Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Retirement
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 10-09-2010, 11:29 PM
 
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,632 posts, read 57,651,190 times
Reputation: 46069

Advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by sdreloc View Post
Why would a tenant want to rent a house and still be responsible for property taxes and repairs on something they don't own and also not even get the tax write off for paying property taxes?
positive cash flowing investment prop that is Leased NNN (tenant pays taxes, insurance, utilities, repairs).
This would most likely be a commercial property. I've not heard of many NNN residential (house) props, but I'm sure there are some.

owning / managing commercial properties is MUCH much easier than residential, BUT, the internet world has changed Brick and Mortar investments. There are still some quality RE investments to diversify your portfolio and give you good returns.

The 'write-offs' for home ownership are highly likely to disappear and are not very important to many seniors, since std deduction is currently $18,700 for jt filers.

Lots of folks don't think too kindly of spending $$ to get a fractional deduction.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 10-10-2010, 11:59 AM
 
5,097 posts, read 6,326,610 times
Reputation: 11750
Quote:
Originally Posted by Happy in Wyoming View Post
You'd be gaining the ownership of a house. The reason to own a house is to own a house.

Millions chased the "almighty American dream" and have found it to now be the "almighty American nightmare". Simply to own a house? Hhmm, don't think so... Doesn't add up to me.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-10-2010, 12:30 PM
 
Location: Near a river
16,042 posts, read 21,920,387 times
Reputation: 15773
Quote:
Originally Posted by Happy in Wyoming View Post
You'd be gaining the ownership of a house. The reason to own a house is to own a house.
Sure, but if you're looking for a super cheap house, I'm assuming (perhaps I should not) that you don't have much money, and I was pointing out the TOTAL cost beyond just the mortgage. Especially today when housing is no longer an investment, options should be explored, like renting. You can put money into some other more lucrative investment.

Also, age has a lot to do with the decision about buying any house, cheap or not. If you're in your 40s, makes much more sense to buy. If you're in your 60s, that investment could be used better somewhere else if the house is going to depreciate plus cost, continually, in upgrades and repairs.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-10-2010, 12:45 PM
 
11,155 posts, read 15,939,126 times
Reputation: 29812
Quote:
Originally Posted by brava4 View Post
Millions chased the "almighty American dream" and have found it to now be the "almighty American nightmare". Simply to own a house? Hhmm, don't think so... Doesn't add up to me.
And millions more cashed in on that American Dream.

It may not add up for you, but it certainly did for me. Although in my case, it was more like multiplication rather than addition. As in, I sold my last house for 2 1/2 times what I paid for it, and then used the proceeds to pay cash for the retirement residence I purchased earlier this year. So while you will be paying ever-increasing rent for the rest of your life, I will only be paying a few hundred dollars a month in property tax & HOA fees. Not to mention the fact that I have an asset worth hundreds of thousands of dollars while you have a box full of rental receipts.

And God help the renters if we end up with a period of hyper-inflation once the economy recovers. I remember a period in the late 1970s - early 80s when my apartment rent went from $260 to $350 to $380 to $430 in a period of three years. Meanwhile, my parents were paying about $125 on their 20-year-old mortgage.

But, to each his own.

If you're happy as a renter, that's fine with me. But I wouldn't be so cocksure of yourself over this feeling of schadenfreude you're experiencing over the plight of others who had the misfortune to purchase houses just before real estate prices crashed in some areas; the shoe could be on the other foot in the future.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-10-2010, 12:47 PM
 
5,097 posts, read 6,326,610 times
Reputation: 11750
Quote:
Originally Posted by newenglandgirl View Post
Sure, but if you're looking for a super cheap house, I'm assuming (perhaps I should not) that you don't have much money, and I was pointing out the TOTAL cost beyond just the mortgage. Especially today when housing is no longer an investment, options should be explored, like renting. You can put money into some other more lucrative investment.

Also, age has a lot to do with the decision about buying any house, cheap or not. If you're in your 40s, makes much more sense to buy. If you're in your 60s, that investment could be used better somewhere else if the house is going to depreciate plus cost, continually, in upgrades and repairs.

