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Strategies & Market Trends : The Residential Real Estate Crash Index -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Think4Yourself who wrote (67437)	11/28/2006 6:12:01 PM
From: Tradelite	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 306849

<<Owning a home isn't even usually a great investment long term. It most certainly isn't the investment most Realtors claim it is. After you factor in the interest paid on the mortgage, the insurance, the taxes, the utilities, the maintenance, the risk that the area could go downhill, your closing costs, and the commission to the realtor on the sale, you are lucky to keep up with inflation.>> Perfect!! (This reminds me of the hashing around that went on several years ago on this thread, before housing really shot up in value and price.) Any statement like the one you just posted begs the question: What is so great about paying the high rents prevalent in major metro areas over a long period of time? To rent a home where I live,with just barely enough room to raise a family would have cost between $1,500 to $3,000 or more per month over a period of 30 years. Do the math and see the scary number that comes up--all dollars down the drain, never to be seen again. Not to mention how many times I might have been forced to or wanted to move to another, better rental during those years, at great expense and higher rent each time. Instead, I paid under $2K per month over 30 years (some of it subsidized by Uncle Sam/IRS in terms of a mortgage-interest writeoff) and will get some, all or more than that amount back whenever I sell. Now you tell me--was owning a home long-term a good investment? Would renting have been better? Would I have wanted to kill my landlord at some point during those years, or would he/she have wanted to kill me first? <<GG>>

To: Think4Yourself who wrote (67437)	11/28/2006 7:06:16 PM
From: gladman	Respond to of 306849

>>Owning a home isn't even usually a great investment long term<< A home is a Personal Possession not an investment. You don't pay annual taxes to maintain an investment You don't make a monthly payment to own an investment You don't pay annual insurance on an investment You don't pay 7% to sell an investment *You don't mow, paint, fix, garden or decorate an investment A home is a Personal Possession you most likely happen to sell for more than you paid for it if you wait long enough.