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During college, myself and friends did the math and found buying a crappy house 20 miles away was vastly cheaper than renting so we did that. I was the one tha

During college, myself and friends did the math and found buying a crappy house 20 miles away was vastly cheaper than renting so we did that. I was the one that actually 'owned' the house. No one paid rent to me, but I was reimbursed for all utilities, food, etc. My only expense was the mortgage. Since no one paid rent, it wasn't a 'boarding house.'

portaouflop 1y ago
Insane to be able to buy a house in college - I could barely afford rent in a crappy shared flat
- spogbiper 1y ago
  mortgage payments are often cheaper than rent payments
- zdragnar 1y ago
  The monthly mortgage payment on a house in many rural areas in the US is far less than shared rent in dense cities. A friend of mine was making $20 an hour at a part time manufacturing job while he had classes, and full time plus overtime during breaks. It would have been plenty for a down payment on such a house, if he'd wanted to, but he put the money towards tuition to limit school loans instead. This was 20 years ago, give or take, so very much not the norm, but definitely possible. To add: I think a minimum down payment for the mortgage probably would have been in the $4 or $5,000 range.
- kyleblarson 1y ago
  If this was pre 2008 you could get a mortgage if you could fog a mirror.
- coryrc 1y ago
  I could've bought a house for $20k a few miles from my school. Rust belt.
  - FuriouslyAdrift 1y ago
    Yep this place was around $60k for a big three story victorian in a crappy little town (former rail road hub between Indianapolis in Chicago). 4 big bedrooms, 2 small ones and 3 bathrooms. Rent back in 1991 in the college town was around $600 per person and up... we made out like bandits but we did have to share cars.
glitchc 1y ago
How did you qualify for a mortgage without income?
- mothballed 1y ago
  A lot of people have forgotten that between like 2004-2007 you could get a mortgage if you had a pulse.
  - potato3732842 1y ago
    They made sure to pull that ladder up real good after 08 though. The problem wasn't sketchy mortgages, it was the borderline fraudulent financial shenanigans after that.
    - conscion 1y ago
      > The problem wasn't sketchy mortgages, it was the borderline fraudulent financial shenanigans after that. What do you think was funding the sketchy mortgages? The fraudulent financial shenanigans
- FuriouslyAdrift 1y ago
  It was 1991 and we pooled money from 10 people. The house was super cheap ($60k) and in a very depressed area (Attica, Indiana). The seller was a person and not a bank.
  - glitchc 1y ago
    Ah thanks. So the mortgage was quite small, still, hard to get one without income. Pooled ownership also makes it much more complicated.
    - FuriouslyAdrift 1y ago
      I was the 'owner' of record. The others held rights to the house by agreement with me but all the responsibilities were mine. The others could have just stopped paying 'rent' and I would be stuck with the full mortgage...or I could have just sold the place and walked away with everything. Definitely an exercise in trust and mutual self interest.

portaouflop 1y ago

Insane to be able to buy a house in college - I could barely afford rent in a crappy shared flat

spogbiper 1y ago
mortgage payments are often cheaper than rent payments
zdragnar 1y ago
The monthly mortgage payment on a house in many rural areas in the US is far less than shared rent in dense cities. A friend of mine was making $20 an hour at a part time manufacturing job while he had classes, and full time plus overtime during breaks. It would have been plenty for a down payment on such a house, if he'd wanted to, but he put the money towards tuition to limit school loans instead. This was 20 years ago, give or take, so very much not the norm, but definitely possible. To add: I think a minimum down payment for the mortgage probably would have been in the $4 or $5,000 range.
kyleblarson 1y ago
If this was pre 2008 you could get a mortgage if you could fog a mirror.
coryrc 1y ago
I could've bought a house for $20k a few miles from my school. Rust belt.
- FuriouslyAdrift 1y ago
  Yep this place was around $60k for a big three story victorian in a crappy little town (former rail road hub between Indianapolis in Chicago). 4 big bedrooms, 2 small ones and 3 bathrooms. Rent back in 1991 in the college town was around $600 per person and up... we made out like bandits but we did have to share cars.

glitchc 1y ago

How did you qualify for a mortgage without income?

mothballed 1y ago
A lot of people have forgotten that between like 2004-2007 you could get a mortgage if you had a pulse.
- potato3732842 1y ago
  They made sure to pull that ladder up real good after 08 though. The problem wasn't sketchy mortgages, it was the borderline fraudulent financial shenanigans after that.
  - conscion 1y ago
    > The problem wasn't sketchy mortgages, it was the borderline fraudulent financial shenanigans after that. What do you think was funding the sketchy mortgages? The fraudulent financial shenanigans
FuriouslyAdrift 1y ago
It was 1991 and we pooled money from 10 people. The house was super cheap ($60k) and in a very depressed area (Attica, Indiana). The seller was a person and not a bank.
- glitchc 1y ago
  Ah thanks. So the mortgage was quite small, still, hard to get one without income. Pooled ownership also makes it much more complicated.
  - FuriouslyAdrift 1y ago
    I was the 'owner' of record. The others held rights to the house by agreement with me but all the responsibilities were mine. The others could have just stopped paying 'rent' and I would be stuck with the full mortgage...or I could have just sold the place and walked away with everything. Definitely an exercise in trust and mutual self interest.