Quote:
Originally Posted by c1pher
Well, I won’t do the whole cost benefit analysis here, but unless you’re buying in a rural area or paying cash, you rarely are putting all your money into the house. You’re paying interest of course, property tax, home owner insurance, maybe flood insurance, HOA fees and dues etc. I can look at two homes side by side and the rental is typically cheaper with the owner paying the extras. That’s not the case all the time so it does pay to shop. And when you “buy” a home, with interest, you are paying 3-4x the original purchase price over the course of a typical 30 year.
Sure, if you can pay cash or pay the house off quickly, it may make sense, but someone making $65k a year asking if he can take a car loan isn’t in that situation.
Just simply look at your mortgage statement and see how much is actually going to principal. That’s what you’re saving. The rest is going out the window. Again, if you pay cash, sure it makes sense. And you may make a small profit if you have to sell which won’t be taxed if you lived in the house for at least 24 months. And what happens when you need to replace the roof, windows, or hvac?
Trust me. I’m 53, been there done that. Switching to renting was the best thing I ever did and I’ve amassed several hundred thousand dollars over the period of time I started renting in less than ten years. YMMV of course.
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Fair enough, just depends on the location and your personal situation.
I'm moving into a new place soon and the rent is nearly the same as the mortgage on starter home in the area. But for the reasons you outlined I opted against the house. My dad is your age and is a strong proponent of buying, so he's pushing me to reassess in a year.