Coffee Break: Laptop Case

75 Comments

1. I am a lifelong renter. I am currently renting a single-family home, paying below market rent in my MCOL area. (1700 sq feet, 4bed, 3bath, $1800/month plus utilities.) I do not want to live here forever because I do not love my specific neighborhood (near a hospital = loud sirens). I am 39. I consistently make at least $250k a year before taxes. I am single, but extended family stay with me regularly so I want 3bed 2+ bath. I have really enjoyed not sharing walls with neighbors.

   A condo/townhouse in my metro that meets my desire for 3+ bed and 2+ bath runs about $220-290k, plus HOA of $100-200/month. All share common wall(s), we don’t really have standalone condos here. A single family house would be about $275-325k, no HOA, but plus all utilities. Commute is a wash.

   What would you pick? Pros/cons?

   1. Unless you mind the maintenance of a SFH, they generally hold their value better than townhouses in suburban areas, plus the risk of annoying neighbors is dramatically mitigated when you are not literally sharing a wall with them.

      1. +1. But do consider the maintenance – it is sometimes a hassle to find/manage providers, or DIY can be a headache in knowledge and time (but also can be a joy!).

   2. I’ve been in your boat, and as long as you’re ok with having/maintaining a yard, then I’d get the SFH. Condo finances are so notoriously squirrelly I’d only consider one after a crazy amount of due diligence.

      1. This. My in-laws recently had to sell their condo because a new owner turned his unit into an airbnb despite a prohibition in the bylaws against short-term rentals, and then refused to pay his share of the homeowners’ insurance premiums. He essentially extorted the other three owners into selling to him and now the whole building is airbnbs. I would never want to be in a position where my ability to maintain or insure my home depended on other people. See also, the huge condo collapse in Florida a few years back.

   3. I would probably get freehold because condo boards are bananas and the only way to mitigate that is joining yourself which is a huge time suck.

      Separately I think we have wildly different definitions of MCOL, I consider my city MCOL and freeholds are minimum 700k.

      1. I have served on a condo board and cannot agree more that they’re bananas and the finances are often very squirrley. I would not buy into another HOA or, at a minimum, would not do so without doing significant due dilligence (including how big are the reserves, which items is the HOA responsible for maintaining, when do those items reach their end of life, is the planning for replacing those items happening). I also doubt that a $100-$200/month HOA covers any utilities – to include utilities, it would probably need to be closer to $800 per month plus.

         I left a condo HOA for a SFH and do not plan to go back. I doubt a duplex with a tiny yard that’s easy to upkeep myself. My monthly expenses have dramatically decreased (my former HOA included utilities) and I can plan on my own to save for new AC units, roof replacements, etc.

      2. Ain’t no way this woman lives in a MCOL city. I don’t even know if this is LCOL – maybe VLCOL.

         1. I was like where is this place where houses are basically free.

   4. The price difference seems pretty minor. Do you like taking care of a single family home? Do you want a yard? If you don’t have a preference I’d look at both to see what you end up liking best.

   5. I would buy if I wasn’t planning on leaving the area any time soon. The only reason I can see to keep renting is if you want mobility/flexibility. Rent is only gonna rise.

      As for townhouse vs stand alone, that’s such a personal decision. It looks to me like you could comfortably afford either. I’d go for a single family home, the ability to garden and have a yard for pets and kids is something I yearn for. Plus HOAs suck, especially when you like native plants and hate lawns. But maybe you hate working in the yard and want the extra money for travel or something, in which case the townhouse would make more sense for you.

   6. the single family home sounds a lot better to me.

      is dating a goal for you? that might be the only reason I’d look for a more centrally located townhouse in a walkable area. but if you’ve been renting the SFH for a while you probably know if it feels harder to date.

   7. I would definitely get a SFH. I have one and it was a great decision for me. I would prefer not to have shared walls ever again unless it is a row house in a great city. Plus I think it is the better financial investment, you avoid the HOA dues, you get to make decisions about the exterior, and you can have a yard/garden depending on the house you pick. Also, you can comfortably afford either.

   8. I’d try renting in a different neighborhood before buying. Make sure that whatever the local equivalent of the sirens doesn’t bother you before you’re stuck with a mortgage.

      1. The pickleball court!!!

   9. If you like to lock and leave, townhouse. But only an end unit. More light and half of the shared walls / neighbor risk.

      SFH may also have more parking, if that matters. I have regretted apartment style cheap construction. Some TH are very well built with fire walls and are quiet. Not all though. And I’ve had SFH neighbors leave their outdoor speakers on all night.

   10. I thought I wanted a townhome and not a SFH as a single person, but other than the utilities, the yard work is like $100/month for 6 months. And it’s so much nicer than shared walls.

   11. Buy a house. Interest rates suck right now so pay cash.

   12. When I divorced some years ago I thought for sure I’d be happy to trade a single family house for a townhouse, but after a year or so of renting a townhouse I couldn’t wait to get back to a single family house. For me the big thing was parking — street parking was super scarce and I hated having to arrange in advance for guest parking in the garage.

