The glorifcation of homeownership (legal, March, school, compare)
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I've been a renter all my life and will continue to be so until the day that I die. If I want to throw away my money on rent instead of a mortgage, that's my choice. I prefer the freedom and flexibility that comes with renting .
I don't waste two seconds of my time allowing societal pressure to define my American Dream. I define my own American Dream and home ownership is nowhere to be found in my American Dream .
I have two thoughts on home ownership. There is nothing wrong with renting a house or home. I rented when I was young and met many cool people in my appartment life. My wife and I were very fortunate to be allowed to buy a home back in 2004. I love my home. I really do. The issue I have is with the way homes are sold and how the land is never truly owned after being paid off. I will spend 30 years paying off my home. After I pay it off, I will only own the structure, not the land. If I do not pay my property taxes, I loose the right to live in my paid off structure. See how messed up this is?? I could have purchased a double wide manufactured home and rented the land it sits on. With a double wide home, I could at least move it when the time comes. With a site built home, you cannot move your home. In our modern society, the only reason to purchase a home is to have some stability. Your mortgage will never go up, you don't have to move every six months, and you can do anything you want to your home. But, in big picture of things, owning a home is kind of a rip off to the tenth degree. Another reason to buy a home is for people with children. I truly believe the only reason to buy a house is if you have kids. If you are single, do not buy a house. owning a home while a person is single is like being a dog tied to a dog house.
I haven't yet read all the pages worth of posts however if this is "if one rents they're wrong or are poor and or are no good" which is the vibe I get from reading the first few pages - I'll disagree with that. My thoughts are whatever floats one's boat with either renting or purchasing is all good and okay.
One thing that I don't think has been mentioned is that homeownership allows an intergenerational transfer of wealth. That is why there is such a net worth disparity between various population sub-groups.
Immoral?????? It's one of the few tax benefits given to the dwindling middle class.
True, but most middle class taxpayers take the standard deduction, and, thus, don't benefit. Also the deduction applies to second homes (including yachts with living quarters) and is only capped at the first 1 million in mortgage principal for taxpayers filing jointly. The deduction arguably hurts some middle class individuals who don't qualify for the deduction by artificially increasing demand for homes, which raises prices.
The real problem for a dwindling middle class are outsourcing, rising costs of necessities, and increasing compensation for the top 1%.
One thing that I don't think has been mentioned is that homeownership allows an intergenerational transfer of wealth. That is why there is such a net worth disparity between various population sub-groups.
If you mean because that is what most leave behind I agree...
On the other hand... a trust fund or retirement account can easily pass from one generation to the next or even skip a generation.
Around here... few would consider or even want to live in Grandma's home or that of their parents... so many I went to school with own far nicer homes... might not be paid for... than their parents.
The central premise, in my view, is that American culture extols ownership of land and of one's domicile. In many other cultures, for example those of continental Europe, land ownership was for centuries highly restricted, and as a result there isn't the cultural ethos that owning is good and renting is bad.
My area has never seen high real estate appreciation in modern history, and has suffered grievously in the post-2006 downturn. People who bought their houses in the late 1990s still haven't seen their property values recover to the original purchase level. Meanwhile, property taxes keep going up, for reasons mentioned by others earlier in this thread. Maintenance, taxes and insurance on a house that's full paid (mortgage = 0) can equal the rent on a local apartment. And with an apartment, there's no closing-cost or real estate agent fee upon moving out.
On the flip side, low housing prices mean that a house's total price can become small compared on a person's liquid investments. Then the whole issue of housing costs becomes rather moot.
I also take exception to the idea that owner-occupants necessarily take pride in their dwelling and community. I moved to my current location for work-related reasons. My connection to the local community is tenuous at best. I follow the rules and keep to myself. But pride of ownership? Over what? A brick box poking out of the dirt? I've made peace with the lifestyle of home ownership. It is what it is. Put it's not a source of pride or personal satisfaction.
The central premise, in my view, is that American culture extols ownership of land and of one's domicile. In many other cultures, for example those of continental Europe, land ownership was for centuries highly restricted, and as a result there isn't the cultural ethos that owning is good and renting is bad.
