F It, probably won't make it to retirement. Cashing out retirement to buy a house

[blecap1]

in muh 30s, have about 60k in 403(b), I am cashing it out for a downpayment on a house.

Tired of throwing away money to a landlord.

I am done, doubt I'll live long enough to see 65 anyways.

#######

Thanks Everyone, after reading through comments I decided I would just use FHA in combination with a loan from 403(b) to cover costs of buying the home.

Still don't think I'll live to see retirement, but hey at least I'll be in a house that I can afford a payment for.

1800$ for a 2 bedroom apt has been soul crushing (Central US)

 

[123rrrrr]

@blecap1 Why look at it through such a negative lens? This could be a positive! You may actually be enabling yourself to retire! Housing costs keep going up, I know plenty of senior citizens that can't afford rising rents, never bought a house, and now their retirement savings + SSI isn't enough to live on.

In 15 or 30 years, you'll have a house free and clear - sooner if you can throw more money at the mortgage. Most areas have property tax waivers for low income senior homeowners, so other than maintenance, utilities, and food (healthcare, assuming in US, will be mainly Medicare coverage), you will be able to live comfortably albeit frugally on SSI.

 

[blecap1]

@123rrrrr

 

[willmore]

@123rrrrr Agreed. Owning property is the first step to retirement IMHO. Congratulations!

 

[michael10sley]

@willmore Exactly. We have zero in retirement savings but have been chiselling down our mortgage for 15 years now, with a healthy appreciation in value along the way

 

[rustedspurs4]

@123rrrrr Even better, find a fixer-upper for 60k and own the house now,
Use the money you would have paid for rent to fix up the house. That’s what I did.

 

[pastorgs]

@rustedspurs4 You couldn't buy a former crackden that burned down in a house fire for $60k anywhere in my state

 

[helpmelord]

@pastorgs You couldn’t buy a small plot of dirt for $60k anywhere in my region. (Literally. I have checked. The cheapest plot of dirt within a 40 mile radius of me is $80k, and that’s without any permits to build a house.)

 

[godisgreat_77]

@pastorgs Yep. Crackdens in my state sell for $350k+

 

[farmboy]

@godisgreat_77 Well yeah if there’s still crack there. Gotta find a small time dealer that’s never in stock

 

[resjudicata]

@godisgreat_77 ca native i see

 

[godisgreat_77]

@resjudicata Nope! I wish lol, at least I'd be in a nice state that isn't actively trying to roast me. AZ, CA but worse in the ways you wouldn't immediately think of!

 

[sue1215]

@godisgreat_77 That's when you should consider a better state.

 

[godisgreat_77]

@sue1215 Its not that easy, not everyone can afford to move states. Not to say I personally don't want to, but that's a privilege and some people can't just pick up and go to a new place when their current area becomes more expensive.

 

[keath]

@sue1215 Cheaper isn’t automatically better.

 

[ro72]

@rustedspurs4 Depends on where you live if this is actually feasible. But if it is, I second this.

 

[rustedspurs4]

@ro72 That’s fair. To be honest we had to go outside of the city we were living in. My husband has a 30 minute commute to work and everyone looks down on the area we moved to but I love it. We are in a quiet area of town and it is so much cheaper here that we were able to build a privacy fence and get an alarm system. We have at least a 30 minute drive if we want to go anywhere other than McDonald’s or Walmart but that just adds to saving money because we no longer eat fast food.

 

[mrsmac0324]

@rustedspurs4 He won’t have $60,000. Be lucky to have $30,000 after taxes and penalties.

 

[resjudicata]

@rustedspurs4 It won’t be 60k. It’ll be 60k - taxes - penalties. Probably closer to 40

 

[symph]

@resjudicata Actually you are allowed to take your 401k if you are purchasing a home. Only exception