House listing in Ann Arbor

When Dave and I were looking for a home to rent in 1989, I suggested we find something nice and enjoy it because when we did by a place, it was for sure going to be a dump. We scored an affordable, plush 1960 version of the neglected 1957 house we eventually bought that was only three blocks away. We knew we could live in it because we had already been in our relatively luxurious rental with identical floor plan for nearly a year, and we knew and liked the neighborhood as well.

The story of the first home Dave and I bought isn't much different from Eddie and David's, other than price and size. We closed on our place in June of 1990 for $245K. It was a 3 BR/2 BA, 1300 sf tract home on the border of upscale Los Gatos with a large back yard, and it needed work inside and out. The worst of it was the original drab, uninspired kitchen and utilitarian bathrooms.

We put 5% down after scrounging up money, including cashing in a small insurance policy I had, plus the seller's agent carried a second mortgage for $5K that we couldn't come up with (she also acted as our agent -- big mistake but as first-timers we didn't know any better, and bottom line is, she got us into a house). The only type of loan we could qualify for was an adjustable. Not much more than a year later, we were already underwater. Even though the market had gone flat, we were able to refinance with a fixed rate and pay off the agent's second mortgage. We still had to pay PMI (private mortgage insurance) and had an escrow account for homeowner's insurance and property taxes, but at least our balance would decrease each month instead of increase. We refinanced again after the market picked up, got a better rate and we were able to start paying extra each month to apply to the principal.

We suspended any major travel and most improvements were DIY. Dave got a big settlement for unpaid child support, and that paid for a complete kitchen gutting and remodel that we did ourselves except for plumbing alterations, flooring, and tiling of countertops. The bathrooms were spruced up, with the master bath getting new fixtures, but we kept the original tile work in both. We re-landscaped the front and back yards ourselves over the years and gave the front of the house some much-needed cosmetic treatments, which provided curb appeal for the first time in 40+ years.

In 2008 we sold that house for $739K and paid off all credit card debt we had accumulated making improvements everywhere besides the kitchen. We were lucky to get in when we did, but it was well worth the sacrifices. It's much harder for first-timers today due to sky-high home prices. Homes in that neighborhood are now selling for twice what ours went for, and that is in the low range. Parts of the SF Bay Area are among the most expensive real estate markets in the nation, so ours are fantastically bad examples, but there are many parts of the country and even California where affordable options can be found for first time buyers. If you can swing it, do it.


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Post# 1175532 3/22/2023 at 01:27 (395 days old) by MattL (Flushing, MI)
Checkrate/Likes We've all heard of dream houses, this is more nightmarish for only $315k. CLICK HERE TO GO TO MattL's LINK

Post# 1175535 , Reply# 1 3/22/2023 at 03:25 (395 days old) by chachp (North Little Rock, AR)
Checkrate/Likes 2 *WOW* Just WOW. They say there is a buyer for everything. This could be someone's dream home or should I say someone elses' dream home. :)

Post# 1175545 , Reply# 2 3/22/2023 at 07:04 (394 days old) by retro-man (- boston,ma)
Checkrate/Likes No doubt that this house was owned by a Greek family. My wives grandmothers house looked a lot like this one. All ornate and so so much of everything. lol Jon

Post# 1175553 , Reply# 3 3/22/2023 at 09:14 (394 days old) by pulltostart (Mobile, AL)
Checkrate/Likes 1 *Pass* Outside says "house", inside says "bordello". Hopefully it will appeal to someone and sell. lawrence

Post# 1175556 , Reply# 4 3/22/2023 at 09:28 (394 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)
Checkrate/Likes 7 Maybe Trump could live there after he gets out of jail. John

Post# 1175557 , Reply# 5 3/22/2023 at 10:04 (394 days old) by petek (Ontari ari ari O )
Checkrate/Likes 1 *Eccentric but fun* If it was in the right neighborhood and the price was right there's nothing it needs other than painting the interior.When you take possession of a house all the furniture and decor is supposed to be gone so I don't see the big deal here.

Post# 1175588 , Reply# 6 3/22/2023 at 14:50 (394 days old) by RP2813 (Sannazay)
Checkrate/Likes 1 *House of Horrors!* Ornate gown and evening length Playtex Living Gloves required to wash dishes.

Post# 1175609 , Reply# 7 3/22/2023 at 16:02 (394 days old) by fan-of-fans (Florida)
Checkrate/Likes �Only $315k� at nearly 7% interest rates. At 35 I�ve given up on ever being able to afford a home. My friend built a home in 2018 3/2/2 with top of the line everything including land for $200k. That won�t even get you a piece of crap 2/1 with a carport built in the 60s anymore. It occurred to me that in just 15 years I�ll be 50. I�ll never be able to afford a house seeing as they�ve doubled in price since 2020. And raising the interest rate, despite everyone telling me it would make home prices have to drop, has so far done nothing but make it even more unaffordable. I was born at the wrong time. But before 2020 it be priced out forever, I wish I had gotten that memo when everyone else my age did.

Post# 1175918 , Reply# 8 3/25/2023 at 00:47 (392 days old) by tolivac (greenville nc)
Checkrate/Likes 1 315K for only 1200Sq ft? CRAZY-and the decor-the designer had only the taste in their mouth.That place would have to be COMPLETELY redone for anyone to buy or much less live in the place.