My area has never seen high real estate appreciation in modern history, and has suffered grievously in the post-2006 downturn. People who bought their houses in the late 1990s still haven't seen their property values recover to the original purchase level. Meanwhile, property taxes keep going up, for reasons mentioned by others earlier in this thread. Maintenance, taxes and insurance on a house that's full paid (mortgage = 0) can equal the rent on a local apartment. And with an apartment, there's no closing-cost or real estate agent fee upon moving out.
On the flip side, low housing prices mean that a house's total price can become small compared on a person's liquid investments. Then the whole issue of housing costs becomes rather moot.
I also take exception to the idea that owner-occupants necessarily take pride in their dwelling and community. I moved to my current location for work-related reasons. My connection to the local community is tenuous at best. I follow the rules and keep to myself. But pride of ownership? Over what? A brick box poking out of the dirt? I've made peace with the lifestyle of home ownership. It is what it is. Put it's not a source of pride or personal satisfaction.
Lost my 104 neighbor last year.... she was still traveling at 100 to Hawaii by herself every year.
Everyone that knew her said her home kept her going... she was always out hand watering and tending to her plants... had some of the nicest roses anywhere...
I offered to put in drip irrigation for her and she said hand water was very relaxing and gave her time to catch up with the neighbors...
There is no right and wrong...
My own mother loves her yard and the variety of fruit trees she natured from years ago... she always has a bounty and shares with the neighbors and friends... he figs are so well liked that they are sold at the local produce market and she only has 3 Mission Fig trees and boy do they produce.
I worked in Europe for a time and I never met anyone that would turn down owning... property taxes in Austria are very cheap compared to the States...
True, many lived in apartments because this is the reality...
I forget which post is was,but someone mentioned the landlord can raise the rent anytime he wants or by a higher amount when your lease is up.
That may or may not be true. In Nj,we have a cap on how much your landlord can raise you rent.
I thinks its 1%.
Maybe not all areas have a cap on yearly increaes in rent?
Also,as a renter,what's wrong with painting a space I will be using for a year?
How is that making improvements to someone else's property when you actually live there?
Renters like nice settings too. All renters don't live in squalor and don't decorate.
My apt looks a lot better than some homeowners' I know who never decorate.
Lots of homeowners I know treat their property like a rental. They say they aren't going to decorate because they are only going to be here for 5 years then try to sell.
With some Hoa you still can't paint the exterior of your home like you want without permission.
I forget which post is was,but someone mentioned the landlord can raise the rent anytime he wants or by a higher amount when your lease is up.
That may or may not be true. In Nj,we have a cap on how much your landlord can raise you rent.
I thinks its 1%.
Maybe not all areas have a cap on yearly increaes in rent?
Also,as a renter,what's wrong with painting a space I will be using for a year?
How is that making improvements to someone else's property when you actually live there?
Renters like nice settings too. All renters don't live in squalor and don't decorate.
My apt looks a lot better than some homeowners' I know who never decorate.
Lots of homeowners I know treat their property like a rental. They say they aren't going to decorate because they are only going to be here for 5 years then try to sell.
With some Hoa you still can't paint the exterior of your home like you want without permission.
My tenant of 2 years asked if it was ok to sublet her spare bedroom to a very close friend... I said OK
About week after she moved in I get a call asking to repaint the bedroom because it is boring... I told them it was professionally painted with $24 a gallon paint and any changes would have to be changed back if I agreed... didn't hear anything more for two weeks.
My tenant then calls to say her roommate's boyfriend/fiance... the one she had just broken up with wanted her back and then went to Vegas to get married and my tenant asked me to stop by because she didn't know how to explain it to me over the phone.
Anyway... the sublet for 3 weeks had taken out the by pass closet doors, pulled up the 2 year old carpet and had started stenciling a border around the room... carpet and doors were in the garage.
To say I was upset is an understatement...
I had to pay to have new pad and the 2 year old carpet put in and seamed at the door, cleaned because she set it down on an oil puddle from her car that was parked in the garage one night, replace the damage closet rollers she had pried to remove and paint the walls that were stenciled...
So much for improvements and she was a tenant of 3 weeks!
I found out she didn't like carpet and loved hardwood...
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