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A year ago my stepson, at 22 bought a huge (to me) house (2,400sf) with his 21yo wife. They are completely house poor. He painted 3 rooms (kitchen, dining rm, family rm) including him deciding that he didn't like the textured ceilings and attempted to sand it down in the huge family room. He hasn't done anything else in the house. Didn't even paint the bedrooms before moving in....closed on a Thursday and moved in on Saturday. Family room has a new $4,000 leather sectional that he sat on with wet paint on his clothes, a big flatscreen TV, and an upright piano that the seller abandoned when they moved out. The living room is bare. They bought a dining set. That is all they have on the main floor of an 2400sf house. Their daughter has about a 14 by 18 room as a playroom. They both drive crap cars. He took a work assignment 3 hours away and has come home one weekend in the 2 months he has been gone. She went up there once with their child. Not sure if he's wiped out by the work schedule (renovating a ship or submarine working 10 hour shifts), or if it's relationship related, but he's close enough to drive down early on a Sunday morning and drive back on Sunday night to see his daughter if he wanted to. But I veered off course from the topic.... They bought too much house, too soon IMO. They financed 97% of it because "they had to have it".
I see this all the time. People buying big houses they probably can't afford and end up bending over backwards to pay the mortgage and don't have furniture in their house so you have this giant living room and dining room with a sofa and small table and that's it. At least they're young though and learning the hard way now instead of down the road.
I don't see how buying a house is any sort of investment unless you have a big down payment or could buy with cash.
I got really into the idea of buying a home for a while but couldn't really justify it after running the numbers. What you spend on interest alone is insane and you'd have to live there a long time to make it worth it.
You could get lucky and have housing prices shoot way up, of course. But looking at the trends and how prices have changed over the last decade, it didn't seem like that was going to happen, and it wasn't really a gamble I wanted to take.
I think having to do the maintenance alone would make it not worth it.
The one major benefit I see is being able to do what you want with the house and grow a garden over the years. But if you're like me and you get bored in one area and want the freedom to go anywhere and everywhere, it's a really bad option.
I'll be inheriting money in the future, so when that time comes (and I pray it's a long way off), I'll reassess my goals.
There are a lot of positives to owning a house but I kind of don't like the idea that it's throwing money away to rent. It's not. You're paying for a place to live and sleep one month at a time. I can understand the "throwing money away" mentality because I've had it myself at times. But it really doesn't make sense. It might make a bit more sense if you have children you can pass these resources down to. But as a single childfree person, my life is just my life. When I'm gone, nothing will matter, really. So I don't really see the point of trying to cultivate all this wealth. I'm more focused on living in the moment and enjoying my life with as little stress as possible, and renting a nice apartment with all the amenities (and emergency maintenance) seems the best for that.
Great post! Actually, the term "ownership" is deceptive. No one truly "owns" their home. When a person purchases a house they are basically paying "rent to the bank." Try not paying the "rent" or "property taxes" and see who "owns" that home. My sister got rid of her home a few years ago and said she "never felt so free." With renting everything is pretty much taken care of. If the boiler breaks, something happens to the roofing, cutting the lawn, etc. I'm not against buying a home; however, I'm not fooled by the hype either. Especially today. Many people are going to be caught with homes with little or no equity nearly impossible to sell or keep as the financial situation continues to diminish. Nonetheless, I agree with the advantages of home ownership that you stated. And what's good about your post is that well...you make perfect sense! Good luck in your future endeavors!
we were awarded a house in a tax lien sale a few years ago ... we really just wanted the 18% interest and expected it to be paid off but they ended up just letting the house go along with whatever money they had in it .
Great post! Actually, the term "ownership" is deceptive. No one truly "owns" their home. When a person purchases a house they are basically paying "rent to the bank." Try not paying the "rent" or "property taxes" and see who "owns" that home. My sister got rid of her home a few years ago and said she "never felt so free." With renting everything is pretty much taken care of. If the boiler breaks, something happens to the roofing, cutting the lawn, etc. I'm not against buying a home; however, I'm not fooled by the hype either. Especially today. Many people are going to be caught with homes with little or no equity nearly impossible to sell or keep as the financial situation continues to diminish. Nonetheless, I agree with the advantages of home ownership that you stated. And what's good about your post is that well...you make perfect sense! Good luck in your future endeavors!
LOL
This "No one owns a house" hysteria has been posted here on and off for years.
Great post! Actually, the term "ownership" is deceptive. No one truly "owns" their home. When a person purchases a house they are basically paying "rent to the bank." Try not paying the "rent" or "property taxes" and see who "owns" that home. My sister got rid of her home a few years ago and said she "never felt so free." With renting everything is pretty much taken care of. If the boiler breaks, something happens to the roofing, cutting the lawn, etc. I'm not against buying a home; however, I'm not fooled by the hype either. Especially today. Many people are going to be caught with homes with little or no equity nearly impossible to sell or keep as the financial situation continues to diminish. Nonetheless, I agree with the advantages of home ownership that you stated. And what's good about your post is that well...you make perfect sense! Good luck in your future endeavors!
Ownership is not deceptive, you can buy a home for $50K and the area can improve and it's worth $100K in 3 years. You can take that money and buy a home in a less expensive area. With rent you have instability, no security, rent prices can go up tenfold if they want. Your lease can not be renewed.
If you can sell it ownership is real.
I can do whatever I want in my house. I don't need permission to add a closet or paint or do what I want.
