Why You Shouldn't Buy a Home

Guess who's house got flooded today?

mine.

my house got flooded. How much is that gonna set me back?

(We've been getting nonstop rain)

The Bull$hit just never ends with owning a house. it just never ends. Always something.

originally posted by: DD2029
My house got flooded. How much is that gonna set me back?

Don't you have insurance?

originally posted by: paraphi

originally posted by: DD2029
My house got flooded. How much is that gonna set me back?

Don't you have insurance?

$6k deductible I think.

it's not good insurance.

After She Divorced Me And Took 75 Percent Of My Savings... She Played The Trick On Herself That I Was Surely Going To Play On Her.
Go To The Bronx... Pay A One Month Rent Advance, Along With A Security Deposit. Get The Crappiest Landlord And Rent Out His Deplorable Apartment... And Sue For Numerous Violations Against The Tenant (My Ex-Wife)....
Then Reach A Settlement. Landlord Wants To Keep His Small Fortune. So... Reprise For An Exchange.
Landlord Gets $50K USD And Tenant (My Ex-Wife) Gets Complete Ownership Of The Unit. Then Hire A Contractor To Come On In (Not In My Ex-Wife) And Renovate, And Restore, And Remodel, And Renew, And Refurnish, For A Wopping $7K. ...
Then Agree To Pay The Monthly Maintenance Fee Of $35 Bucks... And The Annual Property Tax Of $200 Bucks.
Then Live Like A King In The Panty Drop Apartment.

FYI: It Doesn't Work. My Wife Would Not Fall For It.
Yet... She Has Her Owned Own Apartment... All To Herself. Along With My Cash And Alimony.
Plus... Home Owner Insurance Is More Magical When You Have More Money For It.

Is Anyone Here On ATS renting out a room????

It's Why She Doesn't Owe Thousands To Live Like A God!

It's Why She Doesn't Own A House Or Rent An Apartment....

I'm Just Pinocchio Of The Hanging Tree... See My Woe And Pray For Us Sinners... Now And At The Hour Of Our Deaths.

originally posted by: verschickter

originally posted by: DD2029
I think it's best to go small on your house... Big on your truck...

Thats one stupid advice as your truck looses value WAY WAY faster than any house, that normally gains value over time, if you´re not living in the swamp.

What I'm saying is... if there is one area in life you want to "Keep up with Joneses"... it's the car.

Nobody is impressed with my house because nobody ever really comes over... Nobody my age cares! Nobody cares unless they plan on living with you, and in my case... I want a girlfriend, not a roommate.

Your possessions end up owning you (the house)... and if something is going to possess my spirit, it's gonna be my God Damn car that takes me places. My house will take me nowhere other than to Home Depot and Garden stores every weekend. Nobody wants to do that $hit their 30's... What 30 year old man wants to spend all day fixing up his house? Like I said, that is what old people do! Not 20, 30, and 40 year olds! That's just me, Fixing up and maintaining a nice house that you'll eventually one day own sounds great, just not in the early stages of live. Travel Young, Build a Nest when your old.

I got places to Go, and careers to focus on... A house is a prison to your freedom, you finances, your flexibility, and quite frankly, your fire in life. Besides, I feel a little isolated in the suburbs.

Take Clint Eastwood for example... He figured it all out in his old age with Gran Torino...

He had a very simple house, not such a great neighborhood, but he had the one thing in life that really mattered... he had the best car on the block.

Besides, How am I suppose to magically come up with $8k in property taxes every year? That's a big payment to make every tax season... How am I suppose to come up with $3k to fix a flooded house? What if the AC goes out this summer? Do I have another $2k-$4k laying around? No. I am the perfect example of somebody that is "House Broke". I got the Nice House but now I'm trapped in it.

Not to mention my ridiculous utility bills, which are through the roof every month.... and speaking of roofs: Mine has hail damage from last year, it probably needs to get repaired which is another expense.

rent young, buy old, rant over

originally posted by: DD2029

What I'm saying is... if there is one area in life you want to "Keep up with Joneses"... it's the car.

Nobody is impressed with my house because nobody ever really comes over... Nobody my age cares! Nobody cares unless they plan on living with you, and in my case... I want a girlfriend, not a roommate.

