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All of my family AND friends keep nagging me about buying a home. I don't need nor do I want one. I am a single guy and I don't have any children to care for. Besides, I don't want to do yard work nor home related repairs .
I really don't see the big deal in owning a home. I've never been of the "a home is a investment" mindset. It certainly will not be my most valuable asset neither.
A home is to be used for shelter, not as a investment, IMO. If it increases in value fine, but I will not buy a home hoping it goes up in value.
I like using my money for my REAL investments like my Options trading accounts and other biz ventures I am involved in. Not to mention, if and when I do buy a home I will without a doubt be able to BUY IT not mortgage it. People are so emotionally attached to the thought of buying a home they don't think of ALL the hidden costs involved. I'd rather a have fantastic portfolio of investments and a business than work just to pay a mortgage.
I'm 35 and If I don't don't a home until I am 50, oh well. I like things as they are.
Can a guy just rent and be happy? I don't feel like I am less of an adult because I don't own a home.
My life is simple and renting works for ME.
Has anyone dealt with this and how did you deal with it?
PS- Before anyone says it, I know, I might feel different in the future about home ownership but I have no idea what the future holds, therefore it's not important to me.
I'm in the exact same boat as you and same age except that if prices keep dropping, I'll soon be in a situation where its cheaper to buy than rent so I'll probably buy in the next 1-5 years.
Its impossible to deal with. You can just say no, its not right for me or whatever. People have been conditioned very hard to believe that renting is throwing away money and also that real estate is a fantastic investment. Neither is necessarily true, but its difficult to attempt to explain this to people who are brainwashed.
I'm in the exact same boat as you and same age except that if prices keep dropping, I'll soon be in a situation where its cheaper to buy than rent so I'll probably buy in the next 1-5 years.
Its impossible to deal with. You can just say no, its not right for me or whatever. People have been conditioned very hard to believe that renting is throwing away money and also that real estate is a fantastic investment. Neither is necessarily true, but its difficult to attempt to explain this to people who are brainwashed.
I know what you mean John. It's conditioning that started in the 80's and 90's with the whole "American Dream" mantra promoted by RE agents and Bankers.
Buying or renting is based on lifestyle needs. I like "Locking and Leaving". With a home I have to do a hell of a lot more than L&L.
I also feel the same way about buying within 5 years. If I do so, I'd like to have a loft built. That would be a cool place to live.
dont let anyone to pursuade you into something you dont want to do.
from a sheer numbers game renting and investing is the biggest pile of money at the end. simple diversified index funds can leave you with over 2x the pile and thats after subtracting out all those years of rent. big question is whether someone has the discipline to invest the down payment and to invest the difference each month that most areas save you each month by renting in the early years .... here in nyc it can take a decade of 3% rent increases to catch up with the cost of ownership.
here in nyc since 1987 my home averaged about 300% in gains, my portfolio of run of the mill funds 1100%.. they were as high as 1300% before the roll back.
the problem is most laymen are very poor investors as well. left to their own devices most folks end up being speculators and not investors as i find the average american hasnt a clue about financial planning . they know more about their cars and refrigerators.
but thats another story
from a lifestyle point and feeling of security i prefer home ownership.
Last edited by mathjak107; 11-21-2009 at 03:57 AM..
dont let anyone to pursuade you into something you dont want to do.
from a sheer numbers game renting and investing is the biggest pile of money at the end. simple diversified index funds can leave you with over 2x the pile and thats after subtracting out all those years of rent.
from a lifestyle point and feeling of security i prefer home ownership.
