Club Chaos Agents - All Things Hollish, Wacked, and Jacked

I walk in those same time lines for the firsts.  We bought our first home in 1979 too.  My parents though we were crazy for buying an old frame darling home in a beautiful area in Dallas.  We kept it for a rental as we moved on to other areas and sold it for a nice profit 25 years later. Sadly a couple of years after we sold it, the home was torn down and a  mini-mansion was erected in the spot.  I remember my first calculator.  I got it while in college for a calculus class - it only could do 4 basic functions and I thought it was such a time saver!  We are fortunate to enjoy the many fine advances that gives us time back and the ability to reach out and stay in touch. 

Good morning, Richard....I loved that post....and you haven't changed a bit....well, maybe just a little!!!

I remember the first time I saw something cooked in a microwave. My grandparents got one of the first models that ever came out, and my grandfather made smores for my sister and me. I also remember when my husband and I bought our first home. We really bought this parcel of mountain land, but it came with a trailer we had to fix up and could live in. We did that for five years and still own the land. It was the best feeling in the world to have our own place. I will never forget that feeling.

Connie...

Om my goodness. I forgot about the first calculator, which BTW was VERY expensive, I still marvel that you can one one at the dollar store.

I like to go back and "ride by" my old houses. It's sort of weird to see to them now. Thanks my friend.

Barbara...

I have change a "little" lol ... and my daughter is a grown woman! have a great day my friend.

Time marches on. The houses change and so do we. Home ownership is such a great accomplishment. I remember the very first car phone that was anchored to my brothers car. I was in NYC and the vallet said what kind of radio is that? He thought is was a CB (i'm sure not everyone knows that term). I said no .. a telephone.. and we called his mother by talking with the operator, as there was no dialing.   Now i'm dating myself.. but that was somewhere around 1972. Car phones..the thing was attached to the car and about 25 lbs... LOL

Good morning Richard. Great job.....alas I too remember buying my forst home, a two family, I couldn't afford to live in because the rents I secured were really terrific and more than I paid in my rental. I remember the first home I owned that I actually lived in and will always have a warm feeling about it.

YOu do bring up a good point. I don't know if it is the American Dream any longer.

Lots of good memories come with your post. I remember reading the 10 page small print loan docs and telling my wife I don't know what we are getting into here. Her response...we have to live somewhere, we have to pay rent. Why not own? So two young, naive and inexperienced people bought their first home..wonderful experience

Mornin Richard.  Loved the post.  I remember the first time I had shrimp too.  My Grandma used to buy them by the bad down in Corpus Christi.  

Richard, love that picture of you, and I can certainly tell its you! My parents didn't want one of those contraptions.. the "Radarange", but my uncle and aunt had one. Had to be in the late 60's I would think. We had to put a glass of water with our food and we used it to  make melted cheese and bologna sandwiches, LOL. Thousands of dollars for that purpose... ah well.

I remember when I bought my first house, was in the early 80's. Talk about sweat equity! But boy did it feel great!

Richard, what a great lead in to your post and a non threatening way to attract potential home buyers! What a precious photo!

Wow. The memories come flodding back. I remember being one of the neighborhood kids who went to another house on weekends to gather and watch Walt Disney's Wonderful Workld of Color. It was, at the time, a very big deal. the other cool first from way back was an eight track tape. boy, those didnt stick around long.

Thanks for the memories.

 

Boy, you sure nailed the feelings of those times, I had many of the same ones! First color TV...first microwave...first touchtone phone...ah,those were the days!

But who IS that handsome lad in the picture? And who is that HOLDING HIM??? (Just kidding, Richard!)

Richard, We've been in the same house for about 20 years.  We've personalized it in ways that we could have never thought about if we were just tenants.  Wouldn't want to go back to tenant status again.

Your color TV memory got me thinking about seeing my first color set at my neighbor's house two doors down the street.  Yes, they were dubbed the "rich" neighbors.  It was in the "rec room" (a/k/a family room) where we would also listen to Beatles 45's  that another neighbor's father would bring home from London (the other side of the world back then) business trips.  Wow, how about those plastic disks you would put inside the 45's to make them fit onto the turntable spindle?  Ha.  Thanks for the memories!

