Why buying a house is still a smart move
invite response
2010 Sep 1, 12:34am 8,457 views 45 comments
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If you are renting and you lose your job or have some financial crisis the most that will happen is you will get kicked out of your rental unit. If this happens if you “own†on your home and have a loan on it and can’t make your payment you will lose your home that you “ownedâ€. Thereby forfeiting your down payment and any payments you may have made.
If you "own" a house and lose your job, become disabled, etc., the government will step in with a million and one safety net programs designed to keep you in your current residence, or at least delay your eviction for as long as possible.
An apartment? You're out at the end of the month.
tatupu70
2010 Sep 10, 6:58am
You are not re evaluating your reasons, you should. Start as if you never had bought a home. See if you would still think it is a good investment. It is not that good, many many better ones, at least here in the USA.
The last line should read--at least here in parts of the Bay Area.
pkowen
2010 Sep 10, 8:41am
An apartment? You’re out at the end of the month.
That’s because owners are better people. They deserve extra help.
I should be a better person and get a "million dollar" house for "no money down" and a "pick a pay" mortgage that is less than half the debt service. Then not even pay that, and get foreclosed on, and live there rent free for 6 months or so during the process. Then get a news article published about how the evil mortgage company is taking away my "home" and how I am a "victim" and have lost my "American dream".
If only I were a better person.
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http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/08/31/Five-reasons-why-buying-a-house-is-still-smart/
The guy has a couple of good points here. How many renters not currently saving for a house actually save the extra money they have by renting instead of paying a mortgage? While many would be quick to point out that renting is better than buying, what often what happens is they increase there discretionary spending (More eating out, Ipads, vacations) and really don't save.
Also renting often means a townhouse at best and an apartment at worse. There are very few houses available to rented out, in most cases people who do rent a house tend not to move, since they can have more than a minimal number of pets and less restictions. For my own state (NJ), on one website there were 1,382 listing for rentals, but when I specified houses only, the number dropped to less then 50.
I can't say I completely agree with his assesments on schools, while owners in a neigherbood might push for better schools, renters are voters too and do not have any less rights when pushing for better school districts. Not to mention they can move to an area with better school districts a lot easier then home owners.
#housing