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I bought my last place in 2006, intending to live there at least 5-10 years. I ended up living there for 11 years, with the majority of the time being there wi

I bought my last place in 2006, intending to live there at least 5-10 years. I ended up living there for 11 years, with the majority of the time being there with it some $120k underwater. It was terrible and I wished I had waited a year or two - not only did I pay more to service a more expensive mortgage, I walked away with considerably less equity than I would have if I just waited. I don't know how anyone could possibly be thinking about purchasing a place right now. It's been 12 years since the last crash started and real estate is traditionally on a 10 year boom/bust cycle. Even if you think you want to live in your place for decades, things happen. As always, if you can help it, buy low, sell high, don't pander to emotion on what is one of the biggest purchases you can make.

shoo 8y ago
> As always, if you can help it, buy low, sell high I agree. If housing is overvalued, and renting is a cheaper alternative that is feasible, rent & plug the saved money into some other form of investment. I guess it's a bit tricky with housing as well, as buying into housing tends to involve borrowing a large amount of money, which then exposes you to risk of potentially being forced to sell if the market or your circumstances change significantly.
chrisseaton 8y ago
> I don't know how anyone could possibly be thinking about purchasing a place right now. Well people need a roof over their heads. In a lot of areas (more rural for example) rental properties aren’t very common and they’re often smaller places so if you have a family and want somewhere to sleep at night you’ll need to buy.
- brandall10 8y ago
  Right, but those aren’t the places we’re talking about that have huge swings due to the national boom/bust cycle... ie. cities and suburbs of those cities. Basic rule of thumb - if you can rent a like property for less than you can purchase, you should rent, esp. when things are toward the top of the market. The irrational fear that one will be priced out of a market leads to bad decisions. The idea that renting is throwing money away/giving it to a landlord leads to bad decisions.

shoo 8y ago

> As always, if you can help it, buy low, sell high I agree. If housing is overvalued, and renting is a cheaper alternative that is feasible, rent & plug the saved money into some other form of investment. I guess it's a bit tricky with housing as well, as buying into housing tends to involve borrowing a large amount of money, which then exposes you to risk of potentially being forced to sell if the market or your circumstances change significantly.

chrisseaton 8y ago

> I don't know how anyone could possibly be thinking about purchasing a place right now. Well people need a roof over their heads. In a lot of areas (more rural for example) rental properties aren’t very common and they’re often smaller places so if you have a family and want somewhere to sleep at night you’ll need to buy.

brandall10 8y ago
Right, but those aren’t the places we’re talking about that have huge swings due to the national boom/bust cycle... ie. cities and suburbs of those cities. Basic rule of thumb - if you can rent a like property for less than you can purchase, you should rent, esp. when things are toward the top of the market. The irrational fear that one will be priced out of a market leads to bad decisions. The idea that renting is throwing money away/giving it to a landlord leads to bad decisions.