PryomancerMTGA t1_irm4vdc wrote on October 9, 2022 at 9:02 AM

Reply to comment by lolubuntu in [OC] House price you can afford by paying 1000/month for 30 years vs. interest rate by hmiamid

That's a really interesting point on home ownership having a negative impact on income. That's a really good point.

I wasn't aware of anywhere that had property taxes equivalent to rent. I'll have to look into that.

As you have pointed out home ownership decisions can get complicated. It was the right decision for them, but I'm the current market with avg home prices in the $500 k range and mortgage rates like they are maybe not buying makes sense (Dow scares me now too).

lolubuntu t1_irm7r8v wrote on October 9, 2022 at 9:44 AM

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't mind going back in time to 2020 and tossing some cash down and buying a house. Timing the market is hard though.

Home ownership as a FORCED savings plan has some benefits though - namely that it forces undisciplined people to toss $$$ into something other than new cars and booze.

It's just that all BS considered it's often a wash vs just putting money in an index fund.

And you would likely end up ahead, living in a tiny shoebox apartment and chasing $$$. 5 years at a FAANG banking (net of taxes) $100-200k a year is enough to basically buy a house, cash.

Home ownership is kind of fetishized at this point. It feels almost like the same level of circle jerk as it was back in 2006... though I could be off.

I'll probably buy a house when I'm sick of the rat race and decide to semi-retire (aka have enough $$$ to retire outright but want more spending $$$, something to do and the prestige of being a "semi-retired 30-something year old college professor" over just being unemployed).