How to make $150k in a year

[Pats20]

I sure wouldn’t want to imagine 50% of my income was going toward my mortgage. That would stress me to the gills.

The deadbeat scenario is another reason I didn’t go that route. One way to minimize that is to own a place that commands higher rents, but that comes with its own set of risks.

[LevelUP]

You don't, most places. A median house price in Phoenix seems to be around $400,000. Assuming that you can put down $40,000 (10%), then your monthly payment (at 5% interest) will be around $2000/month or $24k per year.

Since when are mortgage rates 5%? You're looking at 6.5%+ now. More like 7% in most places. 

Did you see the state of said $20K houses? They needed a boatload of work. 

Owning a duplex is great when the tenant pays and the place doesn't need many repairs. Covid left many landlords with deadbeats who weren't paying their rent for years (depending on location). The courts are finally get through the evictions here. Meanwhile, the place was trashed and the landlords went 3 years without payment.

Yes, that is a ready-to-move-in house. 

COVID, deep breath, don't get me started on COVID.

[Alpha]

Housing prices are way up in my neighborhood.  30% increase in market price within the past 5 years.  Still, it's a sellers market and people are getting into bidding wars that push the prices up well past asking price.  The house prices are pushing the rental rates up and competition is high.  It's hard for younger people to break into the market without buying foreclosures.  I have no real knowledge of how this market will shift in the future but I don't know what could push prices back down again.

[Pats20]

It’s a sellers market if you own multiple properties or are planning on renting. Otherwise you will be a buyer as well.

[smartdegree]

I make that much and it's not a big deal. Compared to my peers (former MBA classmates from 10 years ago) I am probably in the bottom quartile. Everyday, I see their LinkedIn or Facebook posts and think I am a huge failure. I know you shouldn't compare but it's hard for me to do.

Only positive is my job is pretty chill and gives me a lot of free time to do whatever I want (including posting on degreeforum).

[LevelUP]

Housing prices are way up in my neighborhood.  30% increase in market price within the past 5 years.  Still, it's a sellers market and people are getting into bidding wars that push the prices up well past asking price.  The house prices are pushing the rental rates up and competition is high.  It's hard for younger people to break into the market without buying foreclosures.  I have no real knowledge of how this market will shift in the future but I don't know what could push prices back down again.

In 2020, many home builders got spooked by COVID and the high unemployment rate, so they pulled back on building homes, thinking demand would drop sharply.  The opposite happened, and now there is a short supply of housing in many areas.

Buying a foreclosure isn't a bad option considering it's mostly cosmetic repairs like paint, fixtures, and flooring. Some banks won't let you borrow if a home isn't in livable condition.

[dfrecore]

You can't get a loan with 10% down, and 50% of your income used for housing costs: lenders will let you go to 33% (maybe 36% max) housing ratio, but they include principal, interest, taxes & insurance.

You also can't get a loan for a house that's not move-in ready in most cases (except for maybe appliances): lenders want to make sure that the house is livable, and all repairs must be done before you can close on the house.

My kid is in the market for either buying a house or renting, and right now (we are in a hot area), home prices have somewhat stabilized, and there aren't a lot of bidding wars any more, but we are still in a building boom, and lots of new homes and townhomes going up everywhere. Rental prices are coming down every month; they're averaging $100 less than they were just 6 weeks ago.