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Maybe it is not for everyone. My wife and I love owning a home. Yes we like the stability of owning a home.
Our jobs are here. We are in healthcare and do not see them moving the hospital anytime soon. We are building a new hospital and from looking at the footings and the 80 million lbs of concrete we poured in the ground along with the 325 miles of Rebar I don't see the new hospital moving anytime soon.
We are involved with our kids schools. The high school Boosters invited us to join them. Our youngest will finish in 11 more years. We don't plan on leaving anytime before that point.
The part of the world we live is a destination place for other people. We live within 3 miles of the ocean and seeing the water and the Channel Islands is a normal part of my day. Temperatures are in the mild range year round. This is the kind of place you could retire to and live out your days.
To top it off we love our home and the neighborhood. It is a great place to raise a family and a great place to spend a life.
I don't get it. I'm 51 and with a child. I'm involved in my community and my daughter's school. I love the area I live in and I've owned and rented here for over seven years. None of what you wrote has to be done as a homeowner. And just because you live in a "destination" area, it has nothing to do with stability. In fact, when I've lived in "destination," vacation or retiree areas they were far more transient than any other place I've lived. And there are plenty of people that work at hospitals or other very, very permanent companies and they rent as well. In fact, the company that I work for has been around for over 150 years. I'm sorry but you don't make the case for owning a home or that you are more "stable" than renters.
I love making home improvements knowing that I will see a good return on my investment. For instance, a couple of years ago we landscaped our backyard - and for every dollar we put into it, our home increased in value the same amount. So - our yard looks TERRIFIC and we should be able to recoup our expenses. I like that!
I like that I can paint a wall, tear down a wall, put up a wall, move a wall, anytime I want to. I like that I can enjoy two 70 pound dogs and one 17 pound cat without having to worry about a pet deposit or whether or not my landlord will find out that I have a pet. I like that I live in a neighborhood of quality homes with lots of terrific insulation and that my neighbors can have a pool party next door and I can't hear a bit of it from inside my house. And vice versa. I like that I can get a wild hair and decide to move furniture around or hang pictures at 3 am and I'm not bothering anyone.
I love the tax deductions, which make a big difference in what we owe in taxes each year.
I like the space we have, the privacy, the quiet, and the comfort.
I like the restrictions our neighborhood has in place which help keep our home values stable.
I like getting to know my neighbors and cultivating those friendships over the years, because people tend to move here and stay here since the neighborhood is so pleasant and the economy here is pretty healthy.
the great thing about owning a house is its a large asset that a crook can't steal. If you have money in the bank, someone can steal your identity and clean out your accounts, if you have your life savings in your mattress, you can get robbed and be broke, if you buy stocks the market can crash and your investment can go in the tank, etc.
the great thing about owning a house is its a large asset that a crook can't steal. If you have money in the bank, someone can steal your identity and clean out your accounts, if you have your life savings in your mattress, you can get robbed and be broke, if you buy stocks the market can crash and your investment can go in the tank, etc.
You might want to rethink that. Just saw a news story where these people (who owned their home) left for a few months to another state for work and got a phone call from a neighbor congratulating them on the sale of their house. Thing is, they didn't have it up for sale.
Turns out a crook had noticed people weren't there so he listed it for sale,sold it and the "buyers" moved in. The crook filed for adverse possession and the poor actual owners have now been fighting for months trying to get these dirtbags out of their house via the courts and eviction.
So yes, it is possible for a crook to steal R.E.
I would just add that both the concept of "home owning" as well as "stability" can both be states of mind.
I remember a neighbor of mine who was very much into "flipping" houses. Yes, he "owned" the house (or houses) but not in the sense some folks use the term here. I have also known people who have owned their house, but apart from seeing the car in the driveway a person would never know anyone was home. When I think of stability thats not the situation that comes to mind. Know what I mean?
I don't get it. I'm 51 and with a child. I'm involved in my community and my daughter's school. I love the area I live in and I've owned and rented here for over seven years. None of what you wrote has to be done as a homeowner. And just because you live in a "destination" area, it has nothing to do with stability. In fact, when I've lived in "destination," vacation or retiree areas they were far more transient than any other place I've lived. And there are plenty of people that work at hospitals or other very, very permanent companies and they rent as well. In fact, the company that I work for has been around for over 150 years. I'm sorry but you don't make the case for owning a home or that you are more "stable" than renters.
I never said you could not do any of those things as a renter. What I was aluding to was the fact that we are inbedded into the community and have no desire to leave or move on. The area offers what we want and plenty of benefits for us. Our plan is to stay where we are and a big part of that is owning some of the realestate within the community in which we live.
