Is a home an asset or liability?

[Amber Lamps]

Originally Posted by Flexin

You didn't read what I wrote. You don't cover all that you put in. You have cost no matter what. Its the cost of owning. But on the day you sell you have something of value. When you leave a rental you might get your deposit back.

And when a home owners taxes goes up so does the taxes on the rental. So that means that if the cost get too high they have to increase rent so there isn't a huge savings. And you are paying for the carpet and so on. Your paying it in your rent. They don't just decide to give you something because its tuesday. They are maintaining the property to keep the value in the unit (and stay out of court). You might also be paying for that new Benz in the driveway.

I doesn't matter how you look at it. At the end of a morgage a home owner has something worth money. The renter that rented for those 25 years lives in something that is worth something but that is to the owner.

If renting was so great there would be no where to rent because no one would buy. :P

Renting is right for some but not all.

James

If that's the case then subtract those amounts from my rent figure. You aren't including them for the homeowner. Come on bro, at least try to play a little fair. When you set up your buyer, you made a point of leaving out taxes, upkeep, etc. Then you go on about how I pay those things IN MY RENT. That's my argument. I pay $460/month plus $140/month utilities (electric, cable, gas) for a $600 per month living expense TOTAL. I don't pay anything else because it is included in my rent. I don't pay a water bill, I don't pay for trash pick up, I don't pay to have the grass mowed, I don't pay for repairs, I don't pay property tax, etc. Sure it's in my rent but that's my point, how much of that is included in your house payment? 0 You can't decide to leave all that stuff out of your equation and declare that this is a fair comparison. Granted, I can exaggerate but you are eliminating all the negative factors in total.

FWIW BTW, the leasing company wants me to sign another lease for....$460/month.

[Flexin]

Originally Posted by TIGGER

If that's the case then subtract those amounts from my rent figure. You aren't including them for the homeowner. Come on bro, at least try to play a little fair. When you set up your buyer, you made a point of leaving out taxes, upkeep, etc. Then you go on about how I pay those things IN MY RENT. That's my argument. I pay $460/month plus $140/month utilities (electric, cable, gas) for a $600 per month living expense TOTAL. I don't pay anything else because it is included in my rent. I don't pay a water bill, I don't pay for trash pick up, I don't pay to have the grass mowed, I don't pay for repairs, I don't pay property tax, etc. Sure it's in my rent but that's my point, how much of that is included in your house payment? 0 You can't decide to leave all that stuff out of your equation and declare that this is a fair comparison. Granted, I can exaggerate but you are eliminating all the negative factors in total.

FWIW BTW, the leasing company wants me to sign another lease for....$460/month.

I said leave it out because we are guessing at those numbers. Then if you read EVERYTHING I wrote you will see that I said the $108000 will be more then enough to cover those bills. And I was comparing a $600 a month rent (just rent) and a house with a $600 mortgage.

And how many rooms do you have for $450?

BTW when I bought my house my sister moved in. She paid rent making my place way cheaper then an apartment for me. I paid less per month, have more space, a garage and had something to show for my money at the end of the day. For me buying was a great choice and the only thing I wanted to do.

James

[karl_1052]

Originally Posted by TIGGER

I was including property tax and insurance in that figure. If you paid $250,000 for your house, it's a good bet that you're going to pay a pretty penny in taxes, no?

I paid $210K for my house, and including taxes my payment is $1200K/month. that includes taxes, and I put $0 down, so you calc is way off.

[RACER X]

after 20yrs on an apt. you'll still own $0
after 20yrs on a house, chances are high you'll be pos. equity.

[shmike]

Originally Posted by RACER X

after 20yrs on an apt. you'll still own $0
after 20yrs on a house, chances are high you'll be pos. equity.

[Devil's advocate]
Chances are high but not guaranteed.

To Tigger's point:
If you pay $2000/mo in PITI to "own"
vs.
Paying $1000/mo to rent

Who comes out ahead?

The renter has an extra $12k/year to invest.

[/Devil's advocate]

[Homeslice]

TIGGER seems to be assuming that you always buy in a flat market that never rises, and that you always spend money on upkeep and repairs. Like I said before, I know plenty of people who only kept their home for 2-3 years, yet made a profit after selling it. Is that the norm, no, but it's possible depending if you're in an upswing.

[Amber Lamps]

Originally Posted by shmike

[Devil's advocate]
Chances are high but not guaranteed.

To Tigger's point:
If you pay $2000/mo in PITI to "own"
vs.
Paying $1000/mo to rent

Who comes out ahead?

The renter has an extra $12k/year to invest.

[/Devil's advocate]

Not to mention all the time. That's my main point. If you are single and childless buying a house is foolish, imho. As he said, if you pay half as much for housing in total, you have more money to play with, invest, etc. Again I pay $600/ month and someone else pays $1200 for payment, tax and insurance. Okay, now how much for trash removal? Yard work (equipment, time, etc)? Repairs? ETC? Now take that entire difference and drop it in an IRA, for example. Who would be better off in 20 years? I understand that you almost own a house by this time but I'll have enough money to go buy a house for cash! Shit most likely, I'll be able to find a nice foreclosure that one of you suckers just about killed yourselves and worked three jobs trying to keep.

[Amber Lamps]

Originally Posted by karl_1052

I paid $210K for my house, and including taxes my payment is $1200K/month. that includes taxes, and I put $0 down, so you calc is way off.

Karl, I'm including everything and I realize that different markets have different numbers. Try telling me I'm wrong if you live in the DC area. How about parts of California? New York? There are parts of this country that you will pay $5000+ on a $100,000 house annually in taxes. Heck, some of you pay association fees monthly. Some of you pay for snow removal. ETC. I will never pay more than $600 total to live here for the length of my lease, period.

[Amber Lamps]

Originally Posted by Homeslice

TIGGER seems to be assuming that you always buy in a flat market that never rises, and that you always spend money on upkeep and repairs. Like I said before, I know plenty of people who only kept their home for 2-3 years, yet made a profit after selling it. Is that the norm, no, but it's possible depending if you're in an upswing.

No of course I don't assume that. You're ASSuming that your property will always gain value. What I am saying is that I don't believe that your investment's value will overcome you TOTAL outlay in the long term. I acknowledge that it's possible to buy a house in a down market and flip it when the market turns for a profit. That's not what I'm talking about here. Anyway, I recognize that you home buyers are a fiercely proud group and even if I could categorically prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that I'm right, you would still argue the intelligence of your decision. Cool.

[Amber Lamps]

Originally Posted by RACER X

after 20yrs on an apt. you'll still own $0
after 20yrs on a house, chances are high you'll be pos. equity.

Yep you will just be paying on the principal by that time, congratulations!!! I'm sure that the bank totally appreciates your efforts to pay them interest for the last 20 years!