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.
I think that SSDI is calculated as a percentage of SS, wait for you SS policy to mature and you would get more. In terms of retirement, wait until you can get your full SS.
As to a house, pay off your own house; or build own.
For those wh cannot buy a house, rent is never paid off.
Alas I have never earned so little as to not allow me to own a home. Even now in my retirement, my pension is equal to Minimum-Wage and therefore more than enough to own a home.
For those wh cannot buy a house, rent is never paid off.
but the expenses decades later are more than that paid off house . homes when we started to buy them in long island were 30k in the 1970's. those paid off homes now cost those residends 16-20k a year in taxes. so the point is over time that paid off house is a tiny part of the cost of housing you.
paying to live never ends in either case. in the tristate area you can rent for what folks just pay in taxes and maint.
2 roomates sharing an apartment can cost way less than buying . it is never a case of comparing the same house . it is usually a case of most folks buy a bigger house than the aparment they would or could rent.
but the expenses decades later are more than that paid off house . homes when we started to buy them in long island were 30k in the 1970's. those paid off homes now cost those residends 16-20k a year in taxes. so the point is over time that paid off house is a tiny part of the cost of housing you.
paying to live never ends in either case. in the tristate area you can rent for what folks just pay in taxes and maint.
2 roomates sharing an apartment can cost way less than buying . it is never a case of comparing the same house it is usually a case of most folks buy a bigger house than the aparment they would or could rent.
This is an extreme example, the vast majority of Americans don't pay close to 16-20K/ year in taxes. And seeing as modest homes or a 2 bed apartment in my area rents for $1,500/month with annual taxes around $3,000 I highly doubt a home or apartment in your area can rent for less.
I can't see any situation where owning a home outright isn't less expensive than renting. Now if you are willing to add a roommate that changes the equation. Of course you can always add a roommate to a home you own as well to add a monthly income.
Last edited by DaveinMtAiry; 01-06-2015 at 05:59 AM..
This is an extreme example, the vast majority of Americans don't pay close to 16-20K/ year in taxes. And seeing as modest homes or a 2 bed apartment in my area rents for $1,500/month with annual taxes around $3,000 I highly doubt a home or apartment in your area can rent for less.
I agree. I most we have ever paid for property taxes was $5k to 6k. In a city where we would never consider retiring as the COL is so high.
You can retire and own a home with taxes under $1k.
but the expenses decades later are more than that paid off house . homes when we started to buy them in long island were 30k in the 1970's. those paid off homes now cost those residends 16-20k a year in taxes. so the point is over time that paid off house is a tiny part of the cost of housing you.
paying to live never ends in either case. in the tristate area you can rent for what folks just pay in taxes and maint.
2 roomates sharing an apartment can cost way less than buying . it is never a case of comparing the same house . it is usually a case of most folks buy a bigger house than the aparment they would or could rent.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveinMtAiry
This is an extreme example, the vast majority of Americans don't pay close to 16-20K/ year in taxes. And seeing as modest homes or a 2 bed apartment in my area rents for $1,500/month with annual taxes around $3,000 I highly doubt a home or apartment in your area can rent for less.
I can't see any situation where owning a home outright isn't less expensive than renting. Now if you are willing to add a roommate that changes the equation. Of course you can always add a roommate to a home you own as well to add a monthly income.
DaveinMtAiry is correct that the taxes cited by Mathjak are an extreme example, being that he is talking about Long Island. I pay a little over $2800 a year in property taxes on a two-bedroom plus loft, two and a half bath townhouse with a two-car garage and a swimming pool, the latter shared with 25 other home owners. But our complex is now 34 years old, and expenses are steady and more than negligible in order to keep up with maintenance. At that age, in fact starting some years ago, there is wood rot, roof leaks, replacement of pool equipment, and so forth. We have a perimeter fence made of wood, sections of which we had to have rebuilt after letting the repainting go a little too long. (No rest for the weary board members, of which I am one.)
That doesn't even count stuff which the individual homeowners have to pay for directly themselves (as opposed to through their HOA fees): Heating/air conditioning units, water heaters, interior painting and re-carpeting, plumbing repairs, etc.
So Mathjak's point about continuing expenses is valid despite his extreme example of property taxes, namely that there are continuing expenses with home ownership. However, I don't think that home ownership is more expensive than renting in the long run in most cases. For one thing, the owner of the rental unit(s) has the same expenses (taxes, maintenance) which he has to recover through the rents, so the renter is ultimately paying those expenses. One main difference is the renter doesn't get large, nasty surprises and doesn't have the hassle of choosing and dealing with contractors.
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.