35 ms·

I find our community desire towards home ownership to be really strange. For example, we all need to eat food everyday for the rest of our lives, but you almost

by midas 13y ago

I find our community desire towards home ownership to be really strange. For example, we all need to eat food everyday for the rest of our lives, but you almost never hear society bemoaning how few people own their own means to produce food! We seem perfectly happy to pay for what we use (i.e. rent) instead of investing in production (i.e. own). If you know you're going to live somewhere for 20 years it usually makes a lot of sense to own, but I don't know why we ascribe that aspiration to all our real estate needs.

AJ007 13y ago
It makes a lot of sense in retrospect. People want to own homes because #1 they believe it is a status symbol and #2 they believe the value will go up. Remove either and it wouldn't be so hot. Fractional reserve lending and economic policies toward price inflation have punished renters for a long time. Try convincing someone who thinks home ownership is a good deal that it isn't. I've never succeeded.
- greenyoda 13y ago
  There are many other reasons why people might want to own homes: - Even if the value doesn't go up, eventually you'll pay off your mortgage and be able to live more cheaply. If you rent, you'll be paying rent (which will probably be steadily increasing) forever. If there's inflation, your fixed mortgage payment becomes smaller and smaller in real dollars over time. And while you're paying your mortgage, you get to deduct the interest from your taxes. - If you own your home, you can't be suddenly thrown out because the landlord wants to demolish the building, or raises the rent to more than you can afford (e.g., due to the gentrification of the neighborhood). - In some areas, owning a home can give you access to better school districts. - Detached houses have more space and privacy than apartments. You're less likely to be disturbed by your neighbors, etc. - A home that you own is yours to do with as you please. Want to put a pool in the backyard? Sure. Want to remodel the kitchen? Just call a contractor. Want to convert your garage to an office? That's OK. Want to rent out your house while you go on vacation? There's nobody you need to ask for approval.
  - philwelch 13y ago
    > Even if the value doesn't go up, eventually you'll pay off your mortgage and be able to live more cheaply. In 30 years, in most cases. Just in time to retire and collect your smaller, fixed retirement income. How convenient!
  - eru 13y ago
    > - Even if the value doesn't go up, eventually you'll pay off your mortgage and be able to live more cheaply. If you rent, you'll be paying rent (which will probably be steadily increasing) forever. If there's inflation, your fixed mortgage payment becomes smaller and smaller in real dollars over time. And while you're paying your mortgage, you get to deduct the interest from your taxes. That's a bit misleading. The money you save by not paying off a mortgage should of course go to other investments. You can even put it into housing (just not into the house you live in, for the sake of argument). > - In some areas, owning a home can give you access to better school districts. American laws are strange. > - Detached houses have more space and privacy than apartments. You're less likely to be disturbed by your neighbors, etc. You can rent houses, too. And you can buy apartments, too. > - A home that you own is yours to do with as you please. Want to put a pool in the backyard? Sure. Want to remodel the kitchen? Just call a contractor. Want to convert your garage to an office? That's OK. Want to rent out your house while you go on vacation? There's nobody you need to ask for approval. Yes, that's an important benefit. On the other hand, if anything's broken or there's legal trouble, it's yours to fix, too. It's a bit like owning a business vs just working in one.

by midas 13y ago

AJ007 13y ago

It makes a lot of sense in retrospect. People want to own homes because #1 they believe it is a status symbol and #2 they believe the value will go up. Remove either and it wouldn't be so hot. Fractional reserve lending and economic policies toward price inflation have punished renters for a long time. Try convincing someone who thinks home ownership is a good deal that it isn't. I've never succeeded.

greenyoda 13y ago
There are many other reasons why people might want to own homes: - Even if the value doesn't go up, eventually you'll pay off your mortgage and be able to live more cheaply. If you rent, you'll be paying rent (which will probably be steadily increasing) forever. If there's inflation, your fixed mortgage payment becomes smaller and smaller in real dollars over time. And while you're paying your mortgage, you get to deduct the interest from your taxes. - If you own your home, you can't be suddenly thrown out because the landlord wants to demolish the building, or raises the rent to more than you can afford (e.g., due to the gentrification of the neighborhood). - In some areas, owning a home can give you access to better school districts. - Detached houses have more space and privacy than apartments. You're less likely to be disturbed by your neighbors, etc. - A home that you own is yours to do with as you please. Want to put a pool in the backyard? Sure. Want to remodel the kitchen? Just call a contractor. Want to convert your garage to an office? That's OK. Want to rent out your house while you go on vacation? There's nobody you need to ask for approval.
- philwelch 13y ago
  > Even if the value doesn't go up, eventually you'll pay off your mortgage and be able to live more cheaply. In 30 years, in most cases. Just in time to retire and collect your smaller, fixed retirement income. How convenient!
- eru 13y ago
  > - Even if the value doesn't go up, eventually you'll pay off your mortgage and be able to live more cheaply. If you rent, you'll be paying rent (which will probably be steadily increasing) forever. If there's inflation, your fixed mortgage payment becomes smaller and smaller in real dollars over time. And while you're paying your mortgage, you get to deduct the interest from your taxes. That's a bit misleading. The money you save by not paying off a mortgage should of course go to other investments. You can even put it into housing (just not into the house you live in, for the sake of argument). > - In some areas, owning a home can give you access to better school districts. American laws are strange. > - Detached houses have more space and privacy than apartments. You're less likely to be disturbed by your neighbors, etc. You can rent houses, too. And you can buy apartments, too. > - A home that you own is yours to do with as you please. Want to put a pool in the backyard? Sure. Want to remodel the kitchen? Just call a contractor. Want to convert your garage to an office? That's OK. Want to rent out your house while you go on vacation? There's nobody you need to ask for approval. Yes, that's an important benefit. On the other hand, if anything's broken or there's legal trouble, it's yours to fix, too. It's a bit like owning a business vs just working in one.