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That said, I do think people should start looking less at home ownership as an investment and more of a place to call home. In today’s mobile society though, those days are gone.
That said, I do think people should start looking less at home ownership as an investment and more of a place to call home. In today’s mobile society though, those days are gone.
I think that the way home ownership has been sold as an "investment" has been a big scam. Your own home is never an investment, because you can't exit the market easily if you expect it to drop. The mentality that a home is an "investment" has led people to buy bigger homes than they need or can afford, in the hope of getting greater appreciation. But higher appreciation, if it happens, is wiped out by higher ownership costs in the interim.
Another big scam is telling people that they can use the equity in their home by borrowing against it. Too many people have done that, blown the money, and ended up with a huge mortgage. Using the equity is losing it.
As far as commuting goes, my Fairfield to New York City commute is about as much as I would ever want to do, especially with the deteriorated state of Metro North with its significantly lengthened travel times.
My commute has gotten considerably worse in the last 8 years or so, with the deteriorating service on Metro North, and it is coming perilously close to 2 hours in each direction. I hate it and can't wait to retire. It's really too late in my career to make a change that would make my commute better, so I just have to tough it out until the time comes to end my working days.
That said, I do think people should start looking less at home ownership as an investment and more of a place to call home. In today’s mobile society though, those days are gone.
No. But I also don’t commute 5 days a week and I’m very close to train at both ends of commute. It’s about 105 minutes.
I could not add a subway to my commute. As long as I’m a short walk to GCT and get decent time off and work from home days (or work travel), I’m good. I could never get this salary or opportunity level anywhere else.
I do hope they go back to the train speeds of 5-6 years ago. From Milford, it was 10-15 minutes faster. There was an ~80 minute express in the morning and less than 80 minute express in the evening. Unfortunately there are many upgrades to be done before they up the speeds again, but someone I know that’s “in the know” said they may speed back up by 2020/2021.
Considering that all you get when renting is a pile of receipts, I would be happy with that and the equity built up too. Not sure what people expect. Jay
I think that the way home ownership has been sold as an "investment" has been a big scam. Your own home is never an investment, because you can't exit the market easily if you expect it to drop. The mentality that a home is an "investment" has led people to buy bigger homes than they need or can afford, in the hope of getting greater appreciation. But higher appreciation, if it happens, is wiped out by higher ownership costs in the interim.
Another big scam is telling people that they can use the equity in their home by borrowing against it. Too many people have done that, blown the money, and ended up with a huge mortgage. Using the equity is losing it.
As far as commuting goes, my Fairfield to New York City commute is about as much as I would ever want to do, especially with the deteriorated state of Metro North with its significantly lengthened travel times.
It depends upon what your view of an " investment" means. It can mean different things to different people. The investment of all the time spent in long commutes can have rewards for those that see the value. Others may not think it is worth it. Earlier in my life I had experiences with long commutes , and eventually was able to get down to under a half hour the last several decades, so I am familiar with both sides.
In regards to housing, the investment can be viewed as having a place to live once the mortgage is paid off rent free. Of course there will always be utilities and taxes, but once the principal is retired, the cost of living is reduced substantially. The strategy is long term, similar to investment in the stock market. If the chance or need to is to get in and out of markets frequently is present, then the investment strategy is not the same.
The need to buy a bigger home may well have a foundation in the marketing of bigger is better, however there are also many others factors. A growing family, hobbies, in home business opportunities, aging parents moving in, the list goes on and on. I find it best not to generalize such matters .
The same thing applies to Home equity loans. Blowing the money has nothing to do with the source of the money, but everything to do with behavior and lack of discipline. A Home Equity line can be a valuable resource when used correctly . It is a tool just like other financial tools and can be used wisely.
But that is not a loss of $700,000. It’s not even half that. Jay
I see one house on Zillow using their 10 yr historical valuation chart that had a paper valuation decrease in that range. Its literally the top of the market for Southbury.
That said, I do think people should start looking less at home ownership as an investment and more of a place to call home. In today’s mobile society though, those days are gone.
I bought in December 2009. My best guess based on price per square foot is that the house without remodeling appreciated 37%. That's in a Massachusetts South Coast economic wasteland zip code too far from the Boston job market. If you put it next to Boston commuter rail with a 45 minute ride to South Station, the price would have doubled. Like usual, location, location, location.
In my view, a house is discretionary spending to improve your quality of life. If you want to die with the biggest pot of gold, you'd live in a dirtbag studio apartment in a sketchy neighborhood and invest the difference. For my personal mental health, I need to live somewhere where I feel good about it when I walk in the door.
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Jay
