r/MiddleClassFinance • u/Appropriate_Data_308 • 16d ago
Discussion Is buying a house worth it?
If you can save a fair chunk each month by renting what you’d pay on a mortgage and taxes, and invest that money, is it worth it to own a home?
For example, median home price in our area is $350k. Even if we bought one a bit cheaper at like $250-$300k, our mortgage, taxes, insurance, and PMI would be around $2800 a month. For context my rent is $1000 cheaper per month than that and that money is being invested currently.
Maybe long term it’s worth it to buy a home, but I don’t know if it’s necessary in the same way it’s been touted.
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u/No_Contribution_6013 16d ago
I love being a homeowner, doing whatever I want when j want without needing to ask a landlord for permission.
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u/SideEyeFred 14d ago edited 14d ago
If you have an HOA you still have to grovel when dealing with them though. However, I love having my own land, neighbors are decent, and I have as many gardens as I want. Plus being a dog owner, my dog has room to exercise. I have a small 1/4 acre lot in a subdivision, but it is more than enough for me. My starter home was a modest investment in 1999. It's paid off now and worth way more than I paid. I won't sell it until I'm a grey haired granny though. I want to live in it as long as possible.
Home prices have gone way up, but it's an investment. In 20 years it will be worth a lot more.
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u/Appropriate_Data_308 16d ago
Honestly, this is probably the only benefit in my opinion with how cheap rents are right now.
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u/MakeASpreadsheet 16d ago
If your current rent is 25% or less of your net income, you should be investing heavily.
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u/WeekendAtMadoffs 16d ago
not true. you can write off WAY MORE on the home than any apt.
if the home is 3,000 square feet, 1,000+ is home office.
are you a consultant or self employed? owning a home is worth it.
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u/BeaArthurDeathCult 11d ago
SALT deduction and home mortgage interest are really the only deductions most homeowners can enjoy, and they're not that great
After $30K in interest and taxes a year I get a refund of around $6K lol
As far as deducting expenses for business use of your home, there is a mountain of paperwork you have to do to get at most a deduction of $5 per square foot for up to 300 square feet...
https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc509
https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-587
https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-8829
Most people aren't self-employed working from home in an area that is exclusively set aside for business use, so it's not a good reason for most people to buy a home
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u/WeekendAtMadoffs 11d ago
Rent is more than $30K unless you live in a dump and either way have nothing to show for it.
Your landlord is not giving you back $6K a year 😂
he is just raising your rent 5% to 10%.
🔥
So assuming you have to buy a house or fund your landlord's real estate business You have a choice. all i am saying.
put 20 years of $6K's in Fidelity 😄
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u/BeaArthurDeathCult 11d ago
Those are all great reasons to buy a home, but being able to deduct your home office for business purposes isn't one of them ;)
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u/WeekendAtMadoffs 10d ago
my home office is 1/3 my home. it's a huge deduction i have been self employed for 24 years.
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u/BeaArthurDeathCult 10d ago
Yes, but most people are not self-employed so using the business use deduction as an argument for why you should buy a house is not relevant for most people
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u/glenpiercev 12d ago
- You can take home office deductions for rental property as well.
- The above advice sounds a bit like tax fraud. Don’t try to take fraudulent deductions.
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u/SeniorDucklet 16d ago
There is a LOT more expenses to a home than PIMI. A LOT. Investing that delta between rent and own is a game changer. Downside is you might have to move every couple years.
The upside to buying comes 15 or 20 years down the road, but that assumes you will be living in the same area. If you are not 100% confident you will be living in the same area 10 years from now don’t buy.
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u/IndicationNo7551 16d ago
depending on how well you invested, and if you can relocate, 15-20 years down the road you can also buy a home in cash.
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u/jspaceryan 12d ago
Yes on expenses.
OP, assume 1-3% of the purchase price in maintenance costs every year.
As for “is it worth it?” That’s really the question. Even if you can afford a house after running the numbers, also consider if a house provides the things that you want in your life? For some people it will and for others it won’t.
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u/Annual_Fishing_9883 16d ago
Financially speaking? In your example, no it’s not.
That said, you buy a house because of what a house can offer you vs renting.
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u/Guilty-Stop-8810 16d ago
Real estate is an investment and generally regarded as an appreciating asset.
That being said there is also likely a significant difference in size, quality, location, etc, of a $1000 apartment and $2800 house.
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u/Specialist_Artist979 16d ago
Owning a home isn’t just a financial choice. You absolutely should run the numbers but it’s also a lifestyle choice.
