Quote:
Originally Posted by Doc T River
If you can save that much, why not pay off your student debt first? I don't have student debt so I don't know the potential benefits of not paying it off.
because some people want to buy a house with a down payment. sellers have to think about what the buyers are coming to the table with also, it's not always Buyer A is offering more than Buyer B so lets go with Buyer A. if Buyer B has great credit and 20% down payment and Buyer A has **** credit and no down payment, but is offering more $, these are things to think about.
additionally, student loan debt is pretty manageable, especifally if they are making 200k and only have 40k in debt. debt isn't always terrible to have because there are different types of debt. i try and explain this to my wife all the time. having money to invest in other facets is sometimes more advantageous than having zero debt because the debt we have has minimal interest rates. credit card debt with 15+% interest rates is terrible. don't do that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Doc T River
It seems like to me you should buy a house on the low range as it has more room to increase in value. Wouldn't it?
not everyone can buy a cheap house in the neighborhood they want to live in or with the features they want. typically, i prefer to buy the shittiest house on an awesome block. i prefer to avoid buying the awesome house on a shitty block. i would find the price point i am comfortable with, look for houses that meet my needs. if there are none, than i'd have to move up price points (if possible), if there are tons, maybe i look at 20k lower and see what those offer, because maybe i can find something cheaper than meets all my needs and wants. house buying is a pain in the ass because it's usually a lot of research.
but just buying a lower priced house because it has more room to increase in value is kind of rubbish IMO because houses, in general, should increase proportionately. if a 300k house increases 5%, a 400k house should increase the same 5%. maybe there are differences if you're talking about a 150k house vs a 1.5M house, but i'd guess that houses near enough in price points will react generally the same to market conditions.