Your possessions end up owning you (the house)... and if something is going to possess my spirit, it's gonna be my God Damn car that takes me places. My house will take me nowhere other than to Home Depot and Garden stores every weekend. Nobody wants to do that $hit their 30's... What 30 year old man wants to spend all day fixing up his house? Like I said, that is what old people do! Not 20, 30, and 40 year olds! That's just me, Fixing up and maintaining a nice house that you'll eventually one day own sounds great, just not in the early stages of live. Travel Young, Build a Nest when your old.

You won´t be able to build a nest when you´re old with that mindset. Go spend your money on bling-blang trying to impress others and you will never own a home. You have to start early or get a real good paying job otherwhise it will never work.

I got places to Go, and careers to focus on... A house is a prison to your freedom, you finances, your flexibility, and quite frankly, your fire in life. Besides, I feel a little isolated in the suburbs.

Yes, that´s you. Your OP was an advice you gave to everyone here, ignorant about other lifes. You think you hold the truth, yet you seem to be very easy to influence.

Take Clint Eastwood for example... He figured it all out in his old age with Gran Torino...

He had a very simple house, not such a great neighborhood, but he had the one thing in life that really mattered... he had the best car on the block.

Who cares about the beside your ego?

Besides, How am I suppose to magically come up with $8k in property taxes every year? That's a big payment to make every tax season... How am I suppose to come up with $3k to fix a flooded house? What if the AC goes out this summer? Do I have another $2k-$4k laying around? No. I am the perfect example of somebody that is "House Broke". I got the Nice House but now I'm trapped in it.

I guess it´s not because you earn less money, it´s because you spend it on bling-blang and other stuff to impress others. Need the newest car/phone/tv/game-console/computer?

Not to mention my ridiculous utility bills, which are through the roof every month.... and speaking of roofs: Mine has hail damage from last year, it probably needs to get repaired which is another expense.

That´s your fault if you consume that much energy. And if you´re not going to fix it, it´s getting worse with the damage. I live in not so cheap germany, in a not so cheap region, it´s all doable if you learn to cut your needs. You are very young. When I was young, essential things in live where important. A car is a tool first, not something to impress others is one mindset from that days.

Generally, you are a great example of the prejudice most europeans have about americans when it comes to energy and material consumption. This is not to blame, it´s just an observation. And as long as you don´t understand that outsider opinions about your living standards are like shackles, you won´t get anywhere.

But it´s wanted that way by the big coorporations, so they can keep you in debt.


Again, do you really think that renting is cheaper? How does it come anyone owns something and rents it out, if renting is cheaper than owning? You´re falling for some clever marketing bull# and do not even realize it.

But hey, you can always sleep in your big fancy truck. I´ll have my house AND a two decent cars. If you were my neighbor, you probably would think "I want that too" and go buy the decent cars first. Then always spent rent and in the end, have no house but some old broken cars.

Please don´t give financial advice if you have no clue about how life works. As I said, if you´re young and traveling, working day and night, a own house does not make sense. But you can´t have both, spending big money while young and having a secure home when you´re old.

You will see.

What 30 year old man wants to spend all day fixing up his house?

That´s because you don´t buy houses built from sheets of paper and wood. You build massive stone houses that last hundreds of years with a solid basis. So your children, their children and their children have something worthwhile.

That´s how you built up wealth for further generations to come, and also yourself. I´m retired, living in a big house, recently with my niche and a relative. Got an RB26DET powered car in my garage.

When I was young I was driving my bicycle 15km to work each day except for extreme winter days. Instead of buying bottled water and all those recent luxuries like "washing tabs", where you pay 50% more for what you get with each product.

Learn to sit on your money and safe it so you can afford something really nice, not hundreds of small, fancy items that will be outdated in two years and forces you into a everlasting spending spiral. You seem to be a victim of the latest 20-30 years of advertisement and others telling you what you need to have.

Buy quality products that last 10 years instead of a cheapo washing machine that costs the half but only lasts 3 years. That´s how you accomplish wealth, by spending your money wisely.

And not care what others thing about you. That way I reached a point where others like you look at me with envy because I own a massive house, two nice cars one of it worth more than some paper-sheet houses. It was all hard work but the new youth can´t see that. They only see what I have and want it NOW, not earn it.

originally posted by: verschickter

Generally, you are a great example of the prejudice most europeans have about americans when it comes to energy and material consumption. This is not to blