281–290 of 497 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not sure how Belgiums works, but Australias stamp duty is a lump sum you pay alongside your deposit when buying the property. Correction: I double checked and it looks like it can be added to your mortgage, which isn't as bad up front.
That is not quite correct. Stamp duty is payable at the time of settlement but it is normally added as a lump sum to the mortgage.
Thanks!
Earlier quoted context omitted.
A curious phenomenon I have noticed only in India is that rental yields tend to be much lower than any other country. Arguably, if renting is so cheap, it makes more sense to rent than own a house, unless property is expected to appreciate in value indefinitely.
Most homes are purchased for the purpose of living in them. Additionally, monthly rental income is less than a quarter of loan payments, assuming 80% of total is taken as loan, which is true in most cases. Loan tenures are about 25 years, so most families take a home and pay the loans during their active service life. About 10 or 15 years down the line, one or two floors are added to tge house, for rental purpose. He…
[citation needed]
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not sure how Belgiums works, but Australias stamp duty is a lump sum you pay alongside your deposit when buying the property. Correction: I double checked and it looks like it can be added to your mortgage, which isn't as bad up front.
That's rough, although paying it once and being done with it is certainly preferable (long term, if you have the funds) to wrapping it into the mortgage and paying 3-4x over the life of the loan.
Even from the title, the implication is that "home ownership" is a "policy" from the government rather than just a natural state of people acquiring and improving the land. It implies the government can simply revoke home ownership by a new policy. Property ownership and improvement isn't a privilege "given" to us by a benevolent government with their immaculate "policies" from time immemorial. People are the source…
Even from the title, the implication is that "home ownership" is a "policy" from the government rather than just a natural state of people acquiring and improving the land. It implies the government can simply revoke home ownership by a new policy. Property ownership and improvement isn't a privilege "given" to us by a benevolent government with their immaculate "policies" from time immemorial. People are the source…
What's this obsession with increasing housing density? Population in the developing world is leveling off. Most of the developed world is already at "peak child".[1] Housing shortages come from migration to cities, not more people. [1] https://ourworldindata.org/peak-child
The real question is "What's this obsession with decreasing housing density?"
Cities don't have zoning laws mandating minimum densities, they have laws mandating maximum densities. If there was an "obsession with increasing housing density" as you claim, wouldn't we see the opposite?
I would pin the failure on how we view home ownership as an investment vehicle. There's little inherently appreciable to a building. In fact they depreciate over time and require constant investment to maintain. The location however can appreciate, which we all agree on. But we never say out loud the underlying mechanism. Locations appreciate in value specifically because more humans want to own it. Viewing homes as…
So the value of the structure is what it would cost in terms of parts and labor today minus existing wear-and-tear and needed repairs. Of course maintaining the structure probably eats up any potential profit over time on the structure itself while the land appreciates indefinitely.
However in many places the land is worth far more than the structure.
Property ownership is bad. Rent for life, dont leave inheritance to your children so they can rent for life too. All you need in life is clothing, entertainment, a bit of travel to distract you from your tiny living space, maybe a gadget or two and of course onsite work. Oh and praise from you manager to add meaning to your daily grind. Or so “they” say while “they” amass thousands of properties and massive fortunes…
What is "financial freedom"? You still have to work, use state currency, pay taxes. Did you mean owning your own home is the first step towards being wealthy?
There are safety nets for big things - not always good ones, but they exist everywhere and so when something major goes wrong you can count on some help. However there are a lot of little things that are both far more likely to go wrong, and also things that it is harder to get help with from any sort of safety net.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> a minimum 5% deposit + 3-5% stamp duty Oh wow. I had to read the rest of your comment twice to understand that you were saying these seem high to you. They seemed really low to me. To put it into perspective, you need a 10-20% deposit in Belgium (depending on various factors) and there's a 6% tax for an old house (10% up until very recently) or 21% for a new house. It's basically impossible to buy a house if you're…
In comparison, in Finland the stamp duty is 0% when you buy your first home while you are under 40.