I meant exactly what I said, nothing more and nothing less. Anyway, if you accept that there is a reasonable chance that a person might be forced to sell his house, then my original point about re-sale stands. And your claim that it’s a “non-issue” is wrong.
Well that’s just silly. Nothing is 100% (“never ever”)
Then what exactly did you mean when you said that the re-sale issue I raised was a “non-issue”? You seemed to be saying that if you started with a big enough emergency fund, then there is essentially no chance that you will have to sell the house.
How confident? Hmm… 75%? 85%?
Well in that case, it seems a bit presumptuous to assume that a person who has to move for his new job necessarily made a mistake by buying a house in an area with a bad economic outlook.
Why do the exact percentages I have for my scenario matter to this discussion?
Because they make it easy for me to demonstrate the problems with your position. You say that a person who is laid off and unable to find an equivalent job in his local area made a “mistake” by buying in an area with a “poor economic outlook.” You seem to be “confident” that you can pick out the areas with good economic outlooks. And yet there is sizeable uncertainty in your own predictions.
The bottom line is very simple: When you buy a house, the cautious and prudent thing to do is to give a lot of priority to the issue of re-saleability.
Then what exactly did you mean when you said that the re-sale issue I raised was a “non-issue”?
That the risk of having to sell can be reduced via location choice and emergency fund, such that one does not need to pay $X more for too-much-house just to re-sell it. I’m sure there are scenarios whereby the extra cost is worthwhile. Exceptions don’t invalidate general rules or preferences, which is all I stated earlier.
give a lot of priority to the issue of re-saleability
I concur on considering it, but apparently not to the extent you do. Not knowing all the particulars of your situation, I can’t really say if I agree or disagree with your decision to pay more to have something easier to re-sell.
That the risk of having to sell can be reduced via location choice and emergency fund, such that one does not need to pay $X more for too-much-house just to re-sell it
Seems to me that’s very different from this:
If you don’t have a sufficient emergency fund to weather lay offs without being forced to sell your house, you don’t have enough money to buy a house, so this is a non-issue.
Well do you agree that the second statement asserts that the risk of being in a situation where you have to sell your house is minuscule under certain circumstances?
I meant exactly what I said, nothing more and nothing less. Anyway, if you accept that there is a reasonable chance that a person might be forced to sell his house, then my original point about re-sale stands. And your claim that it’s a “non-issue” is wrong.
Then what exactly did you mean when you said that the re-sale issue I raised was a “non-issue”? You seemed to be saying that if you started with a big enough emergency fund, then there is essentially no chance that you will have to sell the house.
Well in that case, it seems a bit presumptuous to assume that a person who has to move for his new job necessarily made a mistake by buying a house in an area with a bad economic outlook.
Because they make it easy for me to demonstrate the problems with your position. You say that a person who is laid off and unable to find an equivalent job in his local area made a “mistake” by buying in an area with a “poor economic outlook.” You seem to be “confident” that you can pick out the areas with good economic outlooks. And yet there is sizeable uncertainty in your own predictions.
The bottom line is very simple: When you buy a house, the cautious and prudent thing to do is to give a lot of priority to the issue of re-saleability.
That the risk of having to sell can be reduced via location choice and emergency fund, such that one does not need to pay $X more for too-much-house just to re-sell it. I’m sure there are scenarios whereby the extra cost is worthwhile. Exceptions don’t invalidate general rules or preferences, which is all I stated earlier.
I concur on considering it, but apparently not to the extent you do. Not knowing all the particulars of your situation, I can’t really say if I agree or disagree with your decision to pay more to have something easier to re-sell.
Seems to me that’s very different from this:
I don’t see how.
I’m glad your decision worked for you, though. Cheers.
Well do you agree that the second statement asserts that the risk of being in a situation where you have to sell your house is minuscule under certain circumstances?