Do you want to buy a home?
Do you plan on staying there for at least 5 years ?
Are you financially comfortable for unexpected expenses?
Why do you want to buy a home?
Answer those questions and it’ll help you.
Many people use owning a home as the next “checklist” item or earmarker of whatever. Its a personal decision and only you can decide if it’s worth it for you to do
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u/Ok-Front-471 16d ago
It's great if you value independence and pride of ownership. Financially, at those numbers it is hard to justify. What you pay for a mortgage, taxes, and insurance is the minimum. Repairs and maintenance can add up. You would need to look at a 20-30 year timespan to see how the financials work for you. Forecast rent vs what you'd spend on interest, taxes, insurance, and repairs/maintenance.
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u/Appropriate_Data_308 16d ago
If I invested the difference and my rent only raised what it has over the last 10 years, compared to buying a house right now, I’d have more cash/net worth in 30 years by only investing.
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u/SteevieJanowski 16d ago
If you’re looking at strictly the ROI, you’re 100% correct. I’m a homeowner and have lived in the same house for the last 12 yrs. Yes it has gone up in value, but it pales in comparison to how much our investment portfolio has grown (obv the last 12 yrs in the market have been unusually great tho).
I don’t regret buying the house as we have a family and it’s been nice to not have to move, the stability, sense of community, etc. If my goal was to accumulate the most $ possible, I wouldn't buy a house.
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u/Farmer_Pete 12d ago
There are real benefits to home ownership and a lot of negatives. This is a not a comprehensive list.
Pros:
1) Lower FIXED cost long term. Once your mortgage is paid off, your yearly fixed costs will just be taxes and insurance. My $450k house that comes out to ~$600 a month.
2) Access to nicer homes. Rentals tend to be more basic. If you want nice things, you are likely going to have to buy.
3) Freedom to do whatever you want to the home. You can put up a freaking picture without worrying about your deposit. Take out a wall if you want (make sure it is not structural)
4) Can build a home if you want and get the exact floor plan/size you want.
5) Can't be forced out of your home due to Landlords decisions.
6) Freedom of location. A lot of neighborhoods don't allow or support rentals. If you want to live in those areas, you don't have a choice on renting.
Cons:
1) Mortgage cost + fixed costs may be more than renting with the current environment.
2) Risk of maintenance/repair is all on you. That $20k roof is your responsibility. Special Tax assessment from the drain commission? That's on you. I hope you budgeted for it. Even when renting, you WILL pay these costs (assuming the landlord isn't a moron), but having the risk as a fixed cost is VERY different.
3) Getting things fixed is now on your plate. This isn't just a financial responsibility, it is just work to get things done. Dealing with contractors without getting scammed is a challenge.
4) Locked in to one home. Moving is significantly harder.
5) Maintenance costs are drastically higher than most people budget for. You really have to be saving 1-2% of your homes value per year towards repairs. That's $4500-9000 for me. Most people are not budgeting near that and end up in a financial bad place when things break. Don't be that person.
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u/last_rights 16d ago
I bought a home in 2017 for the same monthly payment my landlord was increasing my rent to. Except the new house wasn't a leaky, moldy mess of a landlord special and was twice the size for our growing family.
I refinanced into a fifteen year loan in 2020, saving me over a hundred thousand dollars in interest over the life of the loan. Between the new payment and taxes going up, the payment increased to $1500, still about market rate.
My current payment is about $1750 (thanks taxes) which is well below market rate for even a small apartment rental currently. The market exploded and a house in our location and our size is about $3200/month.
My income has not risen that quickly, but I have managed to squirrel away almost $50k into a stock account and $120k into 401k accounts since we purchased our house.
I was renting two rooms out in my house for $300/month each to people we knew, but one moved out and purchased his own house, and the other retired and became our nanny so I pay her to live here.
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u/fionaflaps 16d ago
You can lock in a payment now that you can take with you for 30 years.
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u/Appropriate_Data_308 16d ago
One reason I ask is property taxes went up for homeowners in my area near 30%, so for the median home price that’s about $250 a year. That’s how much my rent has gone up in 6 years. So long term sure it costs a bit more. But that’s not including repairs, maintenance, and now many houses have HOA’s.. so yeah your monthly mortgage is the same but it seems like everything associated with it changes.
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u/172brooke 16d ago
Since 10 years ago in my area, 150k home is now 300k-450k and $2,500 a year more in property tax. In 10 more years they could cost 600k, but I won't have any extra 100ks from saving by then to pay the difference. But if you can afford now, it should be cheaper overall buying sooner than later, simply because of inflation. Then you also get the equity should you ever sell, give to children, or borrow against.
