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A house financed with a mortgage (which is what he said, imo) can be an investment. A mortgage by itself is not an investment, it's what you use the mortgage fo

by roel_v 14y ago

A house financed with a mortgage (which is what he said, imo) can be an investment. A mortgage by itself is not an investment, it's what you use the mortgage for that makes the mortgage part of the investment strategy. Really, all the 'mortgage = bad!' speak in this thread is depressing. How do you people ever think of making real money? Leverage is a wealth multiplier. Of course it comes with risk, but so does crossing the street - you need to manage it well (looking left and right before crossing, and checking the economic fundamentals of your leveraged investments).

prawks 14y ago
Could you recommend any resources for educating yourself on how to '[look] left and right before crossing, and checking the economic fundamentals of your leveraged investments'? I'm not a home owner, but eventually I may be, and this topic sounds fascinating to me.
nullc 14y ago
Leverage is a _return_ multiplier, including a _negative return_ multiplier. Another way of putting it is that leverage is a risk multipler. As an investment single family homes are not particularly attractive, a mortgage may or may not make sense depending on the terms, risk tolerance, and the expected market behavior... but it's really only the inherent shelter-short you suffer that makes a mortgage interesting in most cases. (Because that short is what makes not owning a home also risky)
sanderjd 14y ago
Most people should not be thinking of making "real money" when they purchase a home, they should be thinking of having a place to live. It takes a certain degree of financial security to start thinking about using leverage to multiply wealth, which many people buying mortgages don't have. Tying the risk of a leveraged investment to something as important as the place you live is dangerous for the large portion of the population that is not particularly financially savvy.

by roel_v 14y ago

prawks 14y ago

Could you recommend any resources for educating yourself on how to '[look] left and right before crossing, and checking the economic fundamentals of your leveraged investments'? I'm not a home owner, but eventually I may be, and this topic sounds fascinating to me.

nullc 14y ago

Leverage is a _return_ multiplier, including a _negative return_ multiplier. Another way of putting it is that leverage is a risk multipler. As an investment single family homes are not particularly attractive, a mortgage may or may not make sense depending on the terms, risk tolerance, and the expected market behavior... but it's really only the inherent shelter-short you suffer that makes a mortgage interesting in most cases. (Because that short is what makes not owning a home also risky)

sanderjd 14y ago

Most people should not be thinking of making "real money" when they purchase a home, they should be thinking of having a place to live. It takes a certain degree of financial security to start thinking about using leverage to multiply wealth, which many people buying mortgages don't have. Tying the risk of a leveraged investment to something as important as the place you live is dangerous for the large portion of the population that is not particularly financially savvy.