What's a better investment: Downtown condo vs. college degree?
 

Should I buy the 7 year old condo thats 2 blocks away from the college and downtown.......or should I go to the college? :helpme:helpme:helpme

I enough savings to do one, but not to do both.....21 yrs old and independent contractor = mortgage lenders do not want. Work full time online, make decent living, but god knows when this ship will sink.

Condo, youll never be homeless if you buy it outright and pay the taxes. Go to school after you guy the condo?

Although condos are rarely a good "investment". :2 cents:

I already own a condo down here that i rent out (staying with parents til i move). nothing fancy but a good rental.

i was hoping for this next condo to live in through college and then turn it into my 2nd rental property when im done, but these banks wont give me a fucking break :mad:

Condo.

Most companies will take a person with 4 years industry exp and no degree over someone with a degree and no exp.

I never finished college and I make more $$ than any of my friends who got their degree.

i dont think either are that good of an investment.

what should i put my life savings into then? traffic?

Condo.

You don't need a piece of paper to make money.

Condos are very hard to sell, at least around here. They're trying to sell condos for nearly 200k and I bought my 3000sq ft house on almost an acre for a bit more then that.

And you don't have a monthly condo fee to pay. More and more home owner associations are going belly-up which really fucks the condo owners.



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thanks for the advice everyone keep it comin :helpme

There is a condo complex going up down the road from me. They started selling them at $375,000. They sold one in about a year. They are now trying to sell the rest at $225/50k. I would be pissed if I was the first one to buy at $375k :Oh crap

heres the one im looking at http://www.century21.ca/Property/PE/...et_Unit_2B/275 theyre selling for $165 according to the agent

That's $167. a square ft. Plus monthly HOA fee. What do houses cost?


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That does seem high. But I dont know that market.

Aren't there any large, shitty old houses near campus that you can rent out and not worry about being destroyed to college students? An old lady owned this big old house near my campus that I lived in 2 years with 9 other dudes. Rent was cheap for us at about 400 per semester + 500 for summer. thats 1300 for each of us, or 13,000 a year she cleared, every year, always because there is a demand for housing around campus. Find a property like that! Even if it gets totally fucked up it wont matter, college kids dont give a sh*t.

I should mention this house was old, and a piece of shit,a nd to buy would probably be under 100k :P

i'd get the degree

You are 21. You don't need to put your life savings into anything. Keep saving it. When you are ready to spend it on something you deem worthy, you'll know it.

If you want to go to college, do that. If you want a new condo, do that. Don't do either of them just because you think you should be spending your money, that's a total waste.

A four year degree in most fields from most schools isn?t worth shit these days. Most new graduates now a day?s end up in fast food or retail management both of which you can get into without the degree. Of course there are exceptions like nursing, accounting and other mostly medical or tech fields, but generic business, liberal arts, humanities, degrees from state or even most private schools aren?t worth the paper they are printed on.

My wife got a 4 year degree and works retail management. It means nothing. No one cares.

thank you for the replies everyone. any and all advice is appreciated :helpme

get the degree.........

i dont see how you can even question this really :)

I dated a woman 37 years old that had a masters degree, masters in health administration, she was making $32,000 after a huge student loan and 10 years on the job. She was so pissed that entry level techs and nurses were making much more.


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please explain?

It depends on how long you would intend to have the condo for?

If you wanted to buy it and sell it quickly, then you will not make that much $$$. But if you buy it and then live in it or rent it for 10 years you will most likely make a some decent money on it -- especially as you might be buying at a low ebb of the market.

Also -- if it is two bedroom, you might be able to buy the condo and rent one room that will then pay for (some) of your college education.

thanks for the reply. right now i plan on keeping the place as a rental for as long as i can. also while im living there ill be renting out the second bedroom. i was planning on getting a mortgage but the banks dont seem to like me lol so thats really where my plans went wrong and now im faced with either buyin this place or going to college

i guess i could take out studen loans but idk

Condo. College is fun for parties :)

i wish this online business ship never sinks, but i would say go to college, education is maybe not everything, but something.

of course Your country's economy is (without mentioning the current crisis) a lot better then mine, but where ever You go, Your education will give You a status in the community and will give You more chances to work for more different areas and maybe better job possibilities.

for me i m 24 yo, This is my last year at University and don't like the department i studied.

after graduation thinking to keep going with computers and online business or something related to it.

even though i hated the department i studied and never be a hard working student to my classes, i never regret from going university.

so my humble advice is go to university and study something You liked :2cents:

thanks for the replies everyone :thumbsup appreciate any and all advice on the issue. goal is to make the most $$ possible :thumbsup

stop putting all your eggs in one basket.

It's hard to say.

The Degree:
Is more of a gamble than the condo. It could help you land a better paying job. It might not though. As in a lot of instances, experience and your portfolio are the key factors. Not always though, and some industries and companies hire based on degree and schooling.

At any rate, a job is going to bring in more money than the condo. Therefore, taking the chance on getting a better job - even if the degree is uncertain to help it. Might be the better option.

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The Condo:
A more solid choice to make an investment in. Getting the condo instantly creates an investment. An investment which is more than likely going to make you money, more so in the long run. However, the housing market is very shaky right now and not a "sure thing". This could work for or against you, the pro being you get in at a killer price, the con being the market doesn't rise that much.

Either way, one condo isn't a set-for-life type of investment. What if the market value of your condo only rises 2% per year. Is 2% of the cost worth it to you to invest all that money?

Hmm great points thanks!

also good advice

Perhaps if you told what you wish to study right now we might be able to get a better idea what your ROI would be on college. As far as education goes right now it sounds ass backwards but some of best ROIs are for two year degrees where your learn some sort of skill/trade.

if i were 21 again i would follow a few investment and savings plans as a requirement before anything else.

1. max out my roth ira at the start of each year. continue to add the max amount as contribution limits rise over the years. continue this until the average age of retirement (65). assuming the historical average returns and properly managing your annual taxable income, leaves you with 3,594,038.00 at retirement.
2. incorperate my business. making sure just to pay myself a minimal salary that would still legally allow myself to put in the max roth contribution.
3. set aside at least a 6 month if not a one year cash buffer. this could be placed in almost any type of account that allows you to get it in cash in a few days. personally i would keep mine in a few staggered cd's so that i could still get a fixed rate and in case of emergency have its access.
4. make arrangements with parents to continue paying them rent. then proceed to keep eyes open on the foreclosure market for small single family houses in areas of your city that appeal to your pocket book rental wise. pay plenty of attentions to undervalued houses based on comps in the area where if your house was improved it would gain considerable value. after finding such take full advantage of the 203k program.

I would get a degree, you will have plenty of chances to get a condo... degree on the the hand, unless you get working on it soon, you will miss the boat and will never get it...

also looking at todays stock market, it would be hard to not make a killing over the next 44 years.
then if you locked in another savings plan, started with say 10k, added around 500 a month until retirement at historical average rates even with inflation and such that would add in another almost 4 million.

Now a days, all the players retire with a few million at 30-35, retiring at 65 with a few million saved up is not exactly hard....

I suggest you go to college for at least 6 months, to see if its for you. That 6 months was all i needed to get motivated & take my online venue to the next level. Either way you win. IMO

I don't know about that area of Canada but I was recently looking at condos in and around Toronto and they are hot as hell. It's a bit different than the market in Florida, here most condos are a depreciating asset, like a car. They are always tearing down and building new. No one seems interested in renovation, it's all about the new. I realize Toronto is a big city, but if the condo market is near the same, even on a smaller scale, seems like a pretty sound investment to me.