tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25882546.post3898560770150222931..comments2023-10-11T03:48:57.606-04:00Comments on Head For the Red: Home PwnershipRufus Opushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10806987441760167537noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25882546.post-19077222979752446302011-06-07T08:56:20.501-04:002011-06-07T08:56:20.501-04:00Also, I almost fell out of my chair when I read th...Also, I almost fell out of my chair when I read the Marduk bit. I'm glad I've trained myself to keep my drinks safely away from my laptop.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15009778570667265968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25882546.post-36676458245752256652011-06-07T08:48:16.343-04:002011-06-07T08:48:16.343-04:00As someone who was raised being taught principles ...As someone who was raised being taught principles like paying off credit cards every month, not taking out loans you can't pay back at least twice as fast as you "have to", driving your car out to an ungodly number of miles before getting a new one, etc, this sort of thinking is refreshing to hear.<br /><br />To me, the liberties that owning these things provide far, far outweigh the small amount of responsibility that goes into managing them.<br /><br />I hear credit card vendors and auto finances get called "evil" all the time... and yet these people can't be fucked to think about what they're getting into when they sign a contract for something they can't afford, or spend money they don't have. When I hear that we've "been lied to" about home-ownership, that the whole real estate market is a crock we've been unwillingly sucked into, I think it's mostly people reassigning blame for getting themselves into a situation they're entirely responsible for.<br /><br />And the last sentence of Rita's comment is gold :-)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15009778570667265968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25882546.post-52040663639998935402011-05-28T00:44:36.338-04:002011-05-28T00:44:36.338-04:00I think the lie we were sold for the past 30 years...I think the lie we were sold for the past 30 years is that home ownership is an investment that "pays off" in something other than the expected result of having shelter. We were encouraged to think of real estate as a purchase that would always increase in value with the idea that when we reached retirement age we would sell the big family home that we had needed to raise kids in the school district, etc. and net enough to buy into the retirement community of our choice with money left over to chug around the country in a huge RV or other recreation of our choice. Or, if we were a little more short sighted, we would use the equity in the home as an ATM for vacations, kid's college, buying a boat, etc. The equity loans that were originally sold for home improvement like an additional bathroom, swimming pool, new kitchen or other alteration we could convince ourselvew would add to the value of the home for its ultimate resale became an all purpose goodie bag with the advantage that, since it was a mortgage, the interest was deductable. People who fell for this never got ahead of their mortgage. Banks had discovered that they could make more money encouraging irresposnibility than they had by enforcing good financial planning.Ritahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17114886437972914785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25882546.post-1310658428126428412011-05-27T08:23:50.593-04:002011-05-27T08:23:50.593-04:00@Gordon, indeed different strokes :-)
You manage...@Gordon, indeed different strokes :-) <br /><br />You manage to juggle a lifestyle that would leave me a burnt out wreck - so you get a lot of respect from me for that. <br /><br />@Deborah, there goes my theory on how family can shape a person's finesse at managing finances :-) <br /><br />In truth it's my wife who keeps my spending on the straight an narrow. If I had it my way, I'd have an awesome occult library with thousands of books that I would likely never get around to reading.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25882546.post-56205140497444685312011-05-26T13:15:33.873-04:002011-05-26T13:15:33.873-04:00@simon - Agreed. For slags like myself, home owne...@simon - Agreed. For slags like myself, home ownership forces financial planning something I am super sucky at in a family of Ferengi.Deborah Castellanohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16715780448380813436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25882546.post-83371977781176667132011-05-26T12:31:10.567-04:002011-05-26T12:31:10.567-04:00"Jesus, did you know that plumbers just basic..."Jesus, did you know that plumbers just basically go into a house and plumb it however the fuck they want? As long as the water goes down the right hole, it's pretty much legal."<br /><br />*Inappropriate workplace laugh*<br /><br />@Simon A couple of my friends say the same thing. They put it down to the terror of not having enough in the account when the mortgage comes out.<br /><br />But it's all good. If you know where you want to live, etc etc, then go for it. I'm a double migrant and I haven't finished migrating yet. :) Different strokes, eh?Gordonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16189203446024144578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25882546.post-2778756525310049202011-05-26T11:34:58.211-04:002011-05-26T11:34:58.211-04:00It depends on the part of the country in which you...It depends on the part of the country in which you live, but in a lot of cases you can get more space for your money when buying versus renting. My first house was 1400 square feet and my mortgage payment was less than the rent on the cheapest 1-bedroom apartment I could find.<br /><br />Now I'm an amateur renovator, so I've gotten deals on "handyman special" properties, but there are a lot of cases where those mostly just need cosmetic work that you can take care of as your schedule allows.Scott Stenwickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12389664381513219613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25882546.post-72579030019769842542011-05-26T08:39:06.382-04:002011-05-26T08:39:06.382-04:00Nobody would let me have 9 cats and 2 dogs in a re...Nobody would let me have 9 cats and 2 dogs in a rented home. Thus, I own, and will probably always own. Nonetheless, in the future if I get more land and can grow some of my own food, and rescue animals. <br /><br />There's also the spiritual value of having an increased relationship with your land.Beornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05980857798434551196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25882546.post-40657233535645982422011-05-26T06:56:09.598-04:002011-05-26T06:56:09.598-04:00Great article. It's good to see that other peo...Great article. It's good to see that other people also do the sums and SWOT analysis of whether it is worth buying or renting.<br /><br />When I was renting my finances were not very well managed. Since deciding to buy a house my finances are managed a lot more efficiently. <br /><br />The difference for me was that the latter necessitated that I manage my finances whilst the former made it seem like an optional 'good to do'.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com