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I don't regret it, we love our new house and excited about the prospect of getting a puppy now that we can (after the cats get over the trauma of moving!) but i don't think that particular argument is the reason to buy.
that sounds like you rented in an area with rent control. Plus when you buy a home you get a lot more space and usually extra bedrooms, plus you bought in a very high property tax rate area. Your principal and interest is probably about the same as your monthly property taxes.
that sounds like you rented in an area with rent control. Plus when you buy a home you get a lot more space and usually extra bedrooms, plus you bought in a very high property tax rate area. Your principal and interest is probably about the same as your monthly property taxes.
It wasn’t rent controlled, it was just a privately owned building with an owner who wanted good, long term tenants. It’s the corporate places, the complexes that raise rent astronically once you’re in, but there are private rentals in most areas with older homes and buildings.
that sounds like you rented in an area with rent control. Plus when you buy a home you get a lot more space and usually extra bedrooms, plus you bought in a very high property tax rate area. Your principal and interest is probably about the same as your monthly property taxes.
$608 a month sounds pretty good for New Jersey for a sfh. That's not much over $7200 a year. Good deal. I have a 942 s.f. condo, and my taxes are $4200.
Sounds good, but for those 14 years of struggling, you lost out on a lot of disposable income to to other things and enjoy your life. May not be important to you, but to others, having the bulk of every check tied into a mortgage and taxes, ect... is not fun.
I don't know why the maintenance gets overlooked in threads like these. Even an alarm system carries a monthly fee.
Why would anyone rent? A 1 bedroom condo in my neighborhood cost 250K and wants minimum 20% down. My current apartment cost a bit less than 1K a month. To get that condo, i gotta come up with 50k down, and with property tax, interest and monthly maintenance fees, I'd be looking at like 1700 per. I don't know about you but going from $1000 a month and no utilities to 1700 and utilities is a big financial jump. And thats a 30 year bill. Not to mention if lose my job or if I ever want to move.
In this past year, I have had broken pipes; the air unit broke down, and cabinets that fell apart....all repaired within 48 hours and nothing out of my pocket.
It's funny how as the other post said, maintenance gets overlooked by the people who cheer home ownership only. I work with a bunch of teachers who tell me they had no real summer vacation b/c their entire summer check was used to redo the back yard or fix the roof that was leaking or falling apart.
I mean, yeah you can write off the tax, but its not like you get ALL of that money back. If your taxes are $5000, you're not getting $5000 back in a tax return. There are other ways to get tax reductions.
There's arguments on both sides, but if you're one of the individuals with a home somewhere in a really low cost of living like Mississippi, or you are kind of in the middle of nowhere, you can't really compare your situation to people living on the coast or in more desirable areas. Median price on a home in gang infested Compton, LA is $380K. That's a mansion in some of your towns.
Not to mention as I said, people lose their jobs, or maybe at a point just hate their neighborhood. A good friend of mine was so psyched about buying his first home in a crappy area of Atlanta like 2 years ago for like $150K and couldn't understand why the whole world doesn't want to by. Now he doesn't even want to stay there 5 years but feels stuck b/c he can't get much money for the house and has put almost no work into it. And with the area he is in, I wouldn't take that house for free.
People are different with different wants and needs. We all need to remember that.
Most intelligent thought out answer on here. There are good answers too, but this ^ the best.....
5 years ago:
Clients paid $120,000 for a house.
3% down payment.
PITI was about $350/month less than rent they paid for comparable property.
Have about $15,000 in updates and repairs.
Will sell in 2018 for about $180,000.
That is one way to justify paying interest.
Yes it's a well known fact that people and investors who bought at the bottom of the market in 2009-2012 are riding the appreciation wave on their surf boards now with big smiles....... Good for them. Not so good for 1st time home buyer's now.
Every time you pay your mortgage you are contributing to your net worth. Every time you pay your rent, you are contributing to your landlord’s net worth. Currently a homeowners net worth is 35 times higher than a renter and increasing fast.
Except when the market takes another down turn, which it will, there goes your net worth with it. So many people think they are so savvy because they look wealthy on paper.
Unless you can ride the bad times out and avoid foreclosure and stick in it for the long haul, many people will look rich on paper until the next recession comes and they are out of jobs but still have a mortgage payment. OH, but the kitchen was just recently updated, so it's an investment! HA
I view my current home as a place to live, not as an investment. I really do not care if the value dropped to a dollar tomorrow, except for attracting undesirable neighbors and taxes, the value has no impact on my life.
If I was looking to move or make money, well yea, I would be concerned.
Yes it's a well known fact that people and investors who bought at the bottom of the market in 2009-2012 are riding the appreciation wave on their surf boards now with big smiles....... Good for them. Not so good for 1st time home buyer's now.
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