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A true economic analysis of a housing "investment" has to look at more than just asset value over time. There are things like tax savings from property tax and mortgage interest deductions, imputed rent, etc. It's not quite as simple as saying "I bought it for X, sold it for Y, therefore the benefit to me is Y-X."
And of course, people make investments that are not expected to increase in value, but still have economic benefit (e.g., dividends, tax losses, depreciation deductions, etc.) And then there are assets that actually generate "losses" and yet still throw off a positive cash flow.
The laughable reality is that even though my old house has probably declined 100K from when I sold it, it is still bringing in about 3 times what I paid for it. The house was immaculate as were my neighbors as was the community. If you didn't keep it up you were in big trouble. No boats, no rec vehicles and the lawns all mowed and the housing colors all uniform. Were the covenants a reasonable trade off? For this retired transplant you better believe it. Had it not been for the covenants I might have still been working on my 60th birthday.
The laughable reality is that even though my old house has probably declined 100K from when I sold it, it is still bringing in about 3 times what I paid for it. The house was immaculate as were my neighbors as was the community. If you didn't keep it up you were in big trouble. No boats, no rec vehicles and the lawns all mowed and the housing colors all uniform. Were the covenants a reasonable trade off? For this retired transplant you better believe it. Had it not been for the covenants I might have still been working on my 60th birthday.
Sometimes people don't have longevity in market to see the long term trend and value.
Sometimes people just ignore what has happened in the many years they have lived.
It is hard to be retired and have owned a home for a long time and to not have a mortgage payment and not appreciated the investment value of home ownership. Even if you are still living in your old home and have the mortgage paid off that is a biggie. If you are trying to sell in this market to retire you know your neighbors are impacting that choice if you want to sell cash out and move on.
HOA's are an issue that can go to the personality of the buyer. Many folks are not comfortable signing a contract with a corporate entity where they feel they are forfeiting many of their property owner rights. Yes, CC&R's can vary greatly and it is the responsibility of the buyer to read and agree or walk. It's the subjectivity of the boards that many are not comfortable with. I've been there and am done with HOA's. Had to experience it to know they're not for me.
Well, it's good that you did such extensive research before disqualifying half the houses in the Triangle (and a ton of really nice neighborhoods).
Glad you think so. When I buy a house, I want to live in it knowing that it is MY house and I am free to do whatever I want, within reason. I'm not going to sign my life away to a bunch of old ballsacks that have nothing better to do with their lives.
Glad you think so. When I buy a house, I want to live in it knowing that it is MY house and I am free to do whatever I want, within reason. I'm not going to sign my life away to a bunch of old ballsacks that have nothing better to do with their lives.
That is why you need to read the restrictions very carefully....really.....most are very normal and hardly restrictive. Yes, some are over the top, so you avoid those, but to dismiss all HOAs because of those few....well...it's short sighted to say the least.
Our covenants say 1 dog and 1 cat are allowed per house yet the president has 3 dogs. The HOA here doesn't do jack but take the $$.
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