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I agree that owning a home limits your mobility and that is one reason why I put it off. In retrospect, I should have bought a home earlier, anyway. In fact, wh
by pstack 15y ago
I agree that owning a home limits your mobility and that is one reason why I put it off. In retrospect, I should have bought a home earlier, anyway. In fact, when I first moved to Denver, I started looking at homes and decided against it. After all, I didn't plan to live here forever. Only awhile. Next thing I knew, I had been here for five years and spent that whole time giving money to someone else.
The cities I listed as having lived in were actually three (I realize that I was unclear about California, where I worked in SF but actually lived in San Jose). I can break it down to under a year in one place and at least six years in each of the other two places. Even there, I actually could have probably found a way to not move, so it wouldn't even have been an issue. (I've had the same employer for almost fifteen years).
So, in my case, it was only a perceived need for mobility and unwillingness to say "I'm here, for a long time" that kept me from owning a home and it was probably not the best financial decision, looking back. I sacrificed a lot of income over the years for something I thought I needed, but never did.
It is definitely a bigger concern, now, than ever before. I absolutely concede that point. My grandfather built his home and lived there for more than fifty years. I will be happy if I keep my home for ten or fifteen. Our lives and careers change too often, now. Buying a home now requires the added consideration of whether you'll still be here in five or ten years and how many times (especially in technology) has taking a new job also required moving? (By the way, I think they say it tends to require about five years of ownership to compensate for the costs of buying and selling a house - and that was back when houses were increasing in prices, instead of decreasing).
Of course, if home prices reached a naturally lower point instead of being artificially kept up, then the affordability may trump all the other concerns. Hell, if I could own a nice home for $100k, I'd buy one in all three of my favorite cities and never have to worry about uncertainties of live and mobility again!
- mattmanser 15y agoI never get the mentality of renting being 'giving money to someone else'. What do you think a mortgage is? The majority of your payments in the first 5 years go to interest, which is just giving money to a different person. And on top of that you're paying more in hidden costs, stuff like estate agent fees, tax on any future house sale, home insurance, structural problems, boilers, plumbing, etc. which is giving money to more different people just not at a convenient monthly time.
- nhangen 15y agoYes, but when you pay off the home, it's yours. Sure, you still have to pay maintenance, taxes, and insurance, but a home warranty can solve many of the problems associated with the first, and you have to pay insurance anyway (renters). I moved to FL and we're renting out our NC home while paying rent in Florida, and I loathe being a renter again.
- illumin8 15y agoYou should realize that it's not really yours. The government can and will take it for many various reasons. You merely have a "right to use" it.
- CamperBob 15y agoWould be curious to hear why you were modded down. The fact is, cash-strapped states and municipalities are going to see property owners as sheep primed for the shearing over the next several years. As a homeowner you may be able to avoid paying rent, and you may even be able to avoid paying interest, but good luck avoiding the property-tax increases that are probably coming your way.
- salemh 15y agoYou need sources, as does the down-voted comment. Cash-strapped states does not equal "eminent domain" on random suburbs. Some tax-levels on property taxes are going down or neutral (Utah) while others remain the same (California, both () examples are personal experience) and can't be used as a broad paint-brush stroke. Interest is a tax write off, many states are suing for home-owner protection, the very large fraud lawsuits against mortgage lenders, etc. http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en&source=hp&q=attorney+general+mortgage+lender+lawsuit&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=668845393480168f http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en&source=hp&#...
- billswift 15y agoProperty tax increases will hit renters just as hard, since they pay them as part of their rent. Maybe even harder, since rents are often calculated as a percentage above fixed costs.