Why single people should never buy a house. (percentage, inexpensive, financial)
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One high income makes it easier to afford a house, and many families have a single wage earner. Your point is invalid. More money makes it easier, it doesn't matter where that money comes from.
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.
You're partly right and partly wrong.
It all depends on the context and circumstances. My first house - bought almost 40 years ago before I was married - was a fixer-upper. Paid $8,000 for it, busted my balls fixing it up, and 2 years later sold it for $42,000.
Not everybody would have the opportunity, and not everybody would be able to do the work.
Again, it all depends on the circumstances and context.
Somebody in this thread said: "Your only real assets are your investments, the money you save at the bank, and your job." Like investments in Enron or General Motors stock, bank deposits that are being eroded by inflation, and a job where you're laid-off after spending your savings on relocating.
Spend your money on yourself. As Henry Ford put it, a young man should NOT be saving money. Apartment living can be great for the social life. If you want more space and privacy, buy a house. The cost is the same, nowadays. You can sell a house in less time than it takes to run out a year lease.
This whole thread seems to assume that there are only two options for living: renting an apartment, or owning a single family home.
There's a whole world in-between. Just as there is a whole world between single and married.
Agreed. That was the point I was making earlier but you've stated it more frankly.
Owning a condo as a single person works financially for the better for me than renting an apartment did....by an impressive margin.
Owning and maintaining a single family house would probably break even at best.
If the point is "renting is a better financial decision than owning for a single person".....then I'd say that is a false blanket-statement. If it is that "renting an apartment is better financially than owning a single-family house" for a single person.....there's more of an argument to be made for that but there's still room for interpretation .
I didn't end up getting a house until after I was married, but if circumstances had worked out differently I absolutely would've bought one on my own. Since I'm child-free for life by choice, I certainly resent any implication that houses are just for people who want to raise children in them.
Here housing prices are very reasonable and one professional income is more than enough to buy a decent place if you manage your money responsibly. We only pay a bit over $950 a month (including property taxes and insurance) and a house like this would rent for $1200-$1400/mo, so I'm saving a ton of money even not including equity.
Sure, you can rent a decent apartment for $750-$800/mo, but apartment living made me completely, totally miserable, even when I was single. My large dog made it hard to find places, not having a yard to let him out in was a huge inconvenience, and I was constantly disturbed by noise from neighbors. I partially work from home so space, quiet, and privacy are extremely important to me. Maintenance was never done in the way I wanted and I couldn't make the customizations I wanted to the space.
Obviously this is all personal stuff and the renting lifestyle works great for some, but it doesn't work for me.
Some areas the payments are equal to rent and fixed until paid off, rents continue to rise year after year.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Europeanflava
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.
.
I'm in an odd area where buying makes sense. I pay $538 on a 15 year note. It is a nice older 2 bedroom home with detached garage. I could find cheaper rent in a sketchy area or a rundown complex. Plus I got tired of renting. I was in my late 20s and felt like I was still in college listening to noisy upstairs neighbors.
It is a myth that monthly payments on mortgages stay the same,especially when you include ever increasing property taxes.
Has anyone in the history of the Usa ever have their property taxes stay the same?
No.
My sister's monthly payments started at $1500/month in 2009;her monthly payment ballooned to $1731/month in January of this year.
So yes,it is a myth monthly mortgage payments with property taxes stay the same.
Tell the whole story,not half of it!
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Not always