2. does anyone else feel like your money anxiety is getting worse? i hear these things like “elon says no one will need retirement money in 20 years” and wonder if it’s like because the state is going to seize all our assets anyway

   1. That could happen, but I wouldn’t describe anxiety about it as money anxiety.

   2. My money anxiety is bad, but that’s because I’m worried about losing my job during a cost of living crisis. What assets are they gonna seize, it’s not like I’m ever going to be able to afford a home anyway?

   3. Yes. But I decided long ago that I’m not going to stop living my life now because of the risk of running out of money if I need memory care. I will literally never be able to save enough to have a fully comfortable memory care experience, even if I stop all my hobbies. I’m taking my chances that I won’t need it and if I do, I’m taking my chances that Medicaid and nursing homes will still exist.

      1. totally agree — i was freaking out about that last week because i read somewhere that you ought to be saving for memory care because like 70% of people need it. but everything i’ve heard about long term care insurance is that it’s a scam… so i guess i’ll take my chances.

         1. You may need it but sadly most AL is not for all that long and then Medicaid pays when your money runs out.

            1. Medicaid only pays for a nursing home, not assisted living.

            2. I disagree on the care not being for long – a decade is not uncommon from what I saw with grandparents. But yes, few people can save enough to avoid Medicaid completely.

            3. You’re right. I used the terms as synonyms and I am coming to learn that they are very different.

         2. Thankfully, I’m in a death with dignity state and will be choosing that path if my memory goes before my body. Can’t imagine doing anything else.

            1. You can’t easily access MAD when your mind goes. Even in states where this is a thing, you need to have a terminal illness which dementia is not considered to be. Relatives of mine tried. It’s really not as simple as many here believe.

            2. Last I heard, dementia disqualifies a person from medical aid in dying in most jurisdictions that permit MAID around the world. If the dementia is bad enough to qualify, the patient is considered not to have capacity to consent to MAID.

            3. Great news that DIYing it is very straightforward.

            4. DIYing it is not straightforward by the time it’s clearly needed. Family cannot assist in any way or they can be criminally culpable. Unless you’re planning to off yourself the first time you misplace your keys, this is much much easier said than done.

            5. Even if access weren’t complicated, once your mind is going, you may find that the you then will think and feel very differently than you do now. One of the first symptoms of dementia for many people is fear and paranoia!

            6. Yeah even though my grandmother told us many times before getting dementia that didn’t want to live with dementia and clearly had a terrible quality of life by the end (even with $25k/month care in an amazing memory care facility), I’m not sure she would have said yes to assisted suicide at that point even if it was legal. Her whole personality had changed, she basically wasn’t the same person anymore. Which is of course a big part of why MAD doesn’t apply to dementia patients.

         3. First 70% of people will not need memory care. Something like 10-13% of Americans over 65 suffer from some form of dementia – and not all of those people need in-patient care. That figure is thrown around for assisted living, which is a very different thing. But also, it is usually used by people trying to sell long term care coverage and I am not sure about the sourcing.

            Second, there is no way for the vast majority of people to save enough money to pay for memory care. If you or your loved one ends up needing it, all that can be done is to spend down your assets and then rely on Medicaid. I can only suggest that if one member of a couple gets that diagnosis, you consult an elder care attorney ASAP.

            1. Something like 40% of people eventually develop dementia though, so it’s not a small risk. And the risk is much higher if you have family history of good physical health past 80 since dementia risk goes up dramatically with age.

   4. My financial worries certainly got worse last week when our county announced that an ICE facility would be built here. Bye-bye, home equity. Our home’s value will drop and it will sell much more slowly.

      1. Eh there is ICE everywhere now. I can’t imagine this affecting your home value that much.

         1. Any correctional facility will do it.

            1. Are there any counties in the US without correctional facilities? This is an incredibly common thing that is not going to be catastrophic to gone values.

            2. *home values

      2. I am furious my tax dollars are going to private contractors to build these private prisons.

   5. Just lost my job due to budget cuts. My former boss tried to hire me and passed multiple approvals, but then their PE put in a hiring freeze even though sales were up. A former employer from a decade ago wants to hire me back but it has to pass their budget process, so I won’t know until June. And now I’m feeling like that’s built on sand, given (sighs) everything in this unpredictable economy. In the meantime, I’m sending out resumes and realizing how impossible the process is these days, with ATSs that game keywords and percentages (knocks against you the more roles and the more diverse the roles). So inadvertently ageist. My field has been upended by AI. I have a graduate degree, years of stellar experience to reach VP, and yet I’m wondering if my professional career is going to be over at 52. Anxiety is off the charts.

      1. it speaks so well to you that former employers want to hire you back though.

