Why is the mortgage interest capped at 10%?
Show HN: Should I Get a House? a better rent vs. buy calculator
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Re: Show HN: Should I Get a House? a better rent vs. buy calculator
#12Buying is better, if you are thinking a bit long term like 4-5+ Years. Now, why I said that: Here’s my story - I had lived in an apartment for 5 years. It’s my longest stretch at one place so far. I paid about $100k in rent for all of those years. When I left that place, I got nothing out of it. If I had a house, then I would had built some equity. Edit: removed - ‘Buying is always better’ from the first sentence
Its a question because “having equity” isnt always the better answer
Its how much, what percent of what, how much does it cost you to maintain and service, how long you are looking at
Anyway thats the point of the calculator
Re: Show HN: Should I Get a House? a better rent vs. buy calculator
#13My wife wants to buy a house, but I'm unable to make life decisions without trying to minmax them. I wasn't satisfied with existing rent vs. buy calculators, so I decided to build my own! I'm not a developer, so I apologize if it's a little rough looking... Some things it takes into account: - The actual rate of return on your down payment and extra costs of a house - Inflation - Itemized deductions on your taxes - T…
Probably want to allow for the possibility of rent rises over time. One thing that I think this actually shows pretty well is the notion that part of the answer depends on how long you intend to stay in a place. If you expect to move in two or three years, it's probably not worth the hassle/expense of buying. If you intend to stay 5+ years in one place, it makes more sense to buy.
This all depends on geography though. Buying in the bay area and only staying for 2.01 years could get you a pretty hefty ROR assuming you don't remodel anything, considering the supply constraints. Maybe covid & remote work will change that.
Re: Show HN: Should I Get a House? a better rent vs. buy calculator
#14Buying is better, if you are thinking a bit long term like 4-5+ Years. Now, why I said that: Here’s my story - I had lived in an apartment for 5 years. It’s my longest stretch at one place so far. I paid about $100k in rent for all of those years. When I left that place, I got nothing out of it. If I had a house, then I would had built some equity. Edit: removed - ‘Buying is always better’ from the first sentence
Always is a strong word. I move around a lot, from 6 to 18 months at a time. The time it would take to search, purchase, and resell a home doesn't make sense in that scenario. Renting gives some flexibility in moving compared to buying. If you're staying in one spot though, then I agree with you more.
Re: Show HN: Should I Get a House? a better rent vs. buy calculator
#15This looks great! For those going through the process, I also found this tool helpful in determining whether to rent vs. buy:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/upshot/buy-rent-cal...
Re: Show HN: Should I Get a House? a better rent vs. buy calculator
#16Buying is better, if you are thinking a bit long term like 4-5+ Years. Now, why I said that: Here’s my story - I had lived in an apartment for 5 years. It’s my longest stretch at one place so far. I paid about $100k in rent for all of those years. When I left that place, I got nothing out of it. If I had a house, then I would had built some equity. Edit: removed - ‘Buying is always better’ from the first sentence
Depends on your transaction costs.
Re: Show HN: Should I Get a House? a better rent vs. buy calculator
#17House prices are not included in inflation estimates, rental prices are. That's another thing that should be considered.
There's a separate parameter to control the increase in house prices. My assumption is that houses have tended to increase faster than inflation in most markets.
Yes, and here is the great fallacy of current times economics. Whilst house price increases leave younger people unable to afford one, inflation (official numbers) keeps at its lowest levels ever.
Re: Show HN: Should I Get a House? a better rent vs. buy calculator
#18Buying is better, if you are thinking a bit long term like 4-5+ Years. Now, why I said that: Here’s my story - I had lived in an apartment for 5 years. It’s my longest stretch at one place so far. I paid about $100k in rent for all of those years. When I left that place, I got nothing out of it. If I had a house, then I would had built some equity. Edit: removed - ‘Buying is always better’ from the first sentence
Buying doesn’t make sense if
1. You can’t afford to own a home near your work
2. There’s a chance you will not stay in your current job for more than a few years
3. You don’t like DIY or home maintenance
4. You’re single and want to live near other single people
Re: Show HN: Should I Get a House? a better rent vs. buy calculator
#19If data exists on historical growth between single-family homes vs townhouse vs condo, it would be quite interesting to show here. Since SFH are not being built in certain metro areas anymore their prices seem to rise dramatically faster than space-efficient property.
Re: Show HN: Should I Get a House? a better rent vs. buy calculator
#20Buying is better, if you are thinking a bit long term like 4-5+ Years. Now, why I said that: Here’s my story - I had lived in an apartment for 5 years. It’s my longest stretch at one place so far. I paid about $100k in rent for all of those years. When I left that place, I got nothing out of it. If I had a house, then I would had built some equity. Edit: removed - ‘Buying is always better’ from the first sentence
The first several years of the mortgage you are paying mostly interest and not as much towards equity. Plus, you have paid closing costs when you bought, will pay 6% to a realtor when you sell, and have paid property tax and homeowners insurance.
If you sell after 5 years, you are only making money if your home value happened to have gone up. This is by no means a guarantee on a short time frame.