The Home Ownership Thread

[UnFacconable]

Most families don't consider housing a fungible good. We've considered selling our house and renting something for a few months to a year before buying in a different location in our general area but it's a risky move with a lot of negative externalities. Kids don't like moving (even within the same area), moving itself can be difficult, you have to deal with a landlord, etc. It's not like choosing to buy or lease a car which is more purely a finance-driven decision.

We definitely benefit from the risk reduction of locking in housing costs for our primary residence. Pricing is volatile where I live (but mostly moving upward) and I've known plenty of people who face challenges when being forced out of a rental and trying to find a suitable replacement.

For our mountain vacation home situation, long-term leasing would still be a much better fit and the switching costs are far lower / less disruptive to the family. But there are still plenty of benefits to owning.

 

[Fueco]

The other "personal choice" factor that's not really weighed in the calculator is simply property availability for the particular type of housing you want. There's a lot fewer single family homes available for rent than for purchase.

Plus, if you actually like to be able to modify your property, that pretty much locks you into owning.


I ran the numbers for my place and it said I'm saving almost two million dollars over 30 years by buying when I did vs renting at current prices. Not exactly a fair comparison considering prices and mortgage rates have also gone up, but I'm happy with that decision. Renting in my neighborhood is currently more than double my mortgage, and there's only about two properties that I've seen up for rent in the last decade.


It's definitely good to question the conventional wisdom that buying is always better than renting. Too many younger people act like they're getting totally screwed by not being able to buy, and that's not necessarily true.

When we moved, a huge part of our criteria was staying in the zone for the elementary school the kids are already attending. I checked, and the only house in this area for rent that even has the room we'd need is renting for a few hundred dollars less per month than our mortgage payment. It's also 2000 square feet smaller and has a smaller lot.

And frankly, I'm done with renting. The landlords I've dealt with have all made life more difficult, especially when it came time to move out.

And yes, I'd rather be responsible for the upkeep of the place. I just installed a new bottom seal on the garage door. It's a hassle, but it's not like new things to repair pop up all the time (sarcasm! Of course they do... I have a list of things to do.).

Again, obviously YMMV. If nothing major changes, we'll have this place paid off within seven years or so, and will pay a fraction of the interest on the loan as someone in a 30-year fixed.

 

[otc]

Saw this in a listing today...Like bro...take it easy out there.
I get that you love your hobby or whatever, but you're selling the house not offering up a photo gallery of your collection.

Also, can you imagine running on that treadmill?

 

[otc]

There's another room for the fish

 

[Texasmade]

Saw this in a listing today...Like bro...take it easy out there.
I get that you love your hobby or whatever, but you're selling the house not offering up a photo gallery of your collection.
View attachment 2184909


Also, can you imagine running on that treadmill?

There's another room for the fish
View attachment 2184911

Owner is definitely a single guy.

 

[Ambulance Chaser]

Owner is definitely a single MAGA guy.

FTFY

 

[brokencycle]

I think you all would be surprised. As a kid, there was always one kid's house that had a ton of hunting trophies (maybe not that extreme).

 

[Gibonius]

Saw this in a listing today...Like bro...take it easy out there.
I get that you love your hobby or whatever, but you're selling the house not offering up a photo gallery of your collection.
View attachment 2184909


Also, can you imagine running on that treadmill?

Getting gored by a stuffed animal head would be quite the accomplishment.

 

[Hombre Secreto]

There's another room for the fish
View attachment 2184911

What a creep.

 

[otc]

I think you all would be surprised. As a kid, there was always one kid's house that had a ton of hunting trophies (maybe not that extreme).

Yeah, this person is 100% married*.

Possibly unhappily and since age 19, but the rest of the house clearly wasn't furnished by a single dude.

*unless the house is being sold due to a divorce

 

[Texasmade]

I think you all would be surprised. As a kid, there was always one kid's house that had a ton of hunting trophies (maybe not that extreme).

Divorced father!

 

[brokencycle]

Boomers say you can take my house from my cold dead hands; spending $100k+ to not have to move out.

Meet the boomers who’d rather spend $100k to renovate their homes than risk the frozen housing market: ‘It would be too hard to purchase anything else’

“The growing older demographic is more knowledgeable about renovations and planning for their future needs, especially as they prepare to age in place,” says a luxury bidet company exec.

fortune.com

 

[UnFacconable]

Boomers say you can take my house from my cold dead hands; spending $100k+ to not have to move out.

Meet the boomers who’d rather spend $100k to renovate their homes than risk the frozen housing market: ‘It would be too hard to purchase anything else’

“The growing older demographic is more knowledgeable about renovations and planning for their future needs, especially as they prepare to age in place,” says a luxury bidet company exec.

fortune.com

Two thoughts on the financial aspects.

First - doesn't the tax code drive people toward this outcome? Some people would have to pay cap gains on sale (if gain is over $500k, which is true for millions of boomers in CA). And when people die, they can transfer the property with stepped up basis to their heirs and never have to pay that cap gains.

Second - our society is only getting older. It might be a smart investment to make your house more attractive to geriatrics.

 

[cross22]

(if gain is over $250K for singles and $500k for married couples, which is true for millions of boomers in CA).

 

[brokencycle]

Two thoughts on the financial aspects.

First - doesn't the tax code drive people toward this outcome? Some people would have to pay cap gains on sale (if gain is over $500k, which is true for millions of boomers in CA). And when people die, they can transfer the property with stepped up basis to their heirs and never have to pay that cap gains.

Second - our society is only getting older. It might be a smart investment to make your house more attractive to geriatrics.

#1 is absolutely true. Our tax code's attempt to social engineer shows unintended consequences.