assuming u dont plan children, and u dont get excited about the idea of having your own home in 30 years when u r too old for most things anyway, why would u bother with mortgage hassle?

i know we r conditioned to own, but what for ???

anyway investing in funds etc is more flexible and more hassle-free if u have to allocate cash somewhere…no ?

 

  • BlueJuliet 9:04 am on February 12, 2010

    Apart from the fact that my mortgage payment is much less than I would pay for an apartment, and it’s good for your credit it you own & make payments on time, there is the tax deduction of mortgage interest. That’s the only reason for most of the people like the ones you mention. And yes, owning a home is part of the "American Dream", whatever that is nowadays. Personally, I’d rather rent if I could afford it – less hassle with yardwork and maintenance.

    I’d never borrow against my equity (which is 50% of the home’s value). That’s how people lose their homes. It’s a real gamble, putting your house up as collateral.

  • nobodiesinc 9:04 am on February 12, 2010

    There is no pride in renting as in ownership

  • stupid.liberals 9:04 am on February 12, 2010

    I would rather own because I will be paying for something that will be mine. That way when I am old I can sell it. Or if I have children they could have it.

  • guitarmike 9:04 am on February 12, 2010

    rent = zero return on investment

    owning = at least a little return on investment — up to a large of ROI

  • Village Idiot 9:04 am on February 12, 2010

    Because these days, it’s not really cheaper to rent than it is to own… and as you build equity in your property, you can move up (larger properties for the same monthly payment) or you can leverage that equity to do otehr things (Build a pool, go on vacation, invest….)

    None of which you can do if you’re renting.

  • Alex G 9:04 am on February 12, 2010

    Rent is money you throw into a black hole and will never get back.
    Property is an investment that you can technically resell at some point to get either most of your money back, or make a bundle on increased value.
    Over a lifetime, rent is an incredibly large chunk of cash that you will never see again. A waste, in a sense.

  • Campbell Gramma 9:04 am on February 12, 2010

    my in-laws bought their house for $28,000 dollars……

    it’s now worth $425,000

    that’s a pretty good return on any investment…

  • Ya-sai 9:04 am on February 12, 2010

    There is a sense of security (rightly or wrongly) to owning ones home. No weird landlords to deal with, rent increase, chasing for repairs to get done. Finally at the end of the day, if you wanted to go back to renting a place, you should be a few dollars the better.

  • Big Jimi 9:04 am on February 12, 2010

    I owned several homes in my past,I always thought that was the way to go,BUT,all that upkeep,taxes etc.Hell renting isn’t so bad!

  • Amy S 9:04 am on February 12, 2010

    Why throw away your money on something you will never own. If its the thought of doing yard work, maintenance on the home that turns you off, look into condos, you pay a maintenance fee and get rid of some of the headaches

  • Robin J. Sky 9:04 am on February 12, 2010

    Because what good is paying for something if you’re not going to be able to own it? Think about it- anything else you buy, you thus own, right? It’s yours, you can do whatever the heck you please with it.

    Also, because owning property accumulates equity, which is something you can borrow money against. If you’re going to pay such a large amount of money over time as for something like property, why not having it building value you can put to use rather than just bleeding your money into a landlord’s pocket?

  • chimpdaddyflex 9:04 am on February 12, 2010

    i would say because its a pain to see someone else getting money for something that you will never own for your self, also, why would you want someone else to get your soc. check when you retire. not everyone has LOTS of money.

  • cosaxteacher 9:04 am on February 12, 2010

    Well, this is how it works. I used to rent an apartment for about the same cost as my mortgage. Over the 4 years in the apartment, I paid $30,000 in rent. What did I get for that? Just a place to live. I now own my house. I’ll pay $30,000 over 4 years, and I’ll have nearly $50,000 in equity that means I have more money later on, instead of just wasted money. Funds are much more risky and have a better chance at value loss than a house. A house over time will always gain in value. It may not gain a lot, but it will gain.

  • ~Chocolicious~ 9:04 am on February 12, 2010

    well we wanted to own a house becuz we wanted land. (sounds kinda greedy) but my little sis wanted a backyard. and put a tireswing up and maybe a trampoline. and adults usually get their own house if they have children. when my mom and dad and me and my sis where living in the apartment plus my brother it was a nightmare!!! it was so small. my brother was always on the computer staying up all night. i couldnt ever go to sleep or concentrate on my homework.

  • loach 9:04 am on February 12, 2010

    you build equity and when you want to move you make money by selling your house and getting the equity back, meaning you pretty much lived there for free, whereas if you rent that money is gone forever.

