner-circle" just yet, I'll understand. =)

I'm still working on my undergrad and will hopefully gain acceptance into LS in fall 2012. I quick bio; married, 11 y/o stepdaughter and a 6 month old son. Ive got a fantastic supportive wife however I will be limited to applying to the three Georgia schools. (Georgia State, UGA and Emory) Not much of a career change for me as I'm leaving law enforcement for a law degree. Our biggest fear is paying for school. Were going to need loans, loans and then some more loans to cover our bills for three years. My wife works, but cant support us on her salary alone.

We've got almost 12 months to improve the credit so loans will be a little more possible. =)

Don't sweat it, if you've got no problem with taking out loans - gradplus has you covered. Just get your credit score up, and for most, you'll be fine. I hear about people getting denied all the time, then appeal and nearly always approved.

I know people who think their lives have improved due to gradplus... check out studentloans.gov. If you're not worried about borrowing, then you should not worry about getting a loan.

[DB1]

Hello everyone, I am on the verge of 30 (August) so if I'm not welcome into the "inner-circle" just yet, I'll understand. =)

I'm still working on my undergrad and will hopefully gain acceptance into LS in fall 2012. I quick bio; married, 11 y/o stepdaughter and a 6 month old son. Ive got a fantastic supportive wife however I will be limited to applying to the three Georgia schools. (Georgia State, UGA and Emory) Not much of a career change for me as I'm leaving law enforcement for a law degree. Our biggest fear is paying for school. Were going to need loans, loans and then some more loans to cover our bills for three years. My wife works, but cant support us on her salary alone.

We've got almost 12 months to improve the credit so loans will be a little more possible. =)

Don't sweat it, if you've got no problem with taking out loans - gradplus has you covered. Just get your credit score up, and for most, you'll be fine. I hear about people getting denied all the time, then appeal and nearly always approved.

I know people who think their lives have improved due to gradplus... check out studentloans.gov. If you're not worried about borrowing, then you should not worry about getting a loan.

Thanks for the links, I will definitely put them to use. I think the best thing about GA law school is the low in state tuition. Minus Emory of course. I personally think UGA carries more weight in state mainly due to the strong alumni following.

[firemed]

Hello everyone, I am on the verge of 30 (August) so if I'm not welcome into the "inner-circle" just yet, I'll understand. =)

I'm still working on my undergrad and will hopefully gain acceptance into LS in fall 2012. I quick bio; married, 11 y/o stepdaughter and a 6 month old son. Ive got a fantastic supportive wife however I will be limited to applying to the three Georgia schools. (Georgia State, UGA and Emory) Not much of a career change for me as I'm leaving law enforcement for a law degree. Our biggest fear is paying for school. Were going to need loans, loans and then some more loans to cover our bills for three years. My wife works, but cant support us on her salary alone.

We've got almost 12 months to improve the credit so loans will be a little more possible. =)

Don't sweat it, if you've got no problem with taking out loans - gradplus has you covered. Just get your credit score up, and for most, you'll be fine. I hear about people getting denied all the time, then appeal and nearly always approved.

I know people who think their lives have improved due to gradplus... check out studentloans.gov. If you're not worried about borrowing, then you should not worry about getting a loan.

Thanks for the links, I will definitely put them to use. I think the best thing about GA law school is the low in state tuition. Minus Emory of course. I personally think UGA carries more weight in state mainly due to the strong alumni following.

My advice is also to apply to other places in the same general ranking as the georgia schools... you can use any scholly offers to negotiate for $$$ at the schools in state. And what the heck, you might even find a great offer out of state that would make it worth it to move.