11–20 of 71 posts
Is there some unknown incentive for these people to share empty “enlightenment?” It’s as if these people are becoming content farms being graded on number of articles published.
Anyway, this article is garbage.
Lots of bad financial advice here. “You can’t unlock a house’s appreciation” - wrong, they have home equity lines of credit, refinances with cash out. “You could do so many better things with the money” - you have to live somewhere, wouldn’t you rather live in a nice house with the potential for appreciation than rent with no chance at all? Also, there’s tax advantages to mortgages here in the US. Renting out a house…
The tax advantages are pretty rare now that the standard deduction was raised to $12k per individual. Only something like 10% of homes still use the interest deduction.
Renting gives you flexibility and keeps any cash you might have free, but it also is a sunk cost with each passing month. It’s pretty simple math.
Owning a place ties up cash in the form of a down payment, and a lot of people underestimate the true cost of maintenance and repairs over time on both new and old buildings. But the ability to build equity over time and the amount of control it gives you over your living situation makes it an obvious choice for me. If you can get into a multi-family or income generating property, your returns are obviously higher. I’d always look at appreciation potential as a bonus if it happens, it’s never a reason to buy.
I think the truest and most important thing to keep in mind is that money is made and lost when buying real estate, not selling it. Educate yourself, be picky, take your time, be realistic about costs, and do your very best to buy well.
Why is Medium filled with, what I call, celery? I consume articles, but there is absolutely no substance. Is there some unknown incentive for these people to share empty “enlightenment?” It’s as if these people are becoming content farms being graded on number of articles published. Anyway, this article is garbage.
Why is Medium filled with, what I call, celery? I consume articles, but there is absolutely no substance. Is there some unknown incentive for these people to share empty “enlightenment?” It’s as if these people are becoming content farms being graded on number of articles published. Anyway, this article is garbage.
Lots of bad financial advice here. “You can’t unlock a house’s appreciation” - wrong, they have home equity lines of credit, refinances with cash out. “You could do so many better things with the money” - you have to live somewhere, wouldn’t you rather live in a nice house with the potential for appreciation than rent with no chance at all? Also, there’s tax advantages to mortgages here in the US. Renting out a house…
Other major tax advantage is zero tax on up to $250,000 in gains ($500K for married couples)
Further, you can deduct all the sales commissions (real estate 6% fees) from the profits as well.
Forget pure financial calculation -- It also gives you less flexibility to move quickly! I certainly wouldn't buy a house before age 30. You want to be able to pick up and move and chase an opportunity. (I'm awfully glad I got on a plane and moved to Silicon Valley in 1989 on a whim.)
Lots of bad financial advice here. “You can’t unlock a house’s appreciation” - wrong, they have home equity lines of credit, refinances with cash out. “You could do so many better things with the money” - you have to live somewhere, wouldn’t you rather live in a nice house with the potential for appreciation than rent with no chance at all? Also, there’s tax advantages to mortgages here in the US. Renting out a house…
The tax advantages are pretty rare now that the standard deduction was raised to $12k per individual. Only something like 10% of homes still use the interest deduction.
Which is probably a good thing, there’s no need to give the huge breaks we have been the past few decades to people wealthy enough to buy a house. But what a bizarrely complicated way to go about enacting this change instead of just eliminating the mortgage interest deduction altogether.
Oh god, I’ve thought long and hard about this over the years and my conclusion is that there’s no good advice that applies to everyone - whether you should own or rent depends heavily on what you value, how long you plan to stay put, and what alternatives you have when it comes to what to do with your money. Renting gives you flexibility and keeps any cash you might have free, but it also is a sunk cost with each pas…
Make the math work without appreciation, and you are doing it right.