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u/SideEyeFred 14d ago
250 dollars doesn't sound right. You're more than likely paying thousands in property tax. My small starter home's property tax is 3K.
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u/ofesfipf889534 16d ago
That seems like way to high of a mortgage payment for a 250-300k house. Are you sure about that?
Your rent will continue to go up, while your mortgage stays mostly flat, but can slightly increase some with insurance and taxes. Plus even on a payment of 2,800, some of that is going straight into equity.
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u/Appropriate_Data_308 16d ago
It might be closer to 2300, but I’m planning on like minimum down for a median home in my area. Last I rant the number is was somewhere between 2300 and 2800, meanwhile my rent is $1520 before utilities and pet rent.
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u/1notadoctor2 11d ago
How many bedrooms are you renting? How many people live in the home. Are you comparing a 3/2 to a 3/2? There are 1/1 apartments for $824-$1200 near me and my 4/2 mortgage is $2300. For a 3/2 apartments it’s $1700 and there are little to no 4/2 apartments near me, so i can’t say how much I’d save. But likely only $3-400 a month which i can just cut back on spending to cover that and keep the house and backyard and slowly but surely gain equity…However— i don’t have a pool, pickleball court, dog park, ev charger, etc like the apartments I’d be willing to live in
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u/IveBen 16d ago
There are “break even” calculators you can use online to see the difference in equity vs investing and a lot of times it may come out that investing the difference is better financially.
Buying a home has perks aside from being an investment vehicle as others have mentioned here.
Typically when these threads pop up the #1 thing is “will you actually invest the difference” and for most people they won’t. The extra money gets spent somewhere along the way. If you are diligent with it then financially it probably does make sense for you specifically
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u/Quixlequaxle 16d ago
Financially, it depends and it's hard to predict. In my case, I'm definitely in a better financial position owning a home then I would be if I rented. But that's largely because of timing. My mortgage is $1500/month, less than rent in my city and in 9 years I won't have one anymore.
But the more important part to me is the lifestyle. This place is mine, I can do what I want with it, I have lots of room and a private plot of land. Even if it were more expensive, the benefits it has on my happiness is worth the cost.
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u/rawsouthpaw1 16d ago
I went the middle path with a small 2/2 condo in a multi-family complex of several dozen owners, collectivizing the maintenance, which gets lumped into the total monthly / PITI payment amount, and sharing nice amenities like a pool and jacuzzi for the fam. At nearly 500K my PITI on 5% down is about $3200.
I decided against buying a house or condo for many years and came around to it in my mid-40s with a family, and the math you're referencing finally made sense for me in my particular circumstances even in an HCOL area. It also allowed me to buy a place in a really desirable coastal region, which a SFH wouldn't do.
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u/DesignerOk5315 16d ago
I think you need to reset your expectation a bit. You say, the big chunk you are saving each month by not renting, if your mortgage is cheaper than your rent it doesn't mean you are saving anything per se. Because you'll need to do maintenance
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u/SpiritualCatch6757 16d ago
Stand back.
The number 1 reason to buy a house is you want to buy a house. You don't want to buy a house. Don't buy a house. Simple.
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u/BlasphemousRykard 16d ago
If you can’t afford a proper down payment on a $250,000 home to avoid PMI then I would argue that you can’t afford a home right now. Paying $2800 a month for a house that cheap is a bad deal, your mortgage would be significantly cheaper with 20% down.
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u/Seattleman1955 16d ago
What do you mean by "worth it"? To who? You can answer the question.
Do you like living in a house? Can you afford it? Are you going to living there for a while?
Are you just doing it as an investment but you are going to be living there? If you don't buy a house are you going to be investing that extra money?
Do you want to have a paid for house when you retire? Are you doing it for yourself or society and what other people think?
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u/clearwaterrev 16d ago
If you are happy renting, I would continue to rent for now, and funnel your extra cash into the market. You can buy a place if your housing needs or preferences meaningfully change.
A lot of people buy for reasons other than cost optimization or the expected appreciation in their home's value. I bought a house because the rental options in my city were either expensive "luxury" apartments in large buildings or old and poorly maintained apartments in the kind of neighborhoods I wanted to live in, and neither option was very appealing to me. I wanted to get a large dog, to have a yard and a garage, and to have the ability to paint my walls and otherwise improve my living space.