Ah, the nostalgia of it all! I remember begging my mom to allow me to stay up late to watch the Carol Brunett Show. Loved walking down memory lane with you.

Great post!  Took me back to my early childhood and how cool I thought 8 track tapes were!  Homeownership remains one of several American Dreams but realistically it isn't for everyone. That was the mistake of the run-up to the credit debacle.  Solid jobs, solid savings, and a larger percentage of Americans living above the poverty line will eventually motivate those who qualify to buy homes with greater confidence.

I really enjoyed the nostalgia of your post...and I think I should start calling you the Feature King!!!

Wonderful post Richard.  When you see the enthusiasm of young buyers, you know that the American dream is still alive and kickin'.

Great picture, styling for sure! I remember lots of things...like buying my first house. Amazing how little I knew about the process but I knew it was what I had to do way back in 1982.

Hi Richard, great post and photo. Did you get permission to use that photo...where is the attribution? lol. I used to work as a keypunch operator in the late 60s and early 70s. That is what started my fascination with computers.

Wow Richard your walk down memory lane brought back many fond flash backs.  You're right owing ones on home is the smart and secure way to live.  These are the days....... Happy Thursday to you.

What? You don't remember your first text message and thinking "this is a stupid phase that will be gone tomorrow"?

 

Nice Post. Good Luck with it.

Love this! I remember TV dinners with the foil and putting them in the oven. They would take like an hour to cook!

I agree with others here -- you have brought up some great memories. And I do believe home ownership is still the American Dream. I hope more and more people realize it this coming year.

Blast from the past! What a great timeline and memories.

Thanks for sharing.

Home ownership has many advantages especially once you pay it off!  It now becomes a cheap way to live.

America is the only place that a person can have a first and a second mortgage for 105% of the value of their home and still call themselves a homeowner!  What is the definition of homeowner, i like it to be more of a homeborrower until the mortgage is paid off.  Arent we really renting from the bank for thirty years while we call ourselves owners?

I can't believe I waited so long to buy my first home back in 1986/87. But then again, I was a starving artist before then. Funniest thing that took me awhile to adjust to was I could do stuff like hang some shelves on the wall, or throw up sheetrock in the basement... "Hey, I'm the landlord!" 

I remember that first color TV... My brother and I were invited to the Edmond's, neighbors of my Grandparent's on a Sunday evening. We watched Disney on their brand new RCA Victor color TV. Wow, you'd a thought we went to Cinerama or something! I remember that night like it was yesterday.

I got my first condo in 1992 and wish I hadn't sold it when I did.  Fortunately I remember all the experiences I had since then buying and selling homes on my own.  Those helped make me a better agent now.

I remember when the first car drove down the street......ok, maybe not quite. I do remember the microwave, though. Every New Year's eve we got together with 2 other families to celebrate. One year the wife had a microwave and we all took turns boiling water and watching through the glass....it was amazing

I like your stroll down memory lane.  Even though we've had touchtone phones for awhile, I still use the phrase "dial a number."  Go figure :)

I remember when I first HEARD about a fax machine. I couldn't believe such a miracle could be true!  Then about six months later my office got one.  I also worked with a telex machine at one time, where you typed your message while it punched a paper strip, and once you were done typing you dialed up the recipient, put the tape in the machine, and hit GO.  It was how we emailed before email.

Richard, I'm also having a hard time accepting that you didn't taste shrimp until you were 18!  Did you live in Georgia at the time?  I grew up in the Houston area and we had plenty of it, so I guess it's all relevant.

Ah, a trip down memory lane, how fun.  I remember those same events.  I think I'm a few years older--just turned 63 this week.  First house was 1975; FHA 203-B $32,500.  I later brokered many FHA-245, a new product in '79--you were an early adopter. 