When you own no one else has a key to your home or access to it. A landlord can get into your home if they deem there is an emergency such as a problem in the unit below or next to yours. If they want to get in every month all they have to do is get a contract with an extermination company and they can enter once a month as long as the super or landlord lets them in with their key.
Ownership is not deceptive, you can buy a home for $50K and the area can improve and it's worth $100K in 3 years. You can take that money and buy a home in a less expensive area. With rent you have instability, no security, rent prices can go up tenfold if they want. Your lease can not be renewed.
If you can sell it ownership is real.
7 out of 9 tenants we had were paid 100k each for their leases back so we could sell the co-op apartments once they left ... they made out nicely .... that is standard operation here when landlords want stabilized tenants out , they buy them out .
I see this all the time. People buying big houses they probably can't afford and end up bending over backwards to pay the mortgage and don't have furniture in their house so you have this giant living room and dining room with a sofa and small table and that's it. At least they're young though and learning the hard way now instead of down the road.
Who cares if they have small furniture that's their issue. If they can't afford it or bought too big or too expensive of a house that's their mistake and stupidity.
Great post! Actually, the term "ownership" is deceptive. No one truly "owns" their home. When a person purchases a house they are basically paying "rent to the bank." Try not paying the "rent" or "property taxes" and see who "owns" that home. My sister got rid of her home a few years ago and said she "never felt so free." With renting everything is pretty much taken care of. If the boiler breaks, something happens to the roofing, cutting the lawn, etc. I'm not against buying a home; however, I'm not fooled by the hype either. Especially today. Many people are going to be caught with homes with little or no equity nearly impossible to sell or keep as the financial situation continues to diminish. Nonetheless, I agree with the advantages of home ownership that you stated. And what's good about your post is that well...you make perfect sense! Good luck in your future endeavors!
Yes you can consider it rent to the bank, but that rent never goes up. When I was paying $600 for a one bedroom apartment my father was paying less than $300 a month for the mortgage on his house because he was almost done paying for it.
When you rent you are paying the landlords mortgage plus their profit.
Also not everyone who owns a home pay anything to a bank. Some people own their homes outright. My mortgage costs me about 1/3 of what the home would rent for.
The only reason I rented was because I could not afford to buy at the time.
Great post! Actually, the term "ownership" is deceptive. No one truly "owns" their home. When a person purchases a house they are basically paying "rent to the bank." Try not paying the "rent" or "property taxes" and see who "owns" that home. My sister got rid of her home a few years ago and said she "never felt so free." With renting everything is pretty much taken care of. If the boiler breaks, something happens to the roofing, cutting the lawn, etc. I'm not against buying a home; however, I'm not fooled by the hype either. Especially today. Many people are going to be caught with homes with little or no equity nearly impossible to sell or keep as the financial situation continues to diminish. Nonetheless, I agree with the advantages of home ownership that you stated. And what's good about your post is that well...you make perfect sense! Good luck in your future endeavors!
The person you quoted doesn't really understand how home ownership even works.
I don't see how buying a house is any sort of investment unless you have a big down payment or could buy with cash.
What? You can get an FHA loan for 3.5% down. Get a good FHA in a growing area and you're set.
You could get lucky and have housing prices shoot way up, of course.
That's called equity...look it up.
But if you're like me and you get bored in one area and want the freedom to go anywhere and everywhere, it's a really bad option.
That's when you become a landlord yourself and rent out your house and have someone else pay down your mortgage for you.... (assuming you do thorough background checks on tenants).
There are a lot of positives to owning a house but I kind of don't like the idea that it's throwing money away to rent. It's not. You're paying for a place to live and sleep one month at a time. I can understand the "throwing money away" mentality because I've had it myself at times. But it really doesn't make sense. I'm more focused on living in the moment and enjoying my life with as little stress as possible, and renting a nice apartment with all the amenities (and emergency maintenance) seems the best for that.
Renting isn't really throwing money away, but you'll never see it again and your rent can always get upped yearly if the landlord wants to or...you can be kicked out whenever if the landlord decides to sell.
Great post! Actually, the term "ownership" is deceptive. No one truly "owns" their home. When a person purchases a house they are basically paying "rent to the bank." Try not paying the "rent" or "property taxes" and see who "owns" that home. My sister got rid of her home a few years ago and said she "never felt so free." With renting everything is pretty much taken care of. If the boiler breaks, something happens to the roofing, cutting the lawn, etc. I'm not against buying a home; however, I'm not fooled by the hype either. Especially today. Many people are going to be caught with homes with little or no equity nearly impossible to sell or keep as the financial situation continues to diminish. Nonetheless, I agree with the advantages of home ownership that you stated. And what's good about your post is that well...you make perfect sense! Good luck in your future endeavors!
My father who owns the home he bought in the mid 70s does he not own his home. In fact he could not afford to rent the home he now owns, he would have to move to a cheaper state or try to find a small one bedroom in a worse area to afford to live where he does.
A guy I know who has several properties a few that he inherited from a friend that passes away which he rents out the 3/2 homes out to as rooms to 3 different people, and makes a profit on them, does he not own his home?
This is actually the most bizarre argument. I've heard that the lame excuse that you don't own it because you have to pay property taxes, but guess what when you rent you pay them in your rent too. It's all factored in when you rent, taxes, insurance, maintenance, yard work, and profit to the landlord who according to you doesn't own the home either. So you pay all that, you get less space usually renting or pay more than buying the same property and you have nothing to show for it but temporary shelter with zero chance to make a profit or ever stop paying.
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