Definition of "Irony"

[NSX-GUY]

So for about 6 years now since my company took away our company cars (Chevy Blazer) and thankfully replaced it with a raise)) I've been driving some pretty nice machinery.

M Roadster, '98 NSX, M3 Convertible, CLK430 Cab, etc......

Anyway, while I am in a Lead Tech/Manager type position at work, many of my co-workers know I don't make all *that* much more than they do and from time to time one of them would ask me how I can afford to drive 'em and my usual response is "Well, you see I don't have a wife, any kids, or a mortgage, so, I am able to drive a considerably nicer car than I otherwise would be able to" :biggrin:

So, last May I leased an '05 NSX at the 799+tax (850 ttl) special lease rate. Plus about 125 or so per month insurance the NSX is running just about $1,000 a month. My rent of my apartment is $1,300. So, if I didn't have the NSX, I could afford the house payment in the low $2K range. But as of last May I wasn't even thinking about buying a house.

This past October however, I decided I wanted to buy a house here in NNJ and proceeded to find out about assigning the lease (ad here on nsxprime). At the time I was told by AHFC that it was up to the dealer and the dealer said it could be done but I would be a "co-borrower" on the new lease. Not the greatest idea but at least I would be off the hook for the $1K monthly payment and could then be comfortable with buying the house.

Well, due to various circumstances, holidays, etc I've only just recently re-awoken the nsxprime ad again and found (several) someone(s) who wants the car only to find out the dealer is no longer able to assign the lease. The dealer now says AHFC won't allow the "assignment of collateral" and AHFC told me back when that is was up to the dealer to re-assign the lease.

In any case, the buyout on the car (my only other option apparently), after having paid 10 months (7990) on a cap cost of 82,100 is 80,500. So, it appears as if I'm not getting out of the car for another 26 months which means of course, no house for at least another 26 months.

So, as of a week ago I have an "NSX'er" ready to take over the lease waiting for final "approval" from the dealer.

The REALLY ironic part ? As you are probably aware, when shopping for a house, you look and look and look some more and when you find exactly what you want you buy it RIGHT AWAY. Well, just 2 days ago, this past Sunday, I FOUND the house that I immediately want(ed) to buy only to find out I can NOT get out of the lease after all.

Now THAT'S irony, no ? :redface:

 

[TyraNSX]

Maybe in 26 months the housing market will have cooled off a little and you can buy the same house for less or more house for the same money. Of course, if you got a house with a garage you would want to put an NSX in there:smile: . These things usually happen for a reason, it just is never obvious at the time.

 

[steveny]

Would be more ironic if the house you picked to buy was owned by the person who wanted to take over your lease.
He wants to buy your car and can't you want to buy his house and can't.

 

[drew]

Now THAT'S irony, no ?

No, that would be insanity.

Drew

1. Spend less than you earn
2. Never buy a depreciating asset on time (or lease)
3. Know the difference between an investment and an expense.
4. Buy investments today, do this often
5. Buy expenses tomorrow, do this everyday.

 

[D'Ecosse]

When you figure your house payment of ~$2K are you considering that you will get an offset of ~$600 or better in tax relief (assuming you were to itemize deductions).

 

[710]

Hey TyraNSX, your avatar is great!
Is that cereal worth a sh*t?

 

[NSX-GUY]

When you figure your house payment of ~$2K are you considering that you will get an offset of ~$600 or better in tax relief (assuming you were to itemize deductions).

Yup :wink:

 

[4AU4LIFE]

Would be more ironic if the house you picked to buy was owned by the person who wanted to take over your lease.
He wants to buy your car and can't you want to buy his house and can't.

Was thinking the same thing.:smile:

 

[eddiensx]

Have you considered borrowing money from your 401(k)? You can withdraw $10k to purchase the house from an IRA and not pay a penalty. There is tax due, but no penalty. You might want to consider purchasing the house with a friend, and buy them out once you can get rid of your lease.

Just some ideas.

 

[Stick-e-rice]

Hes a true NSX lover. I have friends who have high end exotic cars and live in normal apartments. It is their money and they are insane car enthusiasts.

 

[AU_NSX]

1. Spend less than you earn
2. Never buy a depreciating asset on time (or lease)
3. Know the difference between an investment and an expense.
4. Buy investments today, do this often
5. Buy expenses tomorrow, do this everyday.

Well I faied... :frown:

But if I died tomorrow, at least I had fun while I was here... :biggrin:

 

[NSX-GUY]

Was thinking the same thing.:smile:

Don't think that's "irony" per se. I would put that under the category of "incredulity".

Odds roughly equivalent to winning NJ Mega Millions though, no ? :biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin:

 

[NSX-GUY]

Have you considered borrowing money from your 401(k)? You can withdraw $10k to purchase the house from an IRA and not pay a penalty. There is tax due, but no penalty. You might want to consider purchasing the house with a friend, and buy them out once you can get rid of your lease.

Just some ideas.

