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First day jitters

September 17th, 2007 · Comments · By Matt

I feel silly posting this.

I bought what is surely a great place but I don’t think I’m alone here in having a serious case of second thoughts once you’re past the point of no return.

Why’s that? Tonight I visited my place twice and I should have been excited and ecstatic. I should have been bouncing off the walls. But instead I sat alone marveling at how small it was, how loud the traffic was, how its view wasn’t as nice as my current view and surprised that for half a million dollars they only included 3 lights (that’s right, the bedroom has NO lights.)

I met another resident tonight and she too seemed surprised and disappointed about how small her unit is (though I think her unit rocks; it may be small but it does feel big.)

I remember having these feelings the last two times I bought a place so I know it’s temporary and will only last a night. Once I get my stuff in there it will turn around and I’ll be super excited (hello multiple house warming parties!) Perhaps I’m overwhelmed that I not just need to move tomorrow but over the next week I need to do some serious work to the walls and then in the next few weeks and months I will have to furnish the place (I even have to get a new bed!)

And I feel really silly posting this because there was a homeless person outside our garbage area at my old place and I know most people can’t afford what I can afford. However home ownership is an emotional roller coaster and I don’t just want to share the pretty pictures.

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  • Matthew
    Renting at my place in Belltown was the wisest decision I have ever made. It was truly an eye opener into the area.

    I learned so much about where I do and do not want to live in the city.
  • EconE
    it doesn't give an error Matt...it just goes back to the comment section. Tried it with a couple browsers.

    Oh...and when are you gonna start showing us some hardcore condo porn?

    You know...like the penthouse in Continental that recently came up for rent at 25k/mo...I'm sure you can finagle your way in to take some pics for your site. Oh...and you should do a post on the Bellora Penthouse that's for sale...unless you don't want to bring attention to multi-million $ flips gone bad. It's a foreclosure sale from what I see on foreclosure.com.
  • EconE, you can't post? What's the error that it gives?
  • EconE
    Matt...How come I can't post on the Condo/Benz thread? Did you ban me from posting there?

    All I wanted to let people know is that the unit had already been reduced to 999k from 1.1m a few months back. Now the price is back up with a *used* car thrown in.

    What a deal!
  • EconE
    sweet boat!
  • Joel, true. My plan is to sell the boat and next spring put together a shared boat program with a few friends where we each own a fraction. I don't use my boat enough to justify 100% ownership.
  • Joel
    Mike D.,

    I was trying to joke about you typing "known quantity" when it looks like you meant "known quality". I know, lame.

    Matt,
    If you sell the boat then can you really say that you're maintaining your current lifestyle?
  • Oh and the car is likely worth $750 now not the $2500 that I tried to sell it for four years ago.
  • No Ducati's yet.

    But I do have a sweet ass car: http://blog.mattgoyer.com/neon.html

    Keep in mind that photo is from a few years ago. A cyclist has since run into the car (his fault) and really messed up one side. The bottom is also all rusted out and I expect a wheel to fall off any day now.

    Until I post my FICO score, pay stubs, 401k statement, Fidelity statements and a full accounting of my private investments, I suspect you'll all still be convinced I'm an idiot. In the meantime hopefully the air of suspense keeps you coming back and driving up my page views :).

    And if you know of anyone who wants a boat you can find mine on Craigslist: http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/boa/432776003...
  • jo
    you guys remind me of the type of guy that would say something like this to his girlfriend: "even though you're kinda heavy, you're still cute"

    deep down it's really an insult, even though it's masked with a positive thing

    give it a rest.
  • Dan
    When you lease, why would you put down any money?
    That's mostly the whole point of a lease. When you think of "auto lease", if the first thing that comes to your mind is "why would you pay to own nothing at the end", I'd suggest going out and doing the due diligence on auto leases in the same way you'd go about the stock market, real estate, etc. I liken it to the whole rent vs. buy discussion when it comes to the real estate market... there really are a lot of similarities between the two.
  • jcricket
    Wow Matt - a boat and two places? What else do you have? A Ducati and a luxury car that are both leased with zero down? How many other money-sucking "assets" can you load up on at once :-)

    As someone who works in your same industry (tech) and has seen it implode at least twice in my short career, I sincerely hope you have a lot of savings built up (although having just put money down on a condo, I doubt that - been there). I am definitely not a "sky is falling" kind of guy when it comes to housing. I own my home, don't plan to sell, and don't believe all the hype that 30-50% drops in prices are imminent.

    That said, I have a fixed-rate mortgage a home that's like 25-30% of my income, own both my cars outright (both are 6 years old and will likely last at least another 6). I also don't have any other debt (no boats, no second homes, etc.). I've got savings of around 6 months, and a HELOC I could tap if I absolutely needed it. Plus I manage to put like 20-25% of my income away each year into 401k and IRA. That's how I sleep at night, with my fairly big mortgage payment and expenses (even at 25% of my income, it's a big chunk).

    IMHO, you're in pretty damn far over your head and the sky could come crashing down pretty quick (not necessarily because of a housing bubble crash). Bankruptcy is an "option", but it's a pretty bad one, and you should not be counting on that to "bail you out". Definitely sell off what you don't need (the boat, sell the 'Taj unit next year, etc.). A short-term small loss is better than owning things that bleed you dry when you're out of work.
  • Thanks for the comments everyone. I'm sure once I get the place cleaned up (removing drywall is messy) and finished (I need a new window sill among other things) and furnished (I only have a bed right now) it will feel completely different.