      2. I am close to your age and would feel the same way. Please write in if you need words of encouragement from us (the kind and supportive commenters :)

      3. I’m a bit younger than you but was laid off last fall, also in large part due to AI impacts, and decided to start my own business in an unrelated industry. There’s certainly some degree of financial privilege in this, because it takes time to grow a business, but I was so burned out answering to other people and was ready to run my work life the way I run every other aspect of my life. Less than six months in and I couldn’t be happier with the decision. I’m getting close to replacing my prior income (although it was probably a lot lower than yours) and am infinitely happier with my work life. There isn’t much ageism for small business owners in many industries – maybe when you’re closing in on 80 people will question if you still have all your faculties, but 50-60 year olds are generally perceived by customers as much more competent and trustworthy than 30 year olds.
         It’s something to consider anyway – if you made it to VP level you have marketable skills and the business acumen needed to make this happen.

   6. No, because I don’t read trash internet fearmongering like whatever you’re reading.

      Stop reading stuff that is designed to make you anxious.

      1. #notHelpful

         1. Oh, also stop reading anything that uses hashtags!

3. I think I’ve heard waterhog mats recommended here? Do you keep them inside or outside your house? we have a doormat on our front porch but otherwise we’ve always had these kinds of rugs inside. trying to imagine it not being gross in rain or snow…

   1. Inside. We leave wet boots and umbrellas on it to drip dry and the floor is perfect underneath still.

      1. We have one indoors. It is the only mat that does not skid around on the carpet next to our back door. I think you could use one in a sheltered outdoor area if you wanted to, but it seems more useful indoors.

   2. Inside the front and back doors and on the front porch. We stomp off the worst of the snow on the porch ones, where it mostly stays frozen, and then leave our wet shoes to dry on them inside. They do collect a lot of dirt and have to be vacuumed frequently. But better that than it being tracked everywhere else.

   3. Inside. We have one by the front door to leave wet/dirty shoes on (and also have a rubber doormat on the exterior of the front door), but also have one under our cat’s water bowl as he likes to play with his water instead of just drinking it. Don’t live in an area that gets snow, though, so can’t speak to that.

4. I need to scream into the void. I withheld an extra $3k and I still owe over $12k in taxes. I know it’s how my bonuses are taxes – my base bracket is 35% and bonuses are taxed at 22%. How do I fix this so this doesn’t happen next year? Just withhold more to account for the bonuses? I hate this.

   1. Quarterly estimated taxes. We have the same problem as the majority of my husband’s salary is paid as a single bonus once a year.

      1. If it’s paid as a single bonus once a year, why bother with quarterly estimated taxes in the other three quarters? Genuine question.

         1. Because if you underpay regularly you can get hit with underpayment penalties.

            1. But that’s what I’m saying. If you pay extra in the quarter with the large bonus, are you really underpaying in the other quarters?

   2. ask payroll if they can withhold bonuses at 35% for you? some companies allow you to go above the default 22.

      1. +1 – we’re allowed to make special deduction requests for our bonuses that only apply to that payment.

   3. I hate this too. I already see so little of my actual bonus because of tax.

      1. 🙄

      2. Preach. And look what our taxes are funding — murdered civilians and schools that don’t teach kids to read.

         1. Well your local taxes are funding your schools and they’re not usually deducted from your paycheck.

            1. lol what? We are pointing out that taxes are high and government is shit. Bonuses are withheld at a lower rate than normal, so this is not about the size of the initial check.

   4. is it possible you can have as much of your bonus as possible go towards maxing out your 401K? that was what we used to do in big law on theory that bonuses were taxed differently.

      1. Bonuses are not taxed differently. They just have tax withheld differently.

         1. Which is so dumb.

   5. If you use TurboTax to file and end up having to write a check for $12K, it will automatically produce quarterly payment vouchers you can use to submit quarterly payments. (Or, at least, it used to the last time I owed a bunch, which was several years ago.) The alternatives are to (1) adjust your withholding, but most companies do not permit specialbonus-only withholding, and then the adjustment would apply to your regular pay as well, or (2) increase your income tax deductions, e.g., contribute to your 401(k) on a pre-tax basis, increase your charitable contributions or take out a mortgage to buy a house.

      1. Yes this.

      2. You can adjust your additional withholding amount at any time. You can bump it up at bonus time and then bump it back down, as long as the company withholds the additional withholding amount from the bonus as it would with a regular paycheck. Or you could pay estimated taxes out of the bonus.

         OP always owed that “extra” $12K. She just didn’t pay it properly during the year.

   6. Thanks all. I will look into these options. It’s likely I will need to increase my regular withholding more and look into quarterly estimated tax payments.

      I already max out my 401k, HSA, contribute to charity (can of course increase), and have a mortgage. I am fortunate that I can pay it (still ouch) and will likely wait until my bonuses are paid this year in March so it’s less painful. Just annoying that this can’t be done right through the system. I don’t want to owe anything or get a refund! Pipe dreams. Sigh.

      1. I agree – way too much of what should be automated is dumped on the consumer and we’re the ones on the hook for errors in areas we may not have knowledge in.

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