  • patti p 9:04 am on February 12, 2010

    Simple, if you rent for thirty years , you have nothing tangible that you own to show for it. After thirty years of mortgage payments ,you have something to show for what you spent. You own a home!

  • lisachimi 9:04 am on February 12, 2010

    I think just so you can have a dog or a cat without asking someone else first. Other wise some people use it as an investment move in repair and enhance it move out and sell it for more than you paid. Which only works if you own no other houses and can do it for a couple of years. you cant do any repairs without a permit it seems so its like the house isn’t really yours.

  • jp 9:04 am on February 12, 2010

    Although some people DO choose to rent forever for various reasons, some you’ve stated, paople see owning as an investment opportunity. When you buy a house, keep it up, take pride in ownership because we are CONDITIONED to, the value most always goes up, leaving extra money to enjoy in retirment or leave to other heirs. Or donate to their favorite animal charity, if they are truly wonderful!

  • desotobrave 9:04 am on February 12, 2010

    I think that history has shown home ownership to be at least as stable as equity investment. Owning your own home in 30 years means you no longer have that bill every month, as it would be limited to your property taxes. It would certainly make retirement easier.

  • stuman8484 9:04 am on February 12, 2010

    Well, I rent and personally I don’t particularly like it. I hate the fact that my money is just going no where every month. If I had a mortgage then I would be slowly buying my house and would have something at the end. Unfortunately though, I don’t have the cash for a deposit at the moment and have got too many existing debts to get one (for a half decent house anyway, I don’t wanna live in a box in a bad area). The government should do more to get 1st time buyers on the ladder instead of feeding the 16 year old baby producers.

  • mynickname 9:04 am on February 12, 2010

    When you own your own home, you can do what you want with it, when you want, no matter what, and it is an investment.
    If you are going to pay rent anyway, why not pay the same amount on your home instead? Then instead of making payments to someone else for nothing, you can make payments into an investment that will pay off big time later.
    You are going to pay to live somewhere no matter what, so why not pay into an investment?
    To me, renting makes no sense whatsoever, no matter the circumstances.

  • tanaramclean11 9:04 am on February 12, 2010

    I see where you’re coming from, but owning your own home means you’re the boss, not someone else. As a renter, you have no say and you’re under someones thumb. You sound like you’re not one for being controlled, but as a renter you’re the puppet and the one renting you the place holds the strings.

    Owning a home means you have acquired something of value which belongs to you, something you worked for. Why waste your money and pay someone elses mortgage while you could be paying your own. You wouldn’t always go to a restaurant and pay for everyone elses meals and only have a spoonful and be content. So why do that with you’re living arrangements.

    If you can, buy a house. You’ll be happy you did. Plus girls/ guys love it when you own your own place, it shows accomplishment and dedication.

    God Bless
    T

  • fireball226 9:04 am on February 12, 2010

    What if you live to 75.??? Do you want to pay rent for another 20 or 30 years when you could own something free and clear? It is worth a few bucks to hire someone to mow the lawn if you need to. Unless my house can be moved to the Biloxi beach, I will stay where i am for a great deal and half an acre of land!

  • Vacation hungry 9:04 am on February 12, 2010

    Becuz if you own, you’ll pay every month for 20 years and then no more.

    Becuz rent fees are almost as much as (if not more than) mortgage fees. After 20 or so years of paying morgage, you’ll own the place and not have to make payments on it anymore. And if for some crazy reason you decide you miss paying monthly fees, you can sell your house, you’ll have $200000 in pocket, and you can go RENT another.

  • Freddie 9:04 am on February 12, 2010

    An investment in a home can be approached like any other investment, by looking at the costs and benefits of the transaction. The benefit that many people see in purchasing a home is that the money that you have to pay for housing "goes somewhere." You acquire equity in the home you have purchased. In this sense, having your own home is like an investment. You have to pay for housing, so why not make this housing payment an investment. Yes, investing in funds or other avenues would be more liquid, but it really isn’t a choice of one or the other, because you are still paying rent. Home values over time typically rise, so you will make a return on your investment. Many people also do not stay in their home until the mortgage is paid off, so you are not necessarily tied to the same home for 15 years or 30 years. Renting has its benefits too. As a homeowner, you have to conduct whatever maintainance on your home. If you are rather nomadic, moving from location to location, an apartment may suit you better for the time being as it is far easier to break a lease than to quickly sell a house.

