A new American Dream?

[elessar78]

A friend of my mom was divorced and rented for years. For him, it gave him mobility later in life and money in the bank. People sink huge amounts of money into their homes in terms of repairs, furniture, other "stuff" for yard work and on and on. Often, people are buying bigger homes now and therefore have more rooms to fill with even more stuff. Heating costs, taxes, maintenance and on and on. I think a home is more of a "break even" deal if you accept your home and enjoy it for what it is. If you are a fan of HGTV, you will quickly spend a lot of money trying to keep up with the Jones. I think a home is a bit of a risky venture nowadays. I own a home but if I was single with no kids, I really wouldn't see the point. I could be perfectly happy and was happy in times past in an apt or rental. But, that was me.

Agreed, as in any venture, you have to keep your overhead low. I do think that people are more emotional when it comes to home buying than they do with other forms of investment. Nobody fawns over their purchase of Proctor and Gamble stock.

[segmond]

I think it'd be interesting to do the math and figure out if one would come out ahead if one were to "rent wisely" and invest the difference between renting cost of ownership (mortgage, maintenance, taxes, etc). But can you even put a price tag on human/pyschological/emotional values like having a place to call your own?

A friend of my mom was divorced and rented for years. For him, it gave him mobility later in life and money in the bank. People sink huge amounts of money into their homes in terms of repairs, furniture, other "stuff" for yard work and on and on. Often, people are buying bigger homes now and therefore have more rooms to fill with even more stuff. Heating costs, taxes, maintenance and on and on. I think a home is more of a "break even" deal if you accept your home and enjoy it for what it is. If you are a fan of HGTV, you will quickly spend a lot of money trying to keep up with the Jones. I think a home is a bit of a risky venture nowadays. I own a home but if I was single with no kids, I really wouldn't see the point. I could be perfectly happy and was happy in times past in an apt or rental. But, that was me.

I agree, but the key is to GO LEAN.

do most repairs yourself.
fix/repair/refurbish your old furnitures
buy less/used/cheap but good quality furnitures
don't buy more stuff
get a house in an area with decent/low property tax
conserve energy

do these, and you just might come out ahead!