    And in response to the question about financing; I have a interest only jumbo ARM that I used stated income to get from Countrywide. And no, that does not keep me up at night. It's not less than 35% but I can afford my current lifestyle when I sell my boat.
  • christiangustafson
    Congratulations on your purchase, with a couple of caveats:

    1. Do you have a fully-amortized fixed-rate mortgage, and not some sort of interest-only or ARM bomb?

    2. Can you afford the payments and still make other commitments, i.e. 401K, savings, groceries, dentist visits. Is your payment less than 35% of your take-home pay?

    3. Do your plans for this condo depend on any kind of appreciation to make the numbers work in the next few years?

    As long as you can truly afford the place and like living there, you should sleep well at night. We bubble skeptics aren't against homeownership, if it's based on sane, responsible terms.
  • EconE
    You can't tell me that the fact that the US$ reaching parity with the Canuck Buck today doesn't offset your lack of enthusiasm about your place! Sorry that you have to get paid in American $'s while you're working here.

    Anyhow...back to condo's...WRT the jitters...

    It all boils down to the simplest of explanations.

    The hunt is always more exciting than the kill.
  • Joel: Haha. Well, what I'm actually saying is that with new construction these days, the marketing is almost always going to make you feel better than the actual place is. That doesn't mean both won't make you feel good, but clearly the marketing is designed to create all sorts of feelings of unbridled enthusiasm in you whereas the place itself is, well, the place itself. The effect the place has on you is real and can't be faked or puffed up easily. For this reason, when looking at an existing place, you don't need to set expectations. It is what it was. But with pre-sale, it's probably wise to knock about 25% off of your enthusiasm level and then ask yourself if you still want it. Either way... it's real estate... you move out eventually and you profit eventually.
  • Joel
    "Old construction = known quantity."

    Are you trying to say that with new construction you never know if they'll actually finish the unit?
  • JasonC
    Don't stress Matt, I had similar jitters but then I remembered I had them at my last place too and a year later I couldn't imagine living anywhere else.
  • Seth
    Matt,

    I agree with everyone on this one, its temporary. It is the perfect place for a young and single guy. Hey, its a great place for a old single guy! Want to trade? :)

    Once you get into it and settle in you will notice that it will feel like home. Also, its hard to find places that are unique like that one, built from an existing structure.

    Seth
  • seattle67
    Hey Matt, you're in a great building in a great neighborhood and the jitters will go away. When we moved out to North Seattle from Capitol Hill I was pretty disturbed by how quiet and desolate our neighborhood was at night. Change is always nerve wracking.
  • newbuyer
    Thanks for sharing the jitters. I know I will have them, too. Wish you the best of luck in your new, rockin' place!
  • mhays
    Regarding size, I agree the brain can adapt quickly. Sort of like a movie screen -- no matter how small it is, that's your universe and it immediately becomes normal. It only really matters if you can't do things, like if you used to practice judo or something.
  • Matt, it will be ok, it's not your 'forever home'. In the big scheme of things, it's just temporary. This is a fun place to live while you're young and single and it's in a great location. Just add a few lamps or have an electrician run off the power in the overhead spots in the kitchen for ceiling lights in your bedroom. You can walk to everything, you've always got a "social life', even if you're alone: you just walk outside and you've got everything you need within just a few blocks, with lots of friendly folks all around.

    It will be great! Especially when the Gun Club opens and everyone's moved in.

    Good luck and enjoy the ride :)
  • Yep, you'll be fine in about a month, but the feelings you mention are why I will never buy new construction again. It's not like a new car. There aren't many real benefits to being the first one in there, unless of course you got a screaming deal which is rarely the case. I bought my only new construction at The Ballard in 2000 and although it was an ok two years living there, had the unit been finished before I saw it, there's no way I would have gone through with it. Old construction = known quantity.
  • Rachel
    I love my unit. There are some issues yes (noise included, but closing the windows helps), but overall its great. I thought it seemed big with nothing in it. It is much more open than our current place and gets lots of light. Plus they actually gave us planter boxes. I know you wanted those! :)
  • Peckhammer
    I think they call this buyer's remorse.

    The fact of the matter is that you just spent $500K for a box with tall ceilings and that is supposed to transform your life somehow. This is what "they" want you to believe. We all wrestle with this, Matt. As you say, it will pass.

    When I think back to the 1500 square foot Boston loft I used to live in, I could have bought it for $120K back in '99. Instead, I moved to Seattle and bought a condo half that size for $115K. In comparison to the loft, the condo is junk.

    Actually, Seattle is full of junk that sells for big dollars. I was looking for a SFH for a while, and gave up when $500K got you a crappy shack in Ballard with 19th Century appliances. And people were lining up to buy this crap.

    Condos are just new junk, and they are rife with future problems. It amazes me that places like Seattle Heights have had to replace all the windows in the building, a big portion of which the owners had to pay out of pocket. Now that same building is seeing pressurized pipe failures that have burst and caused water damage. 21 stories of junk.

    Buying will transform your life, but not always for the better.
  • Nice - I like the honesty. Good post.
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