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Old 04-11-2016, 02:13 AM
 
28,107 posts, read 63,385,620 times
Reputation: 23222

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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheGreatCurve View Post
Agreed. Almost everything else you own loses value over time and the more you use it, e.g., cars, TVs, computers, cell phones, appliances, clothing, furniture, cookware, etc. So why is an old, used, outdated house worth 40 times more than its original purchase price? It makes no sense. Does that happen with anything else that you've owned for 50 years that's not an antique or rare but just old?

I know people are going to say it's the value of the land. But then why do condos also increase in value? And what exactly makes the land more valuable than it was before? Isn't it the same pile of dirt that it has been for thousands of years? Has this pile of dirt become more technologically advanced or sophisticated over the past 50 years?

Population growth you say? Well, why can't people move out of an area as quickly as they moved in?
I've never lost money on a car...

Tractors have also been good to me...

My former boss owned cars that have done very well... mostly retired race cars that at the time could be bought for very little... he also Collected Cobras and GT40s.

A little off topic... in 2006 he bought a showroom new Fort GT for 160k... sold it a few years back for 210k... so it most definitely can happen.
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Old 04-11-2016, 02:30 AM
 
4,369 posts, read 3,695,629 times
Reputation: 2479
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ultrarunner View Post
I've never lost money on a car...

Tractors have also been good to me...

My former boss owned cars that have done very well... mostly retired race cars that at the time could be bought for very little... he also Collected Cobras and GT40s.

A little off topic... in 2006 he bought a showroom new Fort GT for 160k... sold it a few years back for 210k... so it most definitely can happen.
I dug a well and oil shot out of the ground. I live in Beverly Hills now.
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Old 04-11-2016, 04:17 AM
 
28,107 posts, read 63,385,620 times
Reputation: 23222
The key is to minimize expenses and certainly debt on things that depreciate.

I avoid recurring debt like the plague... things like Credit Card Interest, Cable and Cell Phone Bills... Memberships... etc.

There is no right or wrong... only what has worked for me.

I've like convertible cars... always have and have bought and sold them over the years... always for more than I had in them.

Same for Real Estate.
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Old 04-11-2016, 12:19 PM
 
13,711 posts, read 9,169,591 times
Reputation: 9840
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheGreatCurve View Post
Agreed. Almost everything else you own loses value over time and the more you use it, e.g., cars, TVs, computers, cell phones, appliances, clothing, furniture, cookware, etc. So why is an old, used, outdated house worth 40 times more than its original purchase price? It makes no sense. Does that happen with anything else that you've owned for 50 years that's not an antique or rare but just old?

I know people are going to say it's the value of the land. But then why do condos also increase in value? And what exactly makes the land more valuable than it was before? Isn't it the same pile of dirt that it has been for thousands of years? Has this pile of dirt become more technologically advanced or sophisticated over the past 50 years?

"Buy land, they're not making it anymore."

-- Mark Twain.


Condos are also on land.


Quote:
Originally Posted by TheGreatCurve View Post
Population growth you say? Well, why can't people move out of an area as quickly as they moved in?
Because enough people don't want to move.
.
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Old 04-11-2016, 01:37 PM
 
Location: Planet Earth
677 posts, read 832,148 times
Reputation: 350
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ultrarunner View Post
I've never lost money on a car...

Tractors have also been good to me...

My former boss owned cars that have done very well... mostly retired race cars that at the time could be bought for very little... he also Collected Cobras and GT40s.

A little off topic... in 2006 he bought a showroom new Fort GT for 160k... sold it a few years back for 210k... so it most definitely can happen.
Sure, it CAN happen. But not in 99.99% of cases. Buy a new Chevy Malibu or Nissan Altima and put 200,000 miles on it over 20 years and see if it's now worth more than what you originally paid for it. Whereas, 99.99% of houses actually increase in value over 20 years, even though it's 20 years older, been used for 20 years, and many of its parts are on the verge of failure and require major repairs.
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Old 04-11-2016, 01:42 PM
 
4,369 posts, read 3,695,629 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheGreatCurve View Post
Sure, it CAN happen. But not in 99.99% of cases. Buy a new Chevy Malibu or Nissan Altima and put 200,000 miles on it over 20 years and see if it's now worth more than what you originally paid for it. Whereas, 99.99% of houses actually increase in value over 20 years, even though it's 20 years older, been used for 20 years, and many of its parts are on the verge of failure and require major repairs.
What house is worn out after 20 years? I see plenty of all original 50s ranch homes.
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Old 04-11-2016, 01:50 PM
 
Location: Planet Earth
677 posts, read 832,148 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by beb0p View Post
"Buy land, they're not making it anymore."

-- Mark Twain.
But they are. On Mars.

Besides, there's also landfill and land reclamation. And if you drive around this country, there is clearly no shortage of land.

Quote:
Originally Posted by beb0p View Post
Condos are also on land.
You don't own the land when you buy a condo so why would something you don't get be worth more? That's like saying a car increases in value because of its engine, but if you don't get the engine when you buy the car, why would the car increase in value?
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Old 04-11-2016, 01:52 PM
 
4,369 posts, read 3,695,629 times
Reputation: 2479
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheGreatCurve View Post
But they are. On Mars.

Besides, there's also landfill and land reclamation. And if you drive around this country, there is clearly no shortage of land.


You don't own the land when you buy a condo so why would something you don't get be worth more? That's like saying a car increases in value because of its engine, but if you don't get the engine when you buy the car, why would the car increase in value?
Because you can live in a house.
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Old 04-11-2016, 01:57 PM
 
Location: Planet Earth
677 posts, read 832,148 times
Reputation: 350
Quote:
Originally Posted by Perma Bear View Post
What house is worn out after 20 years? I see plenty of all original 50s ranch homes.
Yeah, and they look worn out, dilapidated, and outdated.

But, OK, let's change the timeline. Most cars don't increase in value after only 20 years of use so why do most houses increase in value after 50 years of use?
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Old 04-11-2016, 02:03 PM
 
4,369 posts, read 3,695,629 times
Reputation: 2479
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheGreatCurve View Post
Yeah, and they look worn out, dilapidated, and outdated.

But, OK, let's change the timeline. Most cars don't increase in value after only 20 years of use so why do most houses increase in value after 50 years of use?
Moving the goal posts I see. Like I mentioned earlier. You live in a house. A house is a status symbol and is ubiquitous with land ownership. You don't have to rent anymore and so your COL becomes partially frozen. There's a lot of value to homes that cars don't bring.
Once a car reaches a certain age and amount of nostalgia they begin to act like houses i.e. 1957 Chevys or 1964 Impalas.
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