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Let's be real here. Homes are for people with kids to raise them in. They are not a good investment for people with no kids to live in. Before anybody shouts out equity I will tell you this.
1. You'd get better equity by living in a cheap apartment and investing any extra money in the stock market and proudly watch it grow for 10/20 years. Screw a investment where you pay property taxes and any maintenance is on your dime. Yeah I said it.
2. When you live alone you don't need as much personal space. This makes apartment living superior to the single individual.
3. It is a myth that houses are assets. They aren't. Just stop paying the taxes on that home and see how fast Uncle Sam steals it from underneath you. The only real assets In life are your investments, the money you save at the bank, and your job. Anything else your just renting for a fixed amount of time (with the car being the only exception).
Just my opinion on why homes are a bad investment for single people and why renting for those people is a better option.
Could not disagree more... and I bought all of my real estate while single.
Bought my first home at age 22 in the SF Bay Area and never looked back... still own it today as a rental.
I owe all my financial success to home ownership...
Real Estate in the Bay Area is insane. It does not represent the rest of the country.
You play the cards you are dealt.
Born and raised in the SF Bay Area and Real Estate has been very good to me.
I had a simple plan and that was buy a home ASAP
Worked paying into Social Security since age 12... saved my money, earned my degree and at age 22 bought my first home... it was scheduled to for a condemnation hearing and I was able to thwart that by buying it... moved in, cleaned and repaired as money allowed... found another project home and rented out the first.
No secrete really... just kept repeating every 1 to 2 years... single and no big income to back me up.
Do have to say that my friends in Seattle have done similar... it is not just the SF Bay Area that can be lucrative...
Don't get me wrong... I love renters and hope many will continue renting because I need renters for my business model to thrive.
Single guy who is about to close on a home. 3 bed/2 bath in a great neighborhood. My total mortgage + insurance + taxes is what my rent last year (and it is going up 4-5% this year). I can afford it comfortably, but I also have the option to rent out a room (or two) if I want for extra $$$. The same house in this neighborhood rents for nearly 1.5-2x my monthly payment.
This isn't my forever home, and yeah, I will meet someone and maybe have to sell it. But you know what? I am paying myself and investing in myself. Plus, I can change the house as I see fit.
There are also intangibles to home ownerships that online calculators can never take into account. There is a reason why people who are wealthy are most likely those that own a home and don't rent an overpriced "luxury apartment."
Let's be real here. Homes are for people with kids to raise them in. They are not a good investment for people with no kids to live in. Before anybody shouts out equity I will tell you this.
1. You'd get better equity by living in a cheap apartment and investing any extra money in the stock market and proudly watch it grow for 10/20 years. Screw a investment where you pay property taxes and any maintenance is on your dime. Yeah I said it.
2. When you live alone you don't need as much personal space. This makes apartment living superior to the single individual.
3. It is a myth that houses are assets. They aren't. Just stop paying the taxes on that home and see how fast Uncle Sam steals it from underneath you. The only real assets In life are your investments, the money you save at the bank, and your job. Anything else your just renting for a fixed amount of time (with the car being the only exception).
Just my opinion on why homes are a bad investment for single people and why renting for those people is a better option.
Except the dating game is so much better when you have your own place. So much better.
Girls pick up on the difference of:
Why don't you come over to my place and I'll make you dinner.
vs
Why don't you come over to my house and I'll make you dinner.
Material...whatever. Ladies like a guy that has his house in order.
If you have a great deal with a private owner, that's a good thing...but there are still no guarantees....your "deal" depends on their finances, their health, and perhaps their employment and family decisions (marriage/divorce/kids)...Enjoy it wall you can...and like the people that quit paying their mortgages for 2-4 years, before eviction....they just couldn't pile up some savings....OTOH, apartment complexes are owned by large corporations (often REITs), who answer to their shareholders. Anyone on their staff is their to maximize rent and profits. If the computer tells them to raise rent; your rent will go up. They get you coming and going. Thankfully, there is some consumer protection for tenants...but don't have the false sense that you can pick up the phone and call maintenance 24/7....they keep records of that, too, and multiple service calls will surely generate rent increases, if not, refusal to renew. And then there are those who always think moving costs are free, or simply a one day U-haul rental....taking advantage of your friends isn't a good idea, and if your time is worth anything; it is a ton of hard work.
Not to mention a mere 3% increase each year still doubles your rent in 30 years and wouldn't be considered gouging by anyone.
A mortgage payment goes away entirely in 30 years and you have an asset to sell/borrow against etc.
A one br studio works out for me just fine. As a minimalist everything I own could fit into a regular sized suitcase. A several bedroom house would be total overkill for me since most of it would end up empty and unused. My dream is to eventually buy an RV to live in and travel the country. A suburbanite life is just not good for a single person like me who likes to meet people and socialize. Suburbs are more for settled down people with families.
Is that really 'living' though? Its called 'surviving'. I agree homes for investment appreciation will be really lousy going forward. But since you are going to pay either way, youre better off buying - but just buy something small.
So what if youre single and in the suburbs and want to socialize. Ive had plenty of 'social gatherings' at my house when I owned as a single person. There's plenty of singles in most suburbs. Homeownership is a plus with girls btw.
And yet I see Mr. Flava presenting his current position as though it were written in stone. Short memory, Mr. Flava? Or something else?
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