Why the New American Real Estate Dream Is Renting

Post by randallsquared » Sat, Aug 15, 2009, 8:52 PM UTC

dionidium wrote: post #8

HeyLaughingBoy wrote: post #6

Dumb article! Homeownership is dead because you could be foreclosed upon? This is news? I bought my first house in the city about 12 years ago. First thing I did was paint one bedroom wall cobalt blue cause I loved that color. Lawns are a pain in the ass to take care of (and I don't much care for monocultures anyway), so I began ripping up the lawn in the back and planting veggies, strawberries, raspberries and prair…

"People who rent talk about the books that they've read, the trips that they've taken, the skills that they are learning, the friends whose company they are enjoying. Property owners complain about the local politicians, the high rate of property tax, the difficulty of finding competent tradespeople, the high value of their own (very likely crummy) house or condo, and what kinds of furniture and kitchen appliances th…

Post by randallsquared » Sat, Aug 15, 2009, 8:57 PM UTC

yummyfajitas wrote: post #4

TweedHeads wrote: post #2

Never rent unless in a precarious situation or if just recently moved to a new city. Buy as soon as you can. You will never ever see a penny of what you paid for in rent. If you buy, even if temporary, you get all your money back, sometimes more, sometimes less, but you always get some. I lived most of my early adult life renting and I can tell you this, more than $100K wasted and no way at all to get one cent back.

Mathematical identity: price to own = price to rent + speculative ownership premium + transaction costs If you rent, you get to keep that speculative ownership premium and the transaction costs. An additional problem with owning is that your investments are bound to your living situation. Orthogonality is good. I can change my living situation without even thinking about my investments.

Post by ryanwaggoner » Sat, Aug 15, 2009, 9:49 PM UTC

TweedHeads wrote: post #2

Never rent unless in a precarious situation or if just recently moved to a new city. Buy as soon as you can. You will never ever see a penny of what you paid for in rent. If you buy, even if temporary, you get all your money back, sometimes more, sometimes less, but you always get some. I lived most of my early adult life renting and I can tell you this, more than $100K wasted and no way at all to get one cent back.

Post by HeyLaughingBoy » Sat, Aug 15, 2009, 9:59 PM UTC

dionidium wrote: post #8

HeyLaughingBoy wrote: post #6

Dumb article! Homeownership is dead because you could be foreclosed upon? This is news? I bought my first house in the city about 12 years ago. First thing I did was paint one bedroom wall cobalt blue cause I loved that color. Lawns are a pain in the ass to take care of (and I don't much care for monocultures anyway), so I began ripping up the lawn in the back and planting veggies, strawberries, raspberries and prair…

"People who rent talk about the books that they've read, the trips that they've taken, the skills that they are learning, the friends whose company they are enjoying. Property owners complain about the local politicians, the high rate of property tax, the difficulty of finding competent tradespeople, the high value of their own (very likely crummy) house or condo, and what kinds of furniture and kitchen appliances th…

Post by natrius » Sat, Aug 15, 2009, 10:11 PM UTC

modeless wrote: post #9

This is why I cringe when I hear people say that the current economic crisis is an indictment of capitalism; a proof that free markets behave irrationally. To believe that you have to ignore the enormous distortions government has created, not just with recent legislation but with things like the mortgage tax deduction that are so entrenched and popular we take them for granted.