Your dishwasher breaks or the roof leaks, that's on you to fix or pay someone to fix. You still have years on your mortgage and you get sick or lose your job, that monthly house payment is harder to avoid that that place you were renting.
Look up an amortization calculator and see what a hundred extra bucks a month towards principle does for the length of the note.
Nothing compared to the pains of renting but that's just me. I am sure there will be people who have other living arrangement outside of home ownership that they prefer.
Getting to mow, shovel, salt, weed, rake. Then getting to paint, repair, and fix the interior to, after you worked on the outside on all your free time.
A houses job is to fall down. An owners job is to keep it standing up.
I miss renting. And bad neighbors? Complain to the land lord. Bad neighbors as a home owner; move? (And start all over fixing up some other place).
I also don't believe in flipping a house- I'm planning on staying- a house is not a way to make money.
1. Time and effort to perform essential maintenance, especially when you own a regular house with a sizable yard (not a condo where the HOA takes care of exterior maintenance)
2. Time, effort and money required for 'Honey-Do' requests to upgrade the interior - it never ends!
3. The fact that because you have space available you invariably end up filling it with 'stuff' (useless ornaments, pictures, and such like) that end up owning you more than you own them.
4. It tends to tie you to one geographical location - not easy, and fairly costly to sell and move
My solution to the above:
A. If you must have a 'stick' home make it a small condo where the HOA covers all exterior maintenance leaving you more time for fun
B. Stay single or find a 'low maintenance' partner - more time for living, less time on chores
C. Take pride in minimalism - make it a central focus in your life
D. Find a career that you can do from anywhere; buy and live in a motor-home or take short term rentals in interesting places; from a real estate investment perspective, put your money into buying property that you can rent out to others earning you a positive cash flow.
I owned a house for six years. It was built in the 70s. When we bought it we knew we needed to do some work on it, but soon it seemed like the house was a bottomless pit in which we had to keep throwing money. Every year there was something big that needed to be fixed. Painting outside, replace bathroom after leak, replace a ceiling after another leak, replace a complete window frame because the wood was rotten (present from the previous owner), redo the whole yard, replace the kitchen... now if you're handy, that's no problem. But I am not handy plus I have a very demanding job. I rent an apartment now. Best. decision. ever. I've never felt so free. Especially after all the trouble in the housing market, I was so glad I was able to get rid of my house without being left with a debt.
Buying might mean investing in the future, but to me it felt like a big ball and chain. I'm not saying I won't buy ever again, but I'm definitely going to be very careful with what I buy and think it through really well before I do that again.
I recently read this : "renting what you want instead of owning what you can"
I couldn't agree more (i'm 27, just started working, no kid)
Time have change and mobility is crucial, the only thing I plan on owning is my retirement house (if I ever retire)
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Your dishwasher breaks or the roof leaks, that's on you to fix or pay someone to fix. You still have years on your mortgage and you get sick or lose your job, that monthly house payment is harder to avoid that that place you were renting.
Look up an amortization calculator and see what a hundred extra bucks a month towards principle does for the length of the note.
Once it's paid off though, it's pretty awesome.
Nothing compared to the pains of renting but that's just me. I am sure there will be people who have other living arrangement outside of home ownership that they prefer.
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1. Time and effort to perform essential maintenance, especially when you own a regular house with a sizable yard (not a condo where the HOA takes care of exterior maintenance)
2. Time, effort and money required for 'Honey-Do' requests to upgrade the interior - it never ends!
3. The fact that because you have space available you invariably end up filling it with 'stuff' (useless ornaments, pictures, and such like) that end up owning you more than you own them.
4. It tends to tie you to one geographical location - not easy, and fairly costly to sell and move
My solution to the above:
A. If you must have a 'stick' home make it a small condo where the HOA covers all exterior maintenance leaving you more time for fun
B. Stay single or find a 'low maintenance' partner - more time for living, less time on chores
C. Take pride in minimalism - make it a central focus in your life
D. Find a career that you can do from anywhere; buy and live in a motor-home or take short term rentals in interesting places; from a real estate investment perspective, put your money into buying property that you can rent out to others earning you a positive cash flow.
I owned a house for six years. It was built in the 70s. When we bought it we knew we needed to do some work on it, but soon it seemed like the house was a bottomless pit in which we had to keep throwing money. Every year there was something big that needed to be fixed. Painting outside, replace bathroom after leak, replace a ceiling after another leak, replace a complete window frame because the wood was rotten (present from the previous owner), redo the whole yard, replace the kitchen... now if you're handy, that's no problem. But I am not handy plus I have a very demanding job. I rent an apartment now. Best. decision. ever. I've never felt so free. Especially after all the trouble in the housing market, I was so glad I was able to get rid of my house without being left with a debt.
Buying might mean investing in the future, but to me it felt like a big ball and chain. I'm not saying I won't buy ever again, but I'm definitely going to be very careful with what I buy and think it through really well before I do that again.
I recently read this : "renting what you want instead of owning what you can" I couldn't agree more (i'm 27, just started working, no kid) Time have change and mobility is crucial, the only thing I plan on owning is my retirement house (if I ever retire)