Why do people seem to think buying a house is such a good thing?

My sister thought it was a good idea. 500K on a house. Was forced to sell it in 2009 for a nice 150K loss. The idea is that you aren’t paying someone else’s mortgage. My sister thought their house would cover her retirement. And generally that is a good sentiment. She was fucked by a nasty divorce.

I am poor.. When the toilet explodes (happened three months ago) I liked being able to call the landlord and it is fixed for free the next day. And I know it isn’t free. I just don’t have to scramble to come up with 1K in a few hours. It is a bit like health insurance in that regard.

1) Instead of paying rent someone else, you are putting money into your own property, with the expectation (other than in the Bus recession) your equity will grow. You end up putting you money into a way of saving rather than spending.

2) You get a tax break in the US on mortgage interest.

3) It keeps you invested in the place where you live, more than if you were a renter.

That said, often it does not make sense to buy.

Totally depends on your life style and values we bought a house and worked like mad to pay it off, now we put what we used to put in a mortgage payment away for retirement and other things.
If our financial world fell apart we would still be able to keep the house,pretty nice feeling.

For me, it’s mostly about privacy. I hate apartments for that very reason. I hate hearing other people talk, shower, yell, walk, have sex, etc., and I also value having a yard and garden. But I’m an introvert and I realize that not all people need their own space the way that I do.

1. A house is an asset that, generally speaking, doesn’t depreciate. It’s a safe place for your money. 2008 and the aftermath is an exception.
2. Once the mortgage is paid off, your living costs dramatically decrease.
3. You can repair and renovate as you wish, without the consent of a landlord. This allows you to add value to your property.
4. You can’t be removed from your place of residence, so your lifestyle is more secure.
5. You can have pets.

Basically it all comes down to freedom. No landlord is dictating how or what you do with the place. It’s one less set of restrictions, on a part of your life that for many people is really important.

There are pros and cons. If you own your house outright you save a lot of money if you are the type who doesn’t invest your money much anyway. Paying a mortgage or rent costs a lot over time. Often a mortgage payment is less money than rent, and if the property goes up in value, when you go to sell you make money. If you never sell you have zero (or very minimal) monthly payment after you pay off your mortgage. So, you buy a house at age 30 and the mortgage is $1k a month. When you are 60, the average mortgage in your neighborhood is double, but you have paid off your mortgage and pay nothing. If you don’t have rent controls in your city your rent can just go up and up, but the mortgage you can lock in the monthly expense. Although, with a house you can wind up with repairs, your property taxes can go up, and insurance can go up. In FL property taxes can’t go up more than 3% in a year if you live there as your primary residence. In some states it can go up much much more.

Some people feel tenants don’t care about the property like owners do, but that is not always true. Anyway, the idea is it’s better to be surrounded by people who “take ownership” of the house, land, and neighborhood, and have a vested interest in keeping it’s value up.

If you prefer a house to a building, houses are usually owned by a single owner and if you are renting the house the landlord can decide to sell at any time and then you can find yourself being forced to move at the end of the lease.

You can personalize something you own. Paint colors, built-in shelves, extra ceiling lights, whatever you want.

It depends on your lifestyle. Do you move a lot? Do you have kids? Is the real estate market going up? Do you travel a lot? What part of the country do you live in? All those things factor in.

If I were to save up the same amount of money I pay each month for rent to eventually buy a house, it would take me at least 60 years to come up with enough money.
Does not make sense for me financially.

Historically, it was considered to be a very effective investment of your money – house prices were always supposed to go up. Of course, we now know that that’s not necessarily true. But it worked for my father; every house he ever bought, he sold for about a $30,000 profit.