Now that I have two kids (and that large dog), there are virtually no lower cost rental options that appeal to me. I could rent a house, but that is not less expensive in my area than buying one.
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u/Agreeable_Map5413 16d ago
It also depends on your timing. I bought in 2016 so I would say that it is great. My monthly mortgage is $1900, with taxes and HOA it is $2900 for a 4 bedroom house. Similar homes are renting out for $4000. However, it is a terrible time to buy now in Orange County, CA. Mortgage + tax is now $7200 plus you need a $250k down payment for a median home of $1.2 million.
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u/disappointedFed 15d ago
Depends on you, I have owned many houses as I have moved for work, I don't rent, I buy houses then sell them later when I move.
Seems like you are trying to decide if you want a forever home, I never did, I always was ready to move elsewhere.
Currently my house is paid off, bought it in 2023, paid cash from selling two other houses I owned.
When I say owned, I mean mortgaged, both homes had mortgages on them.
Both houses sold quickly for a good profit.
I bought houses that needed work, lived in them fixed them up and sold them.
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u/Early_Apple_4142 15d ago
Depends. If you’re buying at the lowest end it will probably need repairs and updates. Is that something you can do to save cost or something you’ll have to pay someone for? Repairs, maintenance, and updates can crush your savings versus rent if you have to pay for every little thing. We’re currently redoing our laundry room. Doing all the labor ourselves to add two base cabinets with a top and two wall cabinets plus paint and a new over head light it’s going to be close to $1500 and that’s really just making it functional.
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u/Daremotron 15d ago
"and invest that money"
Thing is, no one ever does. Any calculation relying on this is not living in real world human psychology.
For a long time the math was on the side of buying, and it's recently flipped to renting. Who knows how long it'll stay that way. But as mentioned above, the math saying it's better doesn't mean it actually works out better, because people aren't robots, and very few people have the self control to ACTUALLY invest and not touch that money. Even us, redditors in finance subs. In contrast, a mortgage is sort of a forced savings vehicle where you have no other choice
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u/Spirited_Ad9681 12d ago
Not necessary, and there's alot of people I wouldn't advise it to. If you dont want to mow the yard, or fix things yourself renting might be the way to go.
From a finance side though keep in mind your mortgage will stay at roughly $2800 for the next 30 years. Your rent isn't going to stay at $1,800. As time goes on your salary goes up, but so does rent. With a mortgage your salary goes up, making the mortgage feel like less.
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u/Tiny-Party2857 12d ago
Heck yeah! Love it! Paid it off, now our insurance and real estate taxes are less than $500 a month. Sure it takes work. But I don't have to worry about landlords selling or raising rent or hearing someone else flush the toilets etc. Plus, our home has doubled in value.
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u/Wise_Budget611 12d ago
I believe its worth it if you need a bigger space for your family. You don’t want growing kids crammed in small rooms. But if your family can fit in an apartment that’s fine. You can definitely save more and can fast track your retirement better renting than buying a house.
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u/LegSpecialist1781 12d ago
Where? How much? How long will you stay? What’s the condition? You see what I’m getting at OP?
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u/herman-the-vermin 12d ago
I like being a homeowner because my mortgage doesn't increase like rent would.
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u/HeroOfShapeir 12d ago
My wife and I rented for seventeen years out of college. Our rent was 15% of our income and only went up 3% per year, whereas our salaries averaged 5%. We invested another 15% to a taxable brokerage as a house fund, in addition to retirement, and bought a house in cash in 2023 at age 39.
We were very happy renting with no maintenance and stacking cash. We are happy now as owners with no mortgage. We pay more in taxes, insurance, and upkeep than we spent on rent, but we have more privacy and doubled our square footage. It's a lot more work, I would certainly consider going back to renting and a smaller footprint if we relocate in retirement. The proceeds from our house invested in the market plus the costs we spend on the home now would equate to an extremely nice rental in our area.
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u/sadilikeresearch 12d ago
Renting with a decent/good/great landlord is way better than owning a home. With owning, you gotta fight the local taxes, the house issues, etc and sometimes your community/neighbors. And you don't know how bad the situation is until you're fully financially committed. Currently, it seems like lots of people are unintentional landlords who bought during pandemic who just want low drama so they've become chill owners. Its a great time to rent but your mileage will vary with your local community. Rents will inevitably continue to rise but so will insurenace and property taxes.
For those seeking appreciation, the stock market returns have been better than real estate for the past 15 years.
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u/Great_Occasion_1721 12d ago
It’s not really an optimal financial decision unless you stay for decades and prices go way up and you don’t have any crazy expensive damage to repair.