Good points with exception of the "feeling of security" part. How does owning a home make you feel secure?
its like describing the color red to a blind person in a way. if you never experienced it then its a difficult thing to explain and convey that feeling....
we are retiring next year and we recently bought a house in the pocono mountains of pa. and we will be relocating from new york city.
we had a choice , pay cash or take a mortgage.
i could probley have gotten a better return on my own money investing and taking a mortgage at historically low rates.
we elected to pay cash instead. we eliminated a major part of our monthly nut and i got to tell you , all though its only psychological im less scared about pulling the plug on my paycheck because that feeling of security of knowing your house is paid for is very comforting.
again in reality its all bull, but in my mind im just more at ease about the future.
the security also come from the fact long term your housing costs can be artificially low. when i got divorced my ex-wife found it a struggle living on her income.
she was paying 1600 bucks a month rent in the area we lived.
we had a co-op that was an investment property which i gave her. it was all paid for so she moved in. shes paying 600 a month for maintaince and thats it. that same apartment rents for 1500 a month so for her there was alot of security there.
those low housing costs are a blessing for her now...
Last edited by mathjak107; 11-21-2009 at 05:30 AM..
whether you rent or buy its all a means to the same end, namely afford us our lifestyle now we want to live and to be able to afford us our lifestyle if and when the pay check stops in retirement..
how folks do it dosnt matter. renting and investing = higher life time housing expenses but potentially much higher income later on from investments
so those housing costs are easily met.
owning a home = lower housing costs later on in life but potentially lower income from investments because a sizeable part is tied up in the house. the house appreciates way , way less then the markets usually do. but the lower costs allow you to make do on that potentially lower investment income.
take your pick, as long as you plan well and have discipline you will come out just fine.
but like i said most folks are horrible at discipline and horrible at financial planning and so they would be better off with the consolation prize at least-that would be owning a home. at least they are forced into at least having that.
there are endless debates on this forum about buying vs renting but rarely does anybody stop focusing on housing values to expand and open the big picture which is what i expressed above.
you need to step back and see the overall scope of things, see what your alternatives are and see your ability to follow thru.
all these posts about home values are small potatoes in the scheme of things when taken as part of just a part of your master plan called life
Last edited by mathjak107; 11-21-2009 at 04:51 AM..
I know what you mean John. It's conditioning that started in the 80's and 90's with the whole "American Dream" mantra promoted by RE agents and Bankers.
Buying or renting is based on lifestyle needs. I like "Locking and Leaving". With a home I have to do a hell of a lot more than L&L.
I also feel the same way about buying within 5 years. If I do so, I'd like to have a loft built. That would be a cool place to live.
the brainwashing goes back much further then that. dont forget for most of our parents or grandparents (im 57) there was no such thing as alternative investments.
the financial markets werent a place for every day folks like our parents, that was only the speculative playground for the rich they believed. and our grandparents lived thru the great depression, they didnt even trust banks.... to quote a fellow poster on this forum " if you cant pee on it then it isnt worth a darn...
sooooo there was no alternative to banks and cd's for most folks so the got to own a home to get a head myth just went from generation to generation.
i do alot of articles for financial publications although i have nothing to do with the business. its just a hobby and most of my articles are about the myths that we are led to believe and how we all believe our own bull-sh*t and its these myths that keep folks from thinking things thru for themselves and actually drives them into financial suicide sometimes and if not, then to just hurt their financial planning at the least..
its funny how soooo many real estate agents told me they learned and realized more from my posts then from all their trade publications . they actually wanted to use my pro buying arguments in their sales speeches.... i said what about the pro renting info too? ha ha ha
Last edited by mathjak107; 11-21-2009 at 05:40 AM..
Then I would ask your friends when day they plan to come over and mow your lawn, prune the bushes and such because you don't want yard work. If they are willing to give you their time for free...that wouldn't be a bad deal.
Ask them if you can call them on a Sunday if you have a leak issue because you don't want to take care of those things. If they are willing to do the plumbing, painting, caulking, etc for your house that might not be such a bad deal.
I think your first sentence says it all.
Part of the push for home ownership comes from being "marriage material" I think. Men saved, got a house, and were ready to get married and have kids...do all of the providing for a family. So I think some of the older generation tends to see home ownership as part of that whole package. With people coming out of college these days massively in debt and marrying later...if at all, the push for that security that mathjak107 is talking about is getting pushed later and later.
I don't know...maybe get a T-shirt that says "No. I don't want a house. Stop asking."
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