Comparing Where We Live, Texas and ?

They passed couple ordinances here, one was to "Save open spaces" the other was that all "buildings/houses" have to visually show the ambiance of the county. So, what I do see building are some stylish condos, or those monster houses. My side of the county the west side is still priced decent, but the east side is nuts in price.

 

Housing has gotten insane. Prices are ridiculous, how can young people afford a home? Or maybe I should ask what kind of job people have in order to afford houses that cost more than I made in my lifetime?

 

Yup I can remember paying 17.5% mortgage interest back in the late 1980s. That somewhat concentrated the mind when deciding whether a property was worth what someone else thought it was!
Like many we never seemed to be doing the "right" thing at the right time. Then we had a fairly hefty mortgage now when rates are incredibly low we don't have a mortgage......sigh!

 

Interests rates are low here too----something like 3.6% Twenty six years ago when we sign for the mortgage your given a choice, Fixed, or Adjustable. Later swings with the current economic changes. Some people are very scared to take that risk, we however were not after we studied a few factors and never regretted it. Our initial monthly figure back then, was XXXXX, today, the monthly figure we pay is 1/4 the XXXX. It never went above the original XXXX, but either stayed the same for a year, then started going down. At this point, we re near the end, only about $3,000 left to pay it off. After that then I have to worry to save money for any house taxes which currently are absorbed in our monthly bill, and the bank pays the taxes.

So by the time I retire, next year, our house will be ours totally.

 

Just an observation, there is a difference between NEED and WANT..

When we purchased our home, we were told we could afford a higher priced home, but we decided NOPE, to want a smaller home, thus more money for other things.

 

We financed our current home. We sold our previous home on a handshake deal. No earnest money, no contract, no realtor, just a verbal agreement and a handshake. When we got our money for the house, we paid off the new one. We also owned 16 acres and sold it over the phone to a friend, no earnest money, no contract, not even a handshake.

 

not sure what you mean by "no earnest money".

 

That difference though may be blurred. Some examples:

A starving person both needs and wants food, which makes them the same

A homeless person may not want a home therefore in his mind he does not need one, no matter what others think. Making them the same.

A gardener wants a garden, and therefore needs one, even if it is not really a need. In this case, they are different. The want created a need.

Wants are the things that make us develop as individuals. If we could only obtain what we needed, would we be happy or sad?

 

Thank you @shiney for your complete answer. But the term "NO Earnest Money" was stated in the remarks by @Baymule who is from Texas, USA.

Anyway, @Sandy Ground , the difference between needs and wants as it applies to selection of a home, is that we do not need huge rooms, we do not need high end faucets (examples) as some of the discussion were the cost of the homes. And also, some people want to buy/surround themselves with "things" not needed in their lives, instead saving money from that toward a home. And how often have you heard of a father giving his daughter that crazy cost wedding, when that money could go to a house. My wedding dress was $150.00. (as an example). No one needs those $500.00 sneakers, (another example). I have a sister-in-law she will boast about buying some "name" pair of shoes for $400.00, and then on the other side she will say how poor they are, like--really. LOL.

 

Earnest money is a deposit ensuring that your intentions are to purchase a property and it holds the property, keeping it from being sold to someone else. If the seller backs out, the earnest money is returned. If the buyer backs out, the earnest money isn't refunded, the seller gets to keep it as compensation for taking the property off the market.

 

That's the same as what we call a deposit. Used for the same reasons to stop people saying they will buy your house only to never be seen again! While most of the laws in The United Kingdom apply to both England Wales Northern Ireland and Scotland there are a few differences between Scotland and the rest of the UK, house conveyancing being 1. Our system in Scotland is considerably better and I can say this with certainty as have been involved with buying/selling houses in both England and Scotland. It is somewhat of a nightmare property dealing in England with chains (trying to buy another house when you THINK you have sold the current 1 only for the buyer to pull out of the deal) plus gazumping and gazundering. I won't bore you with what these mean!
I am no way against England, as many Scots are but have often wondered why the rest of the UK doesn't adopt our far less stressful way of buying and selling property. Maybe @shiney who seems to know most things will enlighten me