Posted on 05/13/2025 6:31:45 AM PDT by where's_the_Outrage?
“your mortgage will not”
Unless you get a variable rate mortgage, of course.
Paying rent makes some other family rich.
Which I have no problem with parents helping their children with getting their first house, keeps the wealth in the family.
I think you treated your house more like a “utility” as mentioned in the article.
Your home is a place to live. Period. If you move out and rent it to someone else, then it becomes an investment.
A home hedges against rent expense (assuming you’re going to live somewhere).
Indeed, I would recommend that if you sell your home and move to a rental, to invest the proceeds of your home sale in an equity-REIT.
When is a home NOT an investment?
When it’s beyond your income. A $20 million home requiring six full-time servants might be appropriate for Taylor Swift, but would probably be beyond the income of most Freepers.
I’d say the same about investments in precious metal and jewelry, in luxury cars and art. If its in line with your income, sounds prudent to me.
> He built a huge mansion in an area that wasn’t as desirable from a land perspective… <
As the old saying goes, better to have the worst house in a good neighborhood than the best house in a bad neighborhood.
What happened to Michael Jordan happened to a friend of mine. He’s a carpenter, and he bought and renovated a huge house in a sketchy part of town. It was for his own family. The house is now done, and it’s beautiful.
It’s also located on a street that’s now filled with Section 8 rentals. So there’s no need for my friend to turn on the TV to watch a police show. He need only look at his front window.
🙁
AND, an inflation hedge.
I suggest we all, and I've always considered FReepers to among the educated and intelligent, re-align ourselves with our life and lives as we are meant to live them, as creations of God and that we have allowed the God consciousness to be removed from our everyday thought processes.
Too many older folks get to the point where they realize what they (we) need is a place to sleep, eat and relax. To provide a base for what we may need or want for entertainment.
We two (my wife and I) have an older mobile home, 2 acres with a garden and a 15 year old, very well maintained Honda Pilot . . . all paid for. We're not off the grid, but we are out of the rat race.
The mistake too many people make in their early years and/or marriage is a debt load they take forever to be rid of.
The old adage of giving a woman food and she'll make a meal, a house and she'll make a home . . . etc., should be the basis for buying or building that home . . . .that life.
Real estate as a means of generating net profit cash flow? Sure, why not.
Real estate as a first-time homeowner? Hopefully. I bought a 1,250 sq. ft. condo in Californa and sold it 20 years later for a $300K profit, which I rolled over into a 3,000 sq. ft. house. That home has now appreciated another $150K in 10 years, but I don't have plans to sell it and move again, making the appreciation worthless to me from an investment standpoint. But as a means to acquire equity to buy larger later, absolutely.
-PJ
Years ago I came up with what I call the “hassle factor”. That’s where taking on an investment or project is just not worth the hassle. I have a rental house, a few years ago there was an 8 month period where I received no rent because the renter lost his job, so it’s not all roses.
Also, I’m 70 and would rather have the money to burn rather have it dribbling in over 20 years.
AND, you can borrow against it for additional investments in real estate etc.
Plus you use the equity of the house to purchase a bigger house as your family grows.
As a landlord, I’ve learned it’s better to keep a good tenant, even if it means giving them a break on the rent. Over time you’ll save more money than if you constantly bring in new renters, and I guarantee they all won’t be ‘good renters’.
One of the big problems though is that affordable first-time homes are simply not there.
Developers want the huge McMansions, and don’t want to build those affordable homes.
Plus, frankly, neighbors in “affordable” neighborhoods most likely won’t be what you’d want.
I wonder where in the eff they think Trump made his millions.
Property is an investment.
The only property i can think of that is a.liability is timberland. Unless your a huge forest products company, owning land for timber is a liability.
Takes a long time to get any return on investment and by the time to harvest comes around, inflation eats it all up...especially local and state property taxes.
Totally agree, when my rental property tax went up $1000 and the renters (2 years) said their SS couldn’t handle the increase, I looked at all the upkeep they did on my house and decided I’d rather keep them so I’m just eating the difference.
I looked at all the upkeep they did on my house and decided I’d rather keep them so I’m just eating the difference.
This! Renters who can do their part for the upkeep are worth their weight in gold.
If you live in a state like New York, you don’t really own your home.
It’s like a partnership with the mafia.
They want their share in taxes every month and are brutal about it. That and regular maintenance mean you lose money, even after capital gains.
That’s an arrangement we have with one of our tenants. I pay for the appliances/materials and they do the work.
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