I live in a Section 8 rental house.
Why? It was through a long and twisted set of circumstances. I am white, married once to one wife, and have 4 kids, one of whom is severely autistic and developmentally delayed. We stopped at 4 because that's all we wanted. I am bringing them up in a Christian tradition, as much as possible in these dark days.
My wife and I also DESPERATELY want a house of our own.
The landlord who owns the Section 8 house we live in is female, black, AND a lawyer. She's also a liar and is probably crooked as the day is long. She promised us several things when we first moved in and she's never come through on any of them. It's my own damned fault for not getting them in writing.
We want our own house for many reasons. One, our current home isn't large enough. Two, we want something we can modify to suit us. And, quite frankly...even with the subsidized rent, we're still paying more each month for this house than a monthly mortgage payment would be on many bigger homes. Not only that...I want to GET OUT of the Section 8 program. I no longer want to be part of the problem.
I have a stable job, working the same place the last 11 years. We've been looking recently, and we're finding places we'd like.
Now...unless I'm reading it wrong, the FReepers in this thread are saying that home ownership is a BAD thing?
Please...either correct me or set me straight.
Pretty good time to buy if you are going to stay. . Houses are very cheap and interest rates are low. A 300k mortgage at 3.5 % was unthinkable just a few years ago. Just don’t buy in an unstable neighborhood. Get the worst house on the best block for a bargain and hunker down. The long term trend is down, but this is as good as it will get.
Please...either correct me or set me straight. “
Well I make my living as a mortgage lender; so my bias is obvious!
You certainly don't want to buy a home and watch the value drop.
But thinks have stabilized in much of the country. But buying a home should be about having a stable place for your family and not trying to make a large profit on the value going up. But that can be a very nice thing when it happens.
Having your place with the stability that offers is very nice to have.
Especially if you plan to be in one area a long time.
If your housing payment is at or below what you pay for rent then it makes the decision much easier.
On the flip side there costs to home ownership that buyers don't always think about that a landlord pays. Siding, roofing, windows and other things need replacing eventually.
No, the author says real estate is a great INVESTMENT.
You are talking about a life style choice. Owning a house could (and usually is) a money losing proposition but still worth it if it makes your life better and you can afford it.
There is a difference between buying a single home to live in and buying multiple houses as a speculative investment for the future.