s**t happens and there is always a scenario where the renter looks smarter than the homeowner. In the long run home ownership is the way to go especially if you can rent out part of it. I have owned a 2 family for 10 years now and since buying it I pay almost zero taxes because the system is stacked in my favor. Anytime I buy anything at the hardware store it's deductible. The knock on effect is that puts me over the threshold where filing for individual deductions allows me to now add other stuff like computers etc. into the mix. I get to depreciate, write off and and have an income from the property. The downside is for the first three years it would have been cheaper to rent and put that down payment into the market in the short term. In the long run though my investments in the market have not even kept pace with inflation. I refinanced into a 15 yr mortgage and pulled out some cash to buy a new car about 5 years ago. So the bottom line is if I sold today I would walk away with $300,000 to $400,000 clear after taxes. I could hold it and within 7 years own it free and clear. Something else to keep in mind - rents go up and your mortgage payments go down (inflation) and your equity builds.
@roosterjm2k2Buying only builds equity if the price when you sell is actually more than when you bought. In this speculative real-estate market, that is not a given.
@intense321You definitely get the d**kh**d post of the week award.Seriously - NO ONE on this list cares that you have a billionaire friend, regardless of how much you want an excuse to write about him.If you said you agreed with him that the decision is individualized for each person, then you agree with him, period.He lists some excellent questions for the average person to help make an informed decision one way or another, then carefully footnotes that the note is neither all-inclusive or applies to everyone.Welcome to blockworld.
Only poor people concern themselves with the pros and cons of buying over renting. Smart people who go to college don't have to worry about such trivial nonsense.
@prockcore: "The mortgage payment will almost always be less than renting the same house"Your statement is too simple. Let me correct it. The mortgage payment + TAXES + MAINTENANCE/REPAIRS + INSURANCE + CLOSING COSTS, which are based on today's selling price, will not always be more than the rent for the same house, which is based on the selling price when the landlord purchased it. "Huh?" you ask. Five years ago, my landlord bought a condo for her daughter to attend college. Five years later, I now rent that condo. I am paying rent based on the amount that she owes on her five-year-old mortgage. Nearly identical condos are for sale in our complex, at a much higher price than 5 years ago. (An aside: They've all been sitting on the market unsold for months! Their owners are still paying mortgages on them, even though they've long since moved out). The rent that I pay is $150 LESS than the monthly mortgage payment that I would need to pay if I bought one of those units. That mortgage payment doesn't even include taxes, maintenance, insurance, or other costs.In the meantime, I'm taking that extra money that I'm saving by renting and I'm putting extra into my retirement account. Even better, I'm doing this while my landlord is fixing the condo (replaced carpet, washer, dryer, and microwave), and while it's my landlord's equity that is at risk of the declining real estate market! All in all, renting was the best decision for me here and now.
snoopy456Apr 12, 2007
s**t happens and there is always a scenario where the renter looks smarter than the homeowner. In the long run home ownership is the way to go especially if you can rent out part of it. I have owned a 2 family for 10 years now and since buying it I pay almost zero taxes because the system is stacked in my favor. Anytime I buy anything at the hardware store it's deductible. The knock on effect is that puts me over the threshold where filing for individual deductions allows me to now add other stuff like computers etc. into the mix. I get to depreciate, write off and and have an income from the property. The downside is for the first three years it would have been cheaper to rent and put that down payment into the market in the short term. In the long run though my investments in the market have not even kept pace with inflation. I refinanced into a 15 yr mortgage and pulled out some cash to buy a new car about 5 years ago. So the bottom line is if I sold today I would walk away with $300,000 to $400,000 clear after taxes. I could hold it and within 7 years own it free and clear. Something else to keep in mind - rents go up and your mortgage payments go down (inflation) and your equity builds.
zccopwrxApr 12, 2007
220k for 1100 a month is not unreasonable, they didn't take State and School taxes into the equation, which can add 200-600$ a month to that.
johngalt01Apr 12, 2007
@roosterjm2k2Buying only builds equity if the price when you sell is actually more than when you bought. In this speculative real-estate market, that is not a given.
brundlefly76Apr 12, 2007
@intense321You definitely get the d**kh**d post of the week award.Seriously - NO ONE on this list cares that you have a billionaire friend, regardless of how much you want an excuse to write about him.If you said you agreed with him that the decision is individualized for each person, then you agree with him, period.He lists some excellent questions for the average person to help make an informed decision one way or another, then carefully footnotes that the note is neither all-inclusive or applies to everyone.Welcome to blockworld.
ichbinladenApr 12, 2007
Only poor people concern themselves with the pros and cons of buying over renting. Smart people who go to college don't have to worry about such trivial nonsense.
brainscanApr 12, 2007
@prockcore: "The mortgage payment will almost always be less than renting the same house"Your statement is too simple. Let me correct it. The mortgage payment + TAXES + MAINTENANCE/REPAIRS + INSURANCE + CLOSING COSTS, which are based on today's selling price, will not always be more than the rent for the same house, which is based on the selling price when the landlord purchased it. "Huh?" you ask. Five years ago, my landlord bought a condo for her daughter to attend college. Five years later, I now rent that condo. I am paying rent based on the amount that she owes on her five-year-old mortgage. Nearly identical condos are for sale in our complex, at a much higher price than 5 years ago. (An aside: They've all been sitting on the market unsold for months! Their owners are still paying mortgages on them, even though they've long since moved out). The rent that I pay is $150 LESS than the monthly mortgage payment that I would need to pay if I bought one of those units. That mortgage payment doesn't even include taxes, maintenance, insurance, or other costs.In the meantime, I'm taking that extra money that I'm saving by renting and I'm putting extra into my retirement account. Even better, I'm doing this while my landlord is fixing the condo (replaced carpet, washer, dryer, and microwave), and while it's my landlord's equity that is at risk of the declining real estate market! All in all, renting was the best decision for me here and now.
bubba9999Apr 13, 2007
I thought the title had something to do with marriage.
aabjoraOct 27, 2008
I've heard about a British couple that has been living all their live in hotels... They consider this way to be cheaper than involving themselves into a mess of mortgage payments.my space:<a class="user" href="http://www.mortgagerefinancingloanz.com/">http://www.mortgagerefinancingloanz.com/</a>
kakatherine7Apr 4, 2009
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