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A person with $1 million available to put into an index fund is the 1%, and advice for them is not really applicable to the general population. For "normal" peo
by defen 10y ago
A person with $1 million available to put into an index fund is the 1%, and advice for them is not really applicable to the general population. For "normal" people, buying a house can be a good idea because you can deduct the interest from your income. It also gives you much more stability in terms of monthly housing payments if you get a fixed-rate mortgage (unless rent control is an option). Finally, you also "get back" a portion of your mortgage payments when you sell the house. You never get your rent money back.
- Godel_unicode 10y agoRent/buy is not a simple analysis, there is no one right answer. If you ever (for medium-large values of "ever") find yourself in a situation where there's one obvious right answer for all cases, you probably did something wrong. Fortunately, at least for homes it's also a solved problem. Take your data to the below calculator, and get on with your life. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/upshot/buy-rent-calculator.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/upshot/buy-rent-calc...
- soyiuz 10y agoSee above. The amount is irrelevant. Deducting interest is good. However, you must take into account the costs of amortization, real estate taxes, and the costs of borrowing money. Check the NYT calculator. Owning wins out in an up market and only after a decade or so. It is much more difficult the absorb the costs of real estate transaction for those not in the top 1%. Rental is a reasonable financial strategy for any income bracket.