True Story: Our neighbor, in anticipation of much heralded new color TVs, bought what was represented and sold as a "color TV."  It was plastic film with 3 tinted sections-green, blue & red.  You applied the plastic film on pressing it onto a B&W TV screen and voila--a color TV.  Very weird.  I bought an Apple II, Epson 9-pin dot matrix printer and VisiCalc (the precursor to Xcel) at an Apple Store in about 1983 for $3,000.  Sold it many year later for $300.

Fun post.

I loved ready the memory lane list. I bought my first home in 1983 - I knew NOTHING - except I think it took FHA about 6 months to close a loan! haha!  My car cost more than my house did then.  I so would love to be a buyer in this market!

I would hate to rent now that I have been a homeonwer for 23+ years. I bought a duplex to live in one side of it just in case I lost my house for some reason.

Richard:

I remember those things and a few others you didn't mention.  But the machine I remember thinking was the living end was the fax machine.  It was such a time saver.

I can't imagine NOT aspiring to owning one's own home. It always has been and still is the American dream.

Gretchen

Our generation (actually mine is likely older than your's) has seen so many innovative changes over the course of our lives.  I not only remember the first color tv set I saw, but remember when our family acquired our first black and white set back in 1958.  I was thinking today, if my parents were still living, and I told them about the internet, they would think they were on another planet.  My mom passed away in 1975.  Home computers, the internet, cell phones, fax machines, weren't even on the horizon yet!

Bought my first house in 97. Wasn't scared in the least. Wondered why I didn't buy one earlier.                          

Richard,

 

As I get older, I find myself saying *I remember a lot*

 

But the memory of that picture you posted, has to be your favorite I remember.

Oh, Richard, I remember all of those things too.  Actually, I remember when nobody on my block had a color TV.  Yeow!

Hi Richard. Home ownership is still the American dream... I took a look at your blogging history, and we both got active here on AR in Feb 2008... Thanks for your tremendous consistency... Ken

I love it - I have those same memories as  well!  And I'm with you - When my son recently bought his 2nd home in the LA area - (He's the one with the striped shirt) = He did it because renting was just not for him- He wanted to feel that it was his - and it is - A bank owned property that needs total rehabilitation - lots of worries / risks - but it's his and where he and his new wife will make their home! 

Richard, I bought my first house when I was 25. It cost $55,000. I am now in my 4th house and I wish it only cost $55,000.

I've owned a home of ne sort or another since I was 24. I suppose it's not for everyone, but I treasure owning a home (even if I still have to share it with the bank).

Richard - I agree with you.  I would much rather live in my home than someone else's.

Richard ... my dad bought a Sears 4 function calculator that was as big as a pound of coffee!  It was the coolest thing in the neighborhood!

Hi Richard,

Great post!

I can remember all those things as well.

Terrific picture of you and your little one...

Phil

I do remember when microwaves were "new" and color TV's were very rare to see. I was more than a little surprised at how easy it was for me to buy my first house too. Like you I have never looked back and enjoy the freedom of ownership over renting. 

First color TV....how about first black and white, or first window AC unit.  Took 2 grown men to install (probably 150 lbs) and was made by International Harvester.  Or calling the operator by name, and her asking which kid I wanted to talk to!

But enough reminiscing......You are right! Why pay your landlords mortgage for him!  And he gets all the write-offs!

Those memories... I don't know if the first color TV I saw was at someone else's house or if we were one of the first.  Small screen, huge TV chassis.  I don't even remember the transition to push button phones, guess I liked those dials and I purposely bought them for my house when I moved out - one was a fancy antique looking French phone and the other was a Micky Mouse phone we could buy at the AT&T store.  I remember punch cards for our computers and my first job where I had to wear a sweater to go into the cold computer room, which was filled with huge machines wall-to-wall.

I was 22 when I bought my first house.  I hated renting with a passion.  I wanted to paint and decorate and have pets and answer to no one.  My first mortgage was 10% down, 15 year mortgage - I think it was 10.5% interest and we didn't blink an eye.  I purchased quite a few more residences after that and could never imagine ever having to rent again.

