Kudo's you raised a realist.
I have an interesting take on homes. They are in La-la land not the real world compared to other investments.
* 1st you get a tax break for the mortgage, gov't underwriting.
* 2nd the banksters win that game, look at the interest you pay.
* 3rd, unless you make > than 250k single and 500k married cap-gains on the sale of your home it is tax free.
* Now compare that with Cap Gain taxes or Dividends on Stocks or Bonds? How come there is no parody? Why it is sold as an "investment" than why the heck isn't it playing by investment rules?
* Not to mention the maintenance, frankly they are all money pits.
We have been sold a bill of goods, I ain't buying it anymore. If I had to do it over, building it yourself with the cash you have as you go is the only way to go, bag out of this whole Mortgage paradigm it is not in the real world.
Flat Tax with no Mortgage Deductions work for me, Paging Steve Forbes.....
She’s carefully worked the numbers and as long as she works in the city where she lives, renting will never compare to the way she has it now. Which was her goal from the get go. Not an “investment”. But a method of assuring that she has a fairly fixed housing cost (in the event of serious inflation). The $300+ each month not going into higher rent is going into savings. Savings into which she has calculated the average annual maintenance expenditures. Last year a water heater. This year gutters.
The knowledge that she is highly fixated on financial independence is very reassuring. I will die (much much later hopefully) knowing she can take care of herself.