Post# 1175990 , Reply# 9 3/25/2023 at 09:40 (391 days old) by ea56 (Cotati, Calif.)
Checkrate/Likes 5 *Re: #7* It hasn�t been easy to buy your first home since the late 60�s. When my husband and I bought our first home in �87 I was 36 and he was 33. We were paying $525.00 per mo rent for a 2 bed duplex at the time. I knew that if we were to have a financially secure future we would need to own our own home by the time we retired. One Saturday in August �87 I saw an ad in the paper for a new condo complex being built 8 miles north of us. They advertised 1 bed 1 bath condos starting at $56,000, with only a $500 down payment for an FHA mortgage. I drove over there that afternoon and spoke with the development agent on site. She educated me on real estate loans, ect. something I knew nothing about. Later on that day David and I drove back there and looked at the development and we put a $500.00 down payment on a $56,000 1 bd/1bath unit. We were going to need an approx. additional $3000.00 more for the rest of the 2.5% down paymt. plus closing costs, which FHA regs required not to be borrowed money. We had no idea how we would come up with this, other than to sell household furnishings that we wouldn�t have room for in the new condo. That next Monday I posted a list of these items at work and within the first hour I�d sold $400.00 worth of these items site unseen. We had 3 weekend garage sales and finally came up with the $3000.00. We had to keep receipts for every penny of this money to document that none of it was borrowed. At the time I made $7.79 per hr as a line Eligibility Worker II and David made $3.35 per hr. plus tips as a waiter. The mortgage we attained was at 10.5% the lowest fixed rate available at the time with the 2.5% down payment. Since we had less than 20% down we also had to pay PMI. Our monthly pymt was $485.00 plus $103 HOA dues for a total of $583.00 per mo. We also paid and additional $40.42 per mo. on the principal to pay down the mortgage quicker. If theres a will theres a way. Don�t give up! You may have to settle for something smaller than you want to begin with, but get your foot in the door. In 1994 we sold the condo for $70,000. Since we�d been paying down the mortgage faster with the extra monthly payments on the principal we were able to put $20,000 down on our current home which we paid $122,000 for, it now worth $560,000. We paid this home off 13 years ago, again by making 1/2th additional mortgage paymt per mo to be applied to the principal. We met our goal to have a paid for home in retirement. Had we not done this we�d be paying $2800 to $3000 per mo rent for our 2bd 1.5 bath townhouse, instead our mo housing cost is $777.00 per mo of the HOA dues and property tax. Get creative, think of ways to earn extra money to save for a downpayment. Lower your expectations, be willing to live in your first home the way it is and save the remodeling until your able to pay cash for it and do as much of it yourself as you can. If you can make extra mo pymts on the principal to pay off the mortgage quicker. You won�t be sorry for the sacrifices you�ve made when you reach retirement with a paid for roof over your head. Good Luck! Eddie This post was last edited 03/25/2023 at 13:02

Post# 1176014 , Reply# 10 3/25/2023 at 12:18 (391 days old) by SudsMaster (SF Bay Area, California)
Checkrate/Likes $315K would be a big bargain in California. Most homes here go for over twice as much these days.

Post# 1176038 , Reply# 12 3/25/2023 at 16:15 (391 days old) by ea56 (Cotati, Calif.)
Checkrate/Likes 2 You said it Ralph, if you can swing it, do it! Real Estate isn�t going to get any cheaper. And yes, for first time homebuyers in the Bay Area its just about impossible to get your foot in the door without some help. But in most other areas of the country there are many entry level opportunities because property in these areas isn�t so out of sight expensive! Just keep your eye on the light at the end of the tunnel! Eddie

Post# 1176036 , Reply# 11 3/25/2023 at 16:05 (391 days old) by RP2813 (Sannazay)
Checkrate/Likes 2 *Buying Your First Home* When Dave and I were looking for a home to rent in 1989, I suggested we find something nice and enjoy it because when we did by a place, it was for sure going to be a dump. We scored an affordable, plush 1960 version of the neglected 1957 house we eventually bought that was only three blocks away. We knew we could live in it because we had already been in our relatively luxurious rental with identical floor plan for nearly a year, and we knew and liked the neighborhood as well. The story of the first home Dave and I bought isn't much different from Eddie and David's, other than price and size. We closed on our place in June of 1990 for $245K. It was a 3 BR/2 BA, 1300 sf tract home on the border of upscale Los Gatos with a large back yard, and it needed work inside and out. The worst of it was the original drab, uninspired kitchen and utilitarian bathrooms. We put 5% down after scrounging up money, including cashing in a small insurance policy I had, plus the seller's agent carried a second mortgage for $5K that we couldn't come up with (she also acted as our agent -- big mistake but as first-timers we didn't know any better, and bottom line is, she got us into a house). The only type of loan we could qualify for was an adjustable. Not much more than a year later, we were already underwater. Even though the market had gone flat, we were able to refinance with a fixed rate and pay off the agent's second mortgage. We still had to pay PMI (private mortgage insurance) and had an escrow account for homeowner's insurance and property taxes, but at least our balance would decrease each month instead of increase. We refinanced again after the market picked up, got a better rate and we were able to start paying extra each month to apply to the principal. We suspended any major travel and most improvements were DIY. Dave got a big settlement for unpaid child support, and that paid for a complete kitchen gutting and remodel that we did ourselves except for plumbing alterations, flooring, and tiling of countertops. The bathrooms were spruced up, with the master bath getting new fixtures, but we kept the original tile work in both. We re-landscaped the front and back yards ourselves over the years and gave the front of the house some much-needed cosmetic treatments, which provided curb appeal for the first time in 40+ years. In 2008 we sold that house for $739K and paid off all credit card debt we had accumulated making improvements everywhere besides the kitchen. We were lucky to get in when we did, but it was well worth the sacrifices. It's much harder for first-timers today due to sky-high home prices. Homes in that neighborhood are now selling for twice what ours went for, and that is in the low range. Parts of the SF Bay Area are among the most expensive real estate markets in the nation, so ours are fantastically bad examples, but there are many parts of the country and even California where affordable options can be found for first time buyers. If you can swing it, do it.