When I was renting I did everything to save for my first house - I couldn't wait.  No one could stop me, it was a huge goal.  I love helping first-time buyers find their first home because I remember the happiness I felt when I finally did it myself.

My First house (1976) cost $40,000. We " assumed" a $28,000 mortgage from the previous owner( remember those) because it was 8.5% interest. At the time, I think new mortgages were running about 12%. Ahh, the good old days - one car, one TV, 1 phone, no electronics. Life was simpler, and cheaper.

I remember the first grocery store in Laguna Niguel, in 1972, an Alpha Beta near Niguel Road and Crown Valley Parkway.  It was only a couple miles from our house - prior to that we had to drive to El Toro, 11 miles away.  It may not seem like much, but it sure made our lives easier, especially since I was the family member that did the shopping.

Your words brought back great memories, and you made a terrific point about home ownership. I think for most it is still part of the American Dream; I hope that most still see it as achievable.

Richard, hi.  Thanks for the walk down memory lane.   I did all of these things just a year or two behind you but loved the look back!   I do think homeownership is part of the American Dream but maybe only when you're ready and not when you have to overextend yourself and put your financial future in jeopardy.    Moderation in all things is good and that includes mortgage debt.   

I love this post too.  I remember when I was a kid and swore that I would never have a cell phone because they cause cancer.  I also remember not understanding what a DVD was.  Lots of technology firsts.  I also remember when I first started selling real estate I had no idea what "prepaids" or an escrow account were.  I was so confused I had to have my escrow officer explain it to me about four times (I hadn't bought a house yet when I got into real estate).  Now, 8 years later, I try to remember all those things I didn't know and treat the buyer appropriately if they don't understand things that we think are so easy and commonplace in our industry. -Kasey

Richard:  Do you remember having an ice box instead of a refrigerator ?  I remember my parent's ice box.  I remember the "ice man" delivering a huge blog of ice.  He carried it into the house/apartment using a large set of ice tongs... and put it into the ice box.  I have some friends my age who still call their fridge the "ice box." 

Also... remember when they used to deliver milk... in glass bottles.  You'd open the front door in the morning, and there would be a bottle or two of fresh milk sitting next to the door waiting for you.  Honestly, I really wish those days were still here.

Karen Anne, I sooo which I had milk delivered in glass bottles to my front door in the morning.

Thank you for triggering such great memories. I grew up in rental property and hated it. When I got the chance to buy a house at 20, I was thrilled. In 1971, it cost $24,000. It was 1000 sq ft. The house was a cracker box 20 feet wide and 50 feet long but it was mine. I have bought several houses since then and my skin crawls to think I might have to live in rental property again some day.

LOVE the post!  Can totally tell that's you in the photo.  My favorite first was becoming a mom.  Having Rachel laid upon me, nothing better.  I couldn't stop looking at her.  When I draw from experience for positive feelings, that's what I think about.

Homeownership is a great thing.  I have owned two homes and rent now, but we are looking to buy this year or next.

My first look at a color TV was at my great-aunts' home (they were "spinsters", worked, and lived together on one floor of the home they inherited from Papa - so they were fantastically wealthy by by standards). We watched the Macy's Thangsgiving Day Parade! sometime in the early 60's.

thanks for the trip down memory lane.

Home ownership is great, but half me wishes to live in a high-rise in South Beach. The nightmares of a renatl don't compare to the bliss of city lights & a water view...

Hi Richard

compare yours to mine....lol

there will be nothing scarer that came to another country without knowing a word to communicate.

how about that Richard   lol

thanks for sharing

jimmy phan

Memories...I was the first kid in our rural area who had a UHF antenna so I could watch all the "new" shows.  All my friends were envious.

I'm with you! And I do believe that home ownership is still the American dream. We need to educate people on the process so they aren't intimidated and teach them the how to get them started

Hi Richard, clever way to build up to your point of buying a home!

Hi Richard, clever way to build up to your point of buying a home!