Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The real cost of owning a home

ericturner.dev

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

581–590 of 901 posts

Re: The real cost of owning a home

#581

Post by schumpeter »

at-fates-hands wrote: post #506
funksta wrote: post #325

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Leverage is great when prices are increasing, but not when prices are moving in the opposite direction. The recent 40-year trend of decreasing interest rates lulled a lot of people into the belief that real estate leverage is an unalloyed good.

>> Leverage is great when prices are increasing, but not when prices are moving in the opposite direction. This. I worked for a medium sized company in the early aughts. It was a family owned business. The eldest brother was the owner and we often had lunch and he would tell me that once I make x amount, then I should buy this kind of real estate. When you get to this xx amount, then buy this kind of real estate. Fuc…

Sounds like your friend did something wrong with his investments. I had rentals before 2008, and bought more during the crash in South Florida for pennies on the dollar. It was a great time to buy.

Re: The real cost of owning a home

#582

Post by iamalizard »

I'm not from the US but I find some of these numbers ridiculous.

$515.50 per month for property taxes? That seems soo high. What does this cover - garbage collection, what else?

> Cut down trees that were too close to the house: $2,800

I could've likely flown to the US, cut down your trees for a few hundred and flown back home for that much money. Why so expensive? I'm beginning to question the other numbers.

> Replaced leaking faucet: $185

Can't you do it for like 5-10 $ yourself? If you don't have any tools, maybe spend 20 $ for tools? The author even says he replaced his own faucet - I don't get it at all. Or are we talking about a fancy top of the line faucet?

I realize repairmen cost a lot but that seems like a LOT. And I get that in the US you have to have lots of insurance and inspections and whatnot, but... it still seems high.

Re: The real cost of owning a home

#583

Post by hawaiianbrah »

ashdksnndck wrote: post #573
hawaiianbrah wrote: post #459

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep, I debated mentioning home warranty services, but that is also a thing a lot of folks surprisingly don’t know about.

When I bought my house the realtor gave me a free home warranty for a year (a $600 value vs the tens of thousands in commission they got paid). The old washing machine broke during that year and the home warranty did replace it, so on paper I got good value out of the policy. However, I think it was on the phone with the company waiting on hold for about four hours total to process the claim. That was without any dis…

I definitely don’t think they’re generally worthwhile and don’t subscribe myself, but my in laws have had excellent luck with their policy.

Re: The real cost of owning a home

#584

Post by mtoner23 »

iamalizard wrote: post #582

I'm not from the US but I find some of these numbers ridiculous. $515.50 per month for property taxes? That seems soo high. What does this cover - garbage collection, what else? > Cut down trees that were too close to the house: $2,800 I could've likely flown to the US, cut down your trees for a few hundred and flown back home for that much money. Why so expensive? I'm beginning to question the other numbers. > Repla…

Cost of labor quite higher here. Especially house work. Any licensed person to work in your house you're looking at paying $200 minimum just to walk in the door. At least in the major metro areas.

Re: The real cost of owning a home

#585

Post by mbesto »

m463 wrote: post #467
dividefuel wrote: post #315

Beyond financial costs, I was caught off guard at how much time home ownership took up. House maintenance and projects have taken up most of every single weekend of mine for the past few years. Part of it is simply that I bought a house with more space than the places I usually rented. More to clean, more to maintain, more things that can go wrong, etc. But the biggest thing is that I'm the only one in charge of main…

I don't think home ownership is an "every single weekend" thing unless you bought a fixer-upper. Honestly, it sounds like you enjoy it. If you are doing it with that frequency I think you just are "into" your house.

Hi - homeowner here who is NOT in an fixer-upper. "every single weekend" is clearly hyperbole however here is regular maintenance for me:

- once a quarter clean the pollen off the A/Cs

- once a week clean the pool (okay I pay someone but still its part of maintenance)

- inevitably something on the pool goes wrong

- once a week clean my grill

- Blow leaves (seasonal) off porch

- pull weeds

- power wash the deck

And then most homeowners, no matter how new your house is, inevitably find an endless amount of "projects" to improve their home experience. Wife wants a table for the grill made, I add automated sprinklers, we put new planters for a garden in our backyard...the list goes on..