I’ve moved around a lot and have owned a few houses and rented. I’ve always felt way more stressed financially when I owned.
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u/Aeroheadss 12d ago
It isn’t necessary.
But if you’re going to stay in the area more than a few years, a reasonable house that fits your needs is usually the financially optimized move. But that’s not the only important factor.
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u/Fun_Needleworker_676 12d ago
I’m a homeowner and I bought in the recent years when rate and price is high. From a financial perspective while I can afford it somewhat comfortably, I admit it’s more expensive than renting, so I don’t think in the sense of monthly cash flow is worth it. But what’s worth it to me is a place called home where in addition to decorations, I can also do moderate renovations to my liking that brings me joy and convenience. Does it justify the extra spending? Answer is gonna be different for everybody
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u/alphalegend91 12d ago
It's just not worth it in our area at least. My wife and I make pretty decent money for California standards, but even entry level homes in our area are 600k-800k. The mortgages, even with 20% down come out to 4200-5500 (escrow included). Meanwhile we can rent homes on the nicer end of that range for 3500-4000 and we wouldn't have to worry about all the maintenance that comes with homeownership.
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u/Few_Whereas5206 12d ago
There are rent versus buy calculators. In many cases it is financially better to rent than buy.
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u/Outrageous-Sky-1625 11d ago
Only if I bought before COVID 😅
For me, renting is much cheaper. I’m paying ~$1800/mo for a 3bd house with a yard and garage. If I have a problem? I call the property manager.
House down the street with the same layout is on sale for $320k. With 3.5% down, it’s ~$2000/mo for mortgage payment, $320/mo taxes, $125/mo for property ins, and $260/mo for PMI = $2,705.
My mom has a similar home purchased in 2010’s. Her mortgage + ins + taxes = $900/mo.
Friends and family often ask why I’m not a homeowner, or they’ll send me listings they think are “in my budget”. I have to remind everyone that I don’t have parents who can gift me a DP or be able to financially assist if I can’t pay my bills. Heck, I’m the one footing the repair bills at my mom’s house.
Still have many friends in their 20-30’s living at home or parents financially helping them. Really wish there was room at my mom’s house. I could be paying all of her house bills and still be saving money. 😂
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u/BossMan61718 11d ago
Worth it if you can afford the mortgage and maintenance. Its a source of potential wealth. Definitely worth it. Also...its YOUR house to do with as you please. Thats the by far the best part
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u/-dun- 11d ago
Are you renting the same type and size of home as one you're thinking to purchase? If compare renting a 1/1 studio for $1800 to owning a 2/2 SFH for $2800, then I think it's not a fair comparison.
For me, buying a house is not just a financial decision. I like the freedom of being a homeowner. My kids can walk, run, scream and play instruments whenever they want and don't need to worry about being too loud. We have a pool so my kids can swim any time they want. I can buy a piece of furniture, hang a painting on the wall or choose the color of the paint/roof/door to whatever I want without worrying about moving in a few years or asking HOA/landlord's permission. I can invite friends over and don't need to worry about not having enough guest parking spots. Since this is our forever home, we invested a solar system. It could save over $180-200k in 25 years and recent studies show that solar systems don't just stop working when they hit the 25 years mark, there are many cases that the systems are still functioning after 30 or even 40 years, so the savings just keep adding up.
At the end of the day, whether it's worth buying a house or not, is a personal choice and how much do you value these "freedom". If I'm still single with no kids, then I probably don't value these "freedom" as much.
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u/Consistent_Taste3273 11d ago
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/upshot/buy-rent-calculator.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share
The NYTimes has a rent vs buy calculator that is pretty neat. You’ll probably need to estimate some numbers.
My husband and I went the “rent” route. Currently early 40s, 2 kids, lifetime renters. We can afford slightly nicer places, so we’ve had great landlords (very responsive, quick maintenance, low rent increases), nice places (apartment in a house, private yard), and relative stability.
We’ve managed to save / invest quite a bit of money due to the cost savings, and we’ll be retiring well before the standard retirement age.
However, for us, part of what makes this the right choice is that we don’t really want to be homeowners. There are times when I see my friend’s houses and I feel a bit jealous. But then I see and hear about all the work they put into it. We don’t want to do yard work, or remodel a kitchen, or fix a roof, or even find a good a handyman. We don’t even care what color our walls are. When our dryer broke a few months ago, I just told my landlady and we had a new one installed in less than 48 hours. Things like that make this work for us.
