3 ms·

> Houses appreciate Don't rely on this

• dahfizz 7y ago
  Worst case scenario, you get to retire and live rent free. Even if it doesn't appreciate, you still own a house.
  • shoo 7y ago
    Worst case scenario? It's probably closer to this: buy way more house than you need and can sensibly afford. Buy heavily leveraged at market peak. Housing market tumbles. Have a bit of bad luck and lose your job and your income. Be in a position where you can't keep up with mortgage repayments and be forced to sell when the market price for the house is less than the amount of debt you still owe the bank... Or even grimmer: as above, but start renovations before the market crashes and losing your job. Discover there are major structural problems so it costs 3x more than expected to put the house back into a sellable state. Then, before construction is finished, be forced to sell an unfinished house with negative equity....
• SkyPuncher 7y ago
  Agreed. I've always considered this a bit of a myth. Most houses only appreciate if you spend time, effort, and money to properly maintain them. On top of maintenance, in most places, you'll have to pay annual taxes. When I go to sell my current house, I may break even - essentially living free. However, I certainly don't expect to come out ahead.