In my ealier post I mentioned reasons why we love being a part of our community. We live in an area with 300,000 other people, many of them home owners, and many that are renters. We had been renters for many years within this area we live in. The only thing that kept us from buying in the past was high prices. The biggest reason for buying was that owning was starting to cost less than rent. We have no intention of going anywhere and for us it made more sence to buy than to rent.
In years past part of showing those around you that you were stable was in buying a home of your own. When business was more local you would show your employer that you planned on being a part of the company for many years to come by buying a home and becoming a part of the community.
I am currently reading a book called the "Middle Class Millionaire". To be a part of this group of people you need to have a net worth of $1million to $10million. These are people that own homes. They believe in the community that they live in and that faith in the community drives them to own a home within that community. The majority of this group also own businesses in the community they choose to call home. They don't plan on leaving but building a life within their community. If you plan on staying in a community for a lifetime, why would you want to pay rent for 30 or 40 years when you could pay off a home and live rent free one day.
I am currently reading a book called the "Middle Class Millionaire". To be a part of this group of people you need to have a net worth of $1million to $10million. These are people that own homes. They believe in the community that they live in and that faith in the community drives them to own a home within that community. The majority of this group also own businesses in the community they choose to call home. They don't plan on leaving but building a life within their community. If you plan on staying in a community for a lifetime, why would you want to pay rent for 30 or 40 years when you could pay off a home and live rent free one day.
I'd say a lot of those giving advice to me would fit the above description...
As a kid... I worked after school and weekends at a specialty auto parts and restoration company.. it was a way for me to pay for the parts I needed to restore my Model A Ford...
These guys were always willing to take a minute to answer a question or two from the kid... most told me Real Estate was what I needed to get into... their only regret was not starting sooner... that is why I bought my first home while still in college... one scheduled for condemnation.
Some said the warehouse, or shop, store, supply yards were often time more valuable then the business... they would often retire and sell the business and keep the property as income property...
These guys were not into over the top ostentatious... most lived in nice tract homes with a mix of neighbors from school teachers, nurses, postman, utility workers and a butcher in the mix.
Most drove pick-ups... they were active in youth programs, church and civic groups like Rotary/Kiwanis.
They are all business owners, contractors, retail, wholesale, manufacturing, etc...
Business has always been the way to establish a beachhead... with risk come rewards.
On the flip side... I have seen what happens the family nest egg when those that built the business pass on and the heirs are in charge... it's a rare small business that makes it through the third generation...
I love making home improvements knowing that I will see a good return on my investment.
If your house's fair market value increases by an amount equal to the cost of doing the renovation, that is a return on investment of 0%. You can do much better in mutual funds. I'd take 9% per year over 0% in a heartbeat.
But actually your return is negative, once you factor in increased property tax, insurance, maintenance/repair, and depreciation (By this I mean, depreciation of the renovation, not the house. Home improvements are in fact depreciating assets, as a consumer will prefer a newly remodeled house over one remodeled , say, 20 years ago, all else equal).
If your primary reason for doing the renovation is non-financial (e.g. you enjoy the aesthetics) then you could very well have done the right thing. But don't go around calling it an "investment" if it has a nearly guaranteed negative return.
Something that you obtain at a financial cost for non-financial reasons is a consumer product, not an investment. In this sense it is more like a book, a computer, a car, or toothpaste than it is like a mutual fund.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KathrynAragon
I like that I can paint a wall, tear down a wall, put up a wall, move a wall, anytime I want to. I like that I can enjoy two 70 pound dogs and one 17 pound cat without having to worry about a pet deposit or whether or not my landlord will find out that I have a pet. I like that I live in a neighborhood of quality homes with lots of terrific insulation and that my neighbors can have a pool party next door and I can't hear a bit of it from inside my house. And vice versa. I like that I can get a wild hair and decide to move furniture around or hang pictures at 3 am and I'm not bothering anyone.
I love the tax deductions, which make a big difference in what we owe in taxes each year.
I like the space we have, the privacy, the quiet, and the comfort.
I like the restrictions our neighborhood has in place which help keep our home values stable.
I like getting to know my neighbors and cultivating those friendships over the years, because people tend to move here and stay here since the neighborhood is so pleasant and the economy here is pretty healthy.
the great thing about owning a house is its a large asset that a crook can't steal. If you have money in the bank, someone can steal your identity and clean out your accounts, if you have your life savings in your mattress, you can get robbed and be broke, if you buy stocks the market can crash and your investment can go in the tank, etc.
And if you have a house it can get flooded, damaged by vandals, lose value, cause you to miss out on a job opportunity because you can't relocate, etc.
Nothing in life is truly risk free.
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