I agree with your thinking here. I work with a man who is 60, just bought a house and is paying two mortgages AND he took money out of his 401K to help with the down payment. Why? Because he was/is so caught up in that failed belief that you HAVE to own a house, like you haven't "arrived" until you own a house. Now, he works 2 jobs, one being a night shift job that is literally 50 miles from his newly bought home. His other job is 25 miles from the new home and is 5 days a week. On top of it, he is hypertensive, diabetic and obese. Is this death waiting to happen? All because he HAD to own a house. How do you say sucker?? Stupid? It is really sad, actually.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-10-2010, 12:58 PM
 
5,097 posts, read 6,326,610 times
Reputation: 11750
Quote:
Originally Posted by MadManofBethesda View Post
And millions more cashed in on that American Dream.

It may not add up for you, but it certainly did for me. Although in my case, it was more like multiplication rather than addition. As in, I sold my last house for 2 1/2 times what I paid for it, and then used the proceeds to pay cash for the retirement residence I purchased earlier this year. So while you will be paying ever-increasing rent for the rest of your life, I will only be paying a few hundred dollars a month in property tax & HOA fees. Not to mention the fact that I have an asset worth hundreds of thousands of dollars while you have a box full of rental receipts.

And God help the renters if we end up with a period of hyper-inflation once the economy recovers. I remember a period in the late 1970s - early 80s when my apartment rent went from $260 to $350 to $380 to $430 in a period of three years. Meanwhile, my parents were paying about $125 on their 20-year-old mortgage.

But, to each his own.

If you're happy as a renter, that's fine with me. But I wouldn't be so cocksure of yourself over this feeling of schadenfreude you're experiencing over the plight of others who had the misfortune to purchase houses just before real estate prices crashed in some areas; the shoe could be on the other foot in the future.
That is great that it worked out for you. I guess considering the past 5 years and the ominous looking future of the housing industry I will gladly take my chances as a renter. I believe it can work both ways. I have a reasonable rent for my area and I save a ton of money, pre-taxed, and have been quite happy with the results.

Oh and I don't take pleasure in knowing my friends can't sell their houses/condos or that my friends who are real estate agents can't sell anything to make a living. Schadenfreude... not.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-10-2010, 11:42 PM
 
Location: Cody, WY
10,420 posts, read 14,540,881 times
Reputation: 22016
Quote:
Originally Posted by newenglandgirl View Post
Sure, but if you're looking for a super cheap house, I'm assuming (perhaps I should not) that you don't have much money,
O come on now: you know that anyone who lives in the middle of the country has no money, no education, no culture, etc. Thankfully , we have affluent, cultured, educated people like to tell us what is best for us.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-11-2010, 05:18 AM
 
11,155 posts, read 15,939,126 times
Reputation: 29812
Quote:
Originally Posted by Happy in Wyoming View Post
O come on now: you know that anyone who lives in the middle of the country has no money, no education, no culture, etc. Thankfully , we have affluent, cultured, educated people like to tell us what is best for us.
First you made an ass of yourself when you went off on KiwiKate earlier in this thread, and now you completely misconstrued an innocuous comment made by NEG. I'm not sure which is worse: your attitude or your lack of reading comprehension.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-11-2010, 07:15 PM
 
Location: Eastern Washington
17,135 posts, read 56,822,473 times
Reputation: 18420
Hey, to get more or less back on topic - can you say that the desirable but cheap places for retirement homes are:

1 economically depressed - people who need jobs won't/can't live there
2 not well known - not big tourist destinations
3 what else?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-13-2010, 02:57 PM
 
399 posts, read 1,023,622 times
Reputation: 76
So, what is the absolutely cheapest place in the world for an American to retire without giving up American/Western amenities they would be used to having? Parasite-free food and water, modern house/condo/apartment with air conditioning, personal washer/dryer and dishwasher in home, access to broadband speed internet, crime and political stability under control, easy transportation, easy mail and package delivery availability etc..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Retirement

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top