Well, the friend idea won't work for me (I don't HAVE any :biggrin: :biggrin: )

Don't have an IRA. 401K is something I've thought about but the interest to pay it back (loan of course) is a couple of points higher than a mortgage (even a 2nd) would be so that's not cost effective. As for actually withdrawing from a 401K goes, I guess I could do that (10% penalty I believe) but don't really want to touch it.

Appreciate the ideas though.

Thanks.

 

[NSX-GUY]

Maybe in 26 months the housing market will have cooled off a little and you can buy the same house for less or more house for the same money. Of course, if you got a house with a garage you would want to put an NSX in there:smile: . These things usually happen for a reason, it just is never obvious at the time.

Good point. You're an optimist by nature, aren't you ? :biggrin:

A pessimist would say the brass ring only comes along every so often so...

ya better grab it when you can
for it might not be 'round again. :wink:

 

[steveny]

Well, the friend idea won't work for me (I don't HAVE any :biggrin: :biggrin: )

Don't have an IRA. 401K is something I've thought about but the interest to pay it back (loan of course) is a couple of points higher than a mortgage (even a 2nd) would be so that's not cost effective. As for actually withdrawing from a 401K goes, I guess I could do that (10% penalty I believe) but don't really want to touch it.

Appreciate the ideas though.

Thanks.

I not sure but I thought I heard something about borrowing from retirement penalty free if the money is used for first home buyers.

 

[NSX-GUY]

I not sure but I thought I heard something about borrowing from retirement penalty free if the money is used for first home buyers.

Actually, there's a "formula" for borrowing from a 401K.

Borrowing from a 401K is always "penalty free" (within the guidelines).

Withdrawing the money, i.e. NOT borrowing and paying it back, is where you run into penalties.

Thanks for the suggestion though. Appreciate the input. :wink:

 

[steveny]

Actually, there's a "formula" for borrowing from a 401K.

Borrowing from a 401K is always "penalty free" (within the guidelines).

Withdrawing the money, i.e. NOT borrowing and paying it back, is where you run into penalties.

Thanks for the suggestion though. Appreciate the input. :wink:

I think the money does not have to be paid back if it is used for first time home buying.

 

[redshift]

Maybe this is a blessing in disguise...

I'm currently looking to buy another house, but I've been very weary for the following reason:

I've decided to horde my cash because I've been told by several market and financial analysts that the US is heading into a recession. As I understand, we will be in it late this year, or next, until late ~ 2009. Because of this, housing prices should see a relatively dramatic decline (at least in the "higher priced" homes). Those who have a buckets of cash in the bank at this time should be able to take advantage of the downturn. Anyway, this is just what I've been told... I really don't know how true it is, but it seems to be the general concessus between analysts I've asked.

Good luck!

 

[91 X]

The ironic thing is, is that if you bought the house a few years ago, instead of all those nice cars the last few years, you'd prolly have enough equity in your house to buy a few nice cars today:redface: :biggrin: :wink: :tongue:

 

[Accord-R]

I just want to know where you found a house for $2,000 a month in Northern New Jersey!

But yea, that sucks about the lease, but sounds strange, I see people do lease take overs all the time.

 

[Lady Six]

Wow. I would have bought a house before an NSX for a garage and driveway. You may care about your car, but everyone else in your complex does not.

I didnt even know you could lease an NSX anyway...

 

[drew]

I've decided to horde my cash because I've been told by several market and financial analysts that the US is heading into a recession.

Sure. No doubt, i believe there are some VERY hard times ahead. But nobody can tell you *when* and that is a most critical component. Next year, 5 years or 15? It matters a lot, as you can't put your life on hold for 10-15 years.

The issue is that when (not IF) house demand comes down: the supply dries up too. Nobody wants to sell and would rather hold out for better buyers, they will hold out for a decade or more.

When the prices of houses go up: they are freely available to buy and sell. And make money. I'm old enough to have seen two of these cycles, they are quite predictable: the only thing you can't reliably predict is the time frame.

A lot of my friends stayed out of the housing market in Los Angeles the past five years because "it is over valued". Houses in Los Angeles have increased in sale price by at 3x-5x (that is at LEAST 3x) in the last 5 years. They've waited five years for the house prices to drop, they are going to have to wait at least five more.

Overall, I think this thread can tell us one thing: Always buy depreciating assets cash and buy investments on time. If you cannot buy a depreciating asset cash: you simply cannot afford it.

This is even a more critical process when you are younger and "cannot afford" to buy a car. Saddling yourself with non-investment debt pretty much sets you up for life long challenge just to have a net worth above zero, let alone get ahead.

Needless debt really limits your options in life: don't do it.

Drew

/Everybody seems to be spending their new wealth with no regard to anything, even worse: they are leveraging debt on the this apparent one time windfall. I suspect that we are sitting on a house of cards and nobody seems to care.

 

[Ski_Banker]

So for about 6 years now since my company took away our company cars (Chevy Blazer) and thankfully replaced it with a raise)) I've been driving some pretty nice machinery.