Re: The real cost of owning a home

#586

Post by iamalizard »

mtoner23 wrote: post #584
iamalizard wrote: post #582

I'm not from the US but I find some of these numbers ridiculous. $515.50 per month for property taxes? That seems soo high. What does this cover - garbage collection, what else? > Cut down trees that were too close to the house: $2,800 I could've likely flown to the US, cut down your trees for a few hundred and flown back home for that much money. Why so expensive? I'm beginning to question the other numbers. > Repla…

Cost of labor quite higher here. Especially house work. Any licensed person to work in your house you're looking at paying $200 minimum just to walk in the door. At least in the major metro areas.

Why would you care if they're licensed if they're doing yard work or replacing faucets or cutting down trees? I understand wanting some assurance for whoever will wire your whole house or will make major plumbing repairs but not for small jobs. Yes, trees can fall, but it's easy to make sure the person cutting them knows what they're doing - I've cut trees myself.

For small repairs (light switches, blown fuses, faucets, installing water heaters, cutting down trees, cleaning gutters), before I started doing them myself, I called friends who knew what they were doing, usually 50-something year old men who were jack of all trades.

Re: The real cost of owning a home

#587

Post by chipper02 »

znpy wrote: post #360

> "renting is just throwing your money away". yep, it is. i bought my home and went from paying 650 euros/month for a single room and sharing the rest of the flat with a roommate (in his own room) to paying 430 euros/month for my whole flat (in the same city, btw). fast forward a few years and: - the same room now goes for around 700-900 euros/month (post covid inflation) - my mortgage price would have stayed the sam…

My home on 3/4 acre is worth 2.5x what I paid for it after just 7 years ago.

The best time to plant a tree... same for a house... Do it now or live with the regret of generations of "wait and hope" idiots. I waited and I see the folly of my ways. If I had done it 20 years earlier and dealt with the hardship of being "house poor" for a few years I would have been able to retire at an early age. Do not let fear control your decisions/actions! Carpe diem!!!!

Re: The real cost of owning a home

#588

Post by [deleted] »

iamalizard wrote: post #582

I'm not from the US but I find some of these numbers ridiculous. $515.50 per month for property taxes? That seems soo high. What does this cover - garbage collection, what else? > Cut down trees that were too close to the house: $2,800 I could've likely flown to the US, cut down your trees for a few hundred and flown back home for that much money. Why so expensive? I'm beginning to question the other numbers. > Repla…

[deleted]

Re: The real cost of owning a home

#589

Post by onecommentman »

esalman wrote: post #346
jedberg wrote: post #164

The benefit of owning a home is almost always psychological, not financial. If you take the money you'd use for a down payment and mortgage and invest it instead (after paying rent) you end up in about the same place. But the psychological benefits can be huge. You have much greater control over the place you spend most of your time. You can change it to your liking. You don't have to worry about rent increases or ow…

This. Our household income is 300k, and I took a big risk purchasing a home in Socal where mortgage is 50% of our take home income. In a space of 1 year or so, we went from saving two out of four paychecks each month, to sinking two into mortgage each month. For me, we have one kid and we plan to stay put for at least 10 years. It's a good school district. The quality of life is excellent considering the weather, out…

Maintaining your own home is a great hobby for guys 40 years old and older. The house may age, but your engagement and knowledge of your house steadily grows. Even contracting out the work has its interesting elements. Keeps you active as you age, both mentally and physically.

The key for older homeowners is finding your querencia, the place of your heart. If where you live is your querencia, then countless options open up for you. Simply living in your home and community becomes a joy. Your community becomes an extension of your home and your heart and you become a vital part of that community. In your golden years, that community provides deep meaning and grounding when your work life quickly fades. Building that connection takes time and energy…plopping yourself somewhere else in your 60s, you may not find it. Building it now and in your 50s guarantees it’s there when you want it.

Re: The real cost of owning a home

#590

Post by hn1986 »

jedberg wrote: post #164

The benefit of owning a home is almost always psychological, not financial. If you take the money you'd use for a down payment and mortgage and invest it instead (after paying rent) you end up in about the same place. But the psychological benefits can be huge. You have much greater control over the place you spend most of your time. You can change it to your liking. You don't have to worry about rent increases or ow…

most of these articles neglect to mention families. so I downvote for simple lack of completeness.
Post reply on HN