Housing

I love duplexes (is that even a real word?). If I could, I would marry them. Why? Because, that's why. See, a duplex is two houses side by side. No more different than an apartment, even the mortgage might be the same as a quality apartment. The only difference is that you can rent out the second unit and have that unit pay for the mortgage of the property. This way you could live rent free. Although, once you've been living like that for a bit you can always buy a regular house. You could then move into the house and rent out the unit that you were living in. This way you could still live rent free and have both mortgages being paid. All the money you save by not having to pay your mortgage can go into paying off the principal of the houses. There's an affordable housing, duplex, SW Florida, Equity Company south from where we live that they are selling really cute duplexes.

If it weren't for the fact that The Hubby and I already have a strip of land close by that we will turn into a duplex, we would most definitely go for this deal. We hope to have the building started sometime next year. It will be a double income and since there are always people on Section 8 looking to move out of an apartment into a duplex or house, we will be able to rent it out soon after it's done. This is going to help out since I have to leave my job when skool starts in the fall.

The company is selling at pre-construction prices. If you're going to buy new, that's the way to go. Why? because houses go up in value at different times. Lowest price is pre-construction, then comes brand new (that's the most expensive one), and then the house will appreciate in value relative to the area surrounding it at a steady rate yearly. It helps that The Hubby is an appraiser and I can learn these kinds of things. Of course, if you get a really good deal on a foreclosed home or a house that needs lotza love, you should go for it. But only if you can do the repairs yourself, otherwise you may end up paying more than if you had bought the house brand new. What I like the most about these particular houses is that everything is included in the cost and you don't have to make any payments while it's being constructed. Of course, you would have an ETA of when the house will be done and will be able to arrange Section 8 people to move into it the very first month guaranteeing that you won't have to put up any money for the house.
Since the house is one price before construction and another after, that's all equity that you have built into the house without lifting a finger. Equity that you can have in case of an emergency or for paying off credit cards. The equity that builds up is quite high. The houses that I'm looking at in the site cost around 285k before construction and have an average value of 325k right after construction's done. That's a gain of 40k without doing anything but look cute. That's money you can tap into to buy your own house. You can't make easier money legally. Shoop! I have a Gordon Rule paper due tomorrow that I've barely started! Rats!