M Roadster, '98 NSX, M3 Convertible, CLK430 Cab, etc......

Anyway, while I am in a Lead Tech/Manager type position at work, many of my co-workers know I don't make all *that* much more than they do and from time to time one of them would ask me how I can afford to drive 'em and my usual response is "Well, you see I don't have a wife, any kids, or a mortgage, so, I am able to drive a considerably nicer car than I otherwise would be able to" :biggrin:

So, last May I leased an '05 NSX at the 799+tax (850 ttl) special lease rate. Plus about 125 or so per month insurance the NSX is running just about $1,000 a month. My rent of my apartment is $1,300. So, if I didn't have the NSX, I could afford the house payment in the low $2K range. But as of last May I wasn't even thinking about buying a house.

This past October however, I decided I wanted to buy a house here in NNJ and proceeded to find out about assigning the lease (ad here on nsxprime). At the time I was told by AHFC that it was up to the dealer and the dealer said it could be done but I would be a "co-borrower" on the new lease. Not the greatest idea but at least I would be off the hook for the $1K monthly payment and could then be comfortable with buying the house.

Well, due to various circumstances, holidays, etc I've only just recently re-awoken the nsxprime ad again and found (several) someone(s) who wants the car only to find out the dealer is no longer able to assign the lease. The dealer now says AHFC won't allow the "assignment of collateral" and AHFC told me back when that is was up to the dealer to re-assign the lease.

In any case, the buyout on the car (my only other option apparently), after having paid 10 months (7990) on a cap cost of 82,100 is 80,500. So, it appears as if I'm not getting out of the car for another 26 months which means of course, no house for at least another 26 months.

So, as of a week ago I have an "NSX'er" ready to take over the lease waiting for final "approval" from the dealer.

The REALLY ironic part ? As you are probably aware, when shopping for a house, you look and look and look some more and when you find exactly what you want you buy it RIGHT AWAY. Well, just 2 days ago, this past Sunday, I FOUND the house that I immediately want(ed) to buy only to find out I can NOT get out of the lease after all.

Now THAT'S irony, no ? :redface:

No, not irony just unfortunate.

The Kid - chime in if I'm wrong here:

Take your 799/mo lease to the dealer with a customer, in hand, that will agree to pay a somewhat higher amount (or for a longer period), and they will gladly reassign your lease to the third party and pocket the difference. WIN, WIN, WIN. 05's don't lease for anywhere near 799 anymore, so if the new lessor will pay maybe 900-1000 you'll be golden. The rest should be paperwork, maybe with some phone calls with AHFC with you, the dealer, and the customer present. Don't take "No" for an answer just because the dealer has never done something like that before. Make sure the customer has good credit beforehand, too.

 

[Ski_Banker]

I've decided to horde my cash because I've been told by several market and financial analysts that the US is heading into a recession. As I understand, we will be in it late this year, or next, until late ~ 2009. Because of this, housing prices should see a relatively dramatic decline (at least in the "higher priced" homes). Those who have a buckets of cash in the bank at this time should be able to take advantage of the downturn. Anyway, this is just what I've been told... I really don't know how true it is, but it seems to be the general concessus between analysts I've asked.

Good luck!

Did you buy tech stocks in 1999 when they told you to do so then?

There is a very strong argument for such a decline, but the timing of which is ANYBODY's best guess. Could begin next year, could begin in 20 years. The US budget deficit / national debt has been a "looming crisis" for doomsdayers since Reagan. Fact is, nobody knows. Moreover, and what you WON'T hear on CNBC or WSJ is that markets are not linearly connected. Sure, the logic of: higher rates = higher consumer debt svc costs = lower consumer spending (63% of GDP) = weak economy, recesession, etc. And since the U.S. is the largest economy, our recession or busted consumer will drag the rest of the world down with it. That thinking, and I hear it from everyone, is absolutely correct and likewise absolutely retarded in its linear simplicity. That logic ignores the *Other* 80% of the global economy, how changes in the U.S. will alter competitive strengths/weaknesses internationally, and how markets will adjust to those changes. Perhaps a weaker US consumer, along with our frightening deficits, will elicit a large decline in the U.S. dollar. Even GM and Ford can sell cars when they are 20% less because of a weak currency.

*Despite* the aforementioned (very real) problems, I think the US is just on the verge of realizing the wealth creating effects of globalization. My schpeel, hope its worth more than $.02 but that remains to be seen.

 

[steveny]

A lot of my friends stayed out of the housing market in Los Angeles the past five years because "it is over valued". Houses in Los Angeles have increased in sale price by at 3x-5x (that is at LEAST 3x) in the last 5 years. They've waited five years for the house prices to drop, they are going to have to wait at least five more.

....and to continue at that same rate of increase the average house in Cali. will be 10 million dollars in the next five years. Not going to happen! when you get 10+ years of appreciation in one year on any asset, sell it.