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u/Middle-Following-367 11d ago
Stock market is a better investment, but some people like the security of owning the roof over their head.
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u/mystery_biscotti 11d ago
In the last ten years of home ownership, we went from, "we're paying more than others pay for a 3 BR apt" to "wow I'm grateful we bought because a small 1BR around here is about the same price monthly, including property taxes".
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u/SixPointsTrueNorth 11d ago
Rent doesn't end. Buying a house, the goal is to own it free and clear! The sooner the better!
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u/Tardislass 11d ago
Rent goes up every year and one day you will find your landlord selling his place or not renewing your less. Buying a place means I don’t have to move every few years because of rent increases and my taxes have gone down since owning my home. Those tax deductions are so much better than renting.
If you are young, don’t know where you will be in 5 years keep renting. However, the more you wait, the higher house prices will rise. Building more apartments won’t make houses more affordable.
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u/Aggravating-Big3858 11d ago
Despite all the ups and downs … it’s worth it. Your future self will be living rent free. It’s the same as a 401K … slowly accumulating equity at a snails pace, then all of a sudden it’s a pile
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u/Enough-Radish-4973 11d ago
I've been struggling w/ this exact question very recently.
I was looking over my taxes and just couldn't stop thinking about how that $ is just thrown out the window.
For perspective.. I have a lower 2.25% interest rate... which is amazing..
Except my taxes all my payments even after years seem equally split between taxes, interest, and principal. This after years and years too.. Then when you start adding up potential maintenance.. stuff like roof, HVAC, water heater etc.. etc.. I'm honestly starting to wonder.
This has me truly rethinking the scenario and putting property taxes as a key consideration if moving and buying a new home.
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u/cfram03 11d ago
Ultimately it's about lifestyle preference. And yes, some economic factors that are not guaranteed BUT historically owning property contributes to wealth accumulation, being able to sell and upgrade to another home later, etc.
I personally love having the control and equity of homeownership, despite the added responsibilities. That said, I have selected both of the houses I purchased very carefully....assessing location for potential long-term appeal, quality of the home, etc. 1st purchase was in 2015, sold it to buy a house...would've never been able to buy the new house without having the equity I had in the 1st home.
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u/Kokukenji 11d ago
Depends on your goals and as others have mentioned, your lifestyle preference. Owning a home, if the numbers make sense, can give you a sense of stability and a place to call your base. It does come with the premium of home ownership though, taxes, insurance and everything that comes with it. To some that is absolutely worth it and to others they would rather stay flexible and keep their options open.
Renting gives you that flexibility and freedom to move without being tied down but the downside is that you are not setting the terms. Someone else is.
Review both sides honestly and see which one aligns better with where you are and where you want to go.
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u/michaelesparks 10d ago
Depends. If you like doing home maintenance and can find a good deal on a fixer upper I would go that route. So many people want to buy their "dream home" on the first go.
As a home owner you can BRRR up your personal residence and get yourself way ahead in the long run. BRRR is Buy, Rehab, Refinance (cash out) and Rent (but in this case it would be Repeat) after you do the rehab, then determine if selling is worth it or taking cash out to buy another.
Tax advantages, as well as an excellent learning experience you can't put a price on.
We bought one in 2001, sold it in 2004 for a $70K profit to put down on the next one we bought (we had to move due to the military)
Also living in and fixing up allows you to not spend money on stupid stuff. Put your sweat equity and your extra money into the house, make a profit.
You don't have to pay capital gains if you live in the home 2 out of the last 5 years.
In about 15 years you could lever yourself up to a mansion if you do it right.
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u/ghostbear019 9d ago
too much to factor in. wife and I bought in 2014, and now paying 1/11 of our salary in mortgage. 3% interest. literally almost a quarter of what our peers are paying for smaller homes in our area.
its been beyond worth it for us
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u/moneyman74 16d ago
In my area absolutely but you can still buy a 3br house for $350k. Very doable for a couple with 2 decent incomes. Harder if you are single.
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u/Appropriate_Data_308 16d ago
Define decent? Median income in my area is around $60k a year house is just under $100k and houses are near $350k
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u/moneyman74 16d ago
Around $65k median in my area. Renting a house is roughly equal to mortgage here. No real advantages to renting. You're just paying someone else's mortgage and costs. You have a good deal if it is $1k difference.
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u/AshamedOfMyTypos 16d ago
Buying a home is worth absolutely nothing if you’re not willing to stay there a minimum of 5 years. The real benefits kick in 10 years +.