I managed to buy a super cute condo with two bedrooms and an amazing fjord view. It was a total fluke and I qualified for a special housing loan from the government. Now, I pay less than I would be paying in rent and my son has his own bedroom, he didn’t have to change schools because of his father being an ass and all, and I have this for a view: https://scontent-arn2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/11737962_10153571699007845_3911890117947660338_n.jpg?oh=128cd61f5f5e69527ba0489d94aac3dc&oe=563F1EF6

The place isn’t going to increase in value anytime real soon because of the way the financial structure is set up, but I didn’t buy for a quick sale and to make a buck, but I know that the place is mine and I don’t have to stress over every little dent in the floor or walls my son makes (he has behavioral disorders) Long term, this was a good thing. I don’t have any pension in this country because I stayed home with the kids, so at least I know I will have a roof over my head and won’t be booted out with a month’s notice because my lease is up (which has happened in the past here.)

It depends on your location, financial position and what you do for a living. For most people around here work will always be within 20 miles or so and you can have a much nicer place to put your head down at night for less money when you buy. It will almost automatically put you in a better part of town. More advantages than disadvantages. I think people get into trouble when they see their home as an investment. It’s usually nothing more than a place to live. Land…that’s an investment. People mostly get into trouble when they buy too much house and can’t weather financial turmoil. In the end though a house in theory will be paid for and the scourge of having to pay for a place to sleep mostly ends. That’s where people can really start to get ahead financially if that is accomplished before retirement.

Others have commented from a financial viewpoint—mine comes from a strictly emotional one. After lived in apartments and suffered a multitude of annoyances from living so close to other people, I never felt happier and “more at home” than when I started living under my own roof.

I bought after the housing crash (pretty close to the bottom) and got a really great house for a good price with a low interest rate. My monthly payments are pretty close to what I’d pay for a decent apartment with much less square footage, and cheaper than it would cost to rent something equivalent. The interest/property tax in my mortgage is tax-deductible, so I get a nice refund every year from the IRS. Not to mention the property value has increased by $20—$30k since I bought it about 4.5 years ago according to Zillow (which isn’t the most accurate, but is still a decent gauge of value).

Now I’ve invested a significant amount in improving this place, so there are costs, but I should see some of that come back to me if I ever sell.

Saving money over higher (usually) rent, building equity.

@ragingloli That’s why saving to buy a house is a bad idea. Save for a deposit, then borrow the rest. Inflation and market movement mean that your house will in time become worth more than the loan. And that money is yours.

The property market generally increases at a rate greater than the cash rate. That means if you save to buy outright, the market is getting away from you. If you can invest and get better returns than property, then great, don’t buy property. But if you can buy property that is going to increase in value faster than money in the bank, why wouldn’t you?

@BlackSwanEffect Saving to buy a house outright or a huge deposit with a short mortgage like 15 years is definitely worth it. You save a ton of money over time. Mortgages cost a fortune, especially 30 year mortgages, in interest over time, and you pay the bulk of the interest in the beginning years, so if you move within the first ten years you barely have paid down the loan.

It just makes long-term financial sense.

That, and lots of people dream of customizing the place they live… buying the house that suits them best. I never actually had the dream of buying a house either but I can see the appeal.

Consequently I’ll be buying a house soon.

I love my privacy, and I love nature. I’m out on 21 acres with no neighbors and I have a garden. Although this year I’m feeding the bunnies and the deer. We have over $70K equity in the house. I love it out here.

Your house your rules. You can take a bath at 3 in the morning. Do Laundry at any hour.

Well, a lot has been said about the freedom, security, and privacy a home affords one, but there is a latent benefit when it comes to employment, and financial institutions. You will never hear anyone admit it, but if you are a homeowner you get looked at differently than if you rent. If you are a homeowner it shows you are responsible, disciplined, stable and committed. They know if they hire you that you are less likely to get a wild hair up your butt, quit and move, because you have invested much into your home and set down deep roots. You had to be stable and committed or you could not make your payments or keep your house up; you own it all, and anything goes wrong with the place, you have to get it repaired, no calling the property manager. It is easier to borrow money because you have assets, the house, they can go after if you flake. If you can hold onto your home even in real estate down turns, the house will eventually regain its value. You know real estate laws had to be concocted by wealthy white land owners back when, it is the only thing I know of that you can buy that on paper depreciates because it is supposed to be getting used up, but in the real world goes up in price more than it loses value, tell me that wasn’t a stroke of brilliance?