  • blowry007 9:04 am on February 12, 2010

    Owning property is an investment and, while you don’t have flexibility to reallocate the money invested in the property, renting uses more or your funds than a mortgage, taxes, and insurance so you have more money overall to invest. Also, the money you pay in rent goes toward nothing of value to you.

    Let’s look at an example. Let’s assume that rent on a four bedroom house where I live is $2000 per month. A mortgage (100% loan-to-value, so there is no down payment), taxes, and insurance on the same house is $1800 per month. Of that $1800, $1600 is insurance, principle and interest on the mortgage, $150 is taxes, and $50 is homeowners insurance. Also, let’s assume that $1400 per month of the mortagage insurance, principle, and interest goes to mortgage insurance and interest, and $200 goes to the principle of the loan. In this example, if I were renting and wanted to invest $400, I would need to spend $2400 ($2000 for the rent and $400 for my investments). If I were a property owner, I would need to spend $2000 (the same as the rent payment). The $2000 dollars is made up of $1600 of mortgage insurance, interest, and property insurance, $200 invested in the property (the pay down of the loan principle) and $200 invested out of my pocket. Or, put another way, for the same $2400 per month spent to rent and invest $400, I have doubled the amount of money I can invest to $800 per month if I own the same property.

    May God bless and keep you.

  • sloop_sailor 9:04 am on February 12, 2010

    When you buy you build equity. Why pay interest and build equity for someone else? Since property values historically increase, the equity will increase by the amount the property value goes up as well. This can build into a pretty good nest egg for retirement. Real estate is generally a good investment and usually you pay less in the long run than renting.

  • want it bad 9:04 am on February 12, 2010

    You have a point, but you have to have BANK to make a living off of it. The only way most people see to make that BANK is to buy a house, hope the value exceeds the mortgage they pay, sell the house, pay the mortgage off and BAM they have BANK.

    Does it work that way? We’ll see. Some people go into interest only loans because they will refinance or sell before they have to pay it off.

  • tpt_hick 9:04 am on February 12, 2010

    i think pride does have a lot to do with it, a sense of accomplishment. but owning a house, or land is also much more feasible than having thousands tied up in bonds and such. a property is concrete evidence of financial security, while papers with columns of figures on them are so ambiguous, and subject to fluctuations, and even drastic change. for instance, in 1929, when the market crashed, people who did not own any land or real estate became beggars, no matter how much money they had invested.
    In some countries, ownership of a plot of land, a cow, a pig, is the difference between life and death for your family. As humans, we have a built in instinct to live off what the land gives us, which is probably why people find so much security in knowing that they have complete ownership of part of the world and therefor access to it’s resources (shelter, lumber, a place to grow food, etc…)
    "A man without land is nobody."
    – The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, by Mordechai Richler

  • cascadingrainbows 9:04 am on February 12, 2010

    We have ground& house properties of which we bought ourselves and got as inheritance from our parents.

    We don’t rent because we like to invest into something we know we are sweating out to finally earn it and get certified and documented in papers one day for the good of our children in the future as well.

    And it also feels good for security that what we are working very hard for every single day will pay back as a real estate free of disposal provided in great financial need.
    It’s a social prestige and a valuable investment,don’t u find?

  • zero 9:04 am on February 12, 2010

    I wasted money on an apartment for 8 years and fought for the simplest of things to be repaired. After saving money for my own home I have finally found peace of mind. The one thing I truely missed was privacy. I don’t miss fighting for parking either. Or those weekends when one of your neighbors kids goes on a car stereo thieving expedition. Then of course the idiot that is working on his car right outside your window. Reving the motor, blaring/tuning his stereo and even trying to play a game of football in a parking lot that constantly is busy. I could rant all day about that dang apartment. My home however is a new world to me. I hear no cars pulling in and out. No car stereos, no blaring T.V.’s, all the parking I need and most importantly I have my privacy. One thing I truly appreciate about my home is that it is mine to do with as I please.

  • linkus86 9:04 am on February 12, 2010

    Tax deduction on mortgage interest
    Part of your Mortgage payment goes to ownership (stays in your pocket) while 100% of rent is paid to someone else
    Realized equity over time often out does better than the stock market and you don’t have to pay capital gains tax on it (if owned for 5 years)

    Home ownership is simply a different kind of investment. Granted it is not as liquid as a fund, but still a competitive investment on the short and long term depending upon where you live. Rather than bore you with equations proving this point or poetic definitions of "Pride In Ownership", you are forgetting someone has to be the landlord and if you are your own landlord, you have more control over your domain than you do as a renter. If that is conditioning to own, so be it!

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