@Hypocrisy_Central I forgot that angle of white land owners. Such a southern thing. It never occurs to me to think that way, and then when I lived in the mid south that point was made by a mayor of a smallish town regarding the vote when Obama was running for President. I don’t remember where you live. My aunt and grandmother rented their entire lives like many New Yorkers living in NYC. They have masters degrees and had long term careers for many years. My aunt has lived in the same apartment for 40 years. My grandmother lived in her last apartment for over 15 years, the one before that for over 20 years.

When I was a manager I never thought once about whether someone I interviewed lived in an apartment or a house. I never heard another manager or HR person say anything about that either. I guess if you knew a city really well you might know if an address was likely a rental or not, but you can’t be sure unless the person actually lives in a rental complex. Someone can always be renting a house or condominium.

Work experience would trump any notion about where someone lives.

I live in Western NY. Our area is considered one of the best for low home prices in the US. People can get a very nice home for a relatively low price. When Bush recession hit in 2008 while homes in other regions dropped as much as 50%, the average price here only went down 2–5%! Prices are very stable. Sounds like a deal, right? BUT!!! The taxes here are quite high. I pay over $650 per month just for taxes!
From 1979 to today my home price has increased in value to 2.5 times what I paid for it. Sounds like a deal, right? . BUT!!! The rate of inflation and value of money has gone up a little over 3x during the same period. My home value effectively went down even with all the improvements.
I am not complaining. I love this place and am really glad I bought where and when I did. It has helped form me into what I am today. However, the financials are not a slam dunk.

I will add there are some other benefits to home ownership. You will save money if you don’t over-buy. Get what you think you will need in a few years. Don’t buy a monster house because it is cheap. 2500–3000 square foot McMansions are very reasonably priced. (check out sites like trulia and zillow) BUT!!! You have to heat and cool them, and that can cost a fortune. That long sexy driveway needs to be plowed in the winter and sealed in the summer. The gorgeous lawn needs to be mowed. Unless you do it all yourself it gets really expensive if you hire someone.

I have also found that over the years home ownership has helped me avoid other obligations I did not want to engage in. “Sorry I can’t go to that event. i am having xyz done on the house.” “Do you want to go to ABC this weekend? No, I really need to catch up on the house.” Those excuses have saved me a fortune!

One last thought. Are you “handy” with tools? When you own a home there is always something that needs to be fixed. If you don’t know how to turn a screwdriver you might be better off renting.

I thought of another reason in favor of buying your own home. If you are creative / handy / like to tinker, etc. you can make it your own. You are free to make it into a show-piece, a fortress, a dump, a castle, or a subject of an HGTV special.

Not if there are building regulations you have to follow.

@ragingloli At least where I live, I’ve found the regulations are pretty reasonable. They fall into two groups Respecting the neighbors’ property lines and drainage, and safety.

For example: You can’t build anything on the property line. Most construction requires a 10 foot setback. Out of courtesy here we neighbors go to 30 ft. We have the space so it is not a problem.

You can’t build a deck with $0.99, 2“x4”, pine. It must be pressure treated and anchored properly and have an engineering drawing.
We can’t put a wood-burning stove in our house unless it follows the rules. And there are plenty: distance to flammable materials, flue design, chimney, venting, etc. The installers know the rules and follows code because they know the inspector will check to make sure it is done correctly.
In general, I have no trouble with them.

I’ll admit I was angry when I installed my backup, (275 gallon), 1000 liter) heating oil tank. I was not permitted to run the copper lines from the tank to the boiler, under the concrete floor like the house had in 1957. Now all lines must be visible (ugly) so any leak will show up and not leach oil into the soil if there is a leak.
I did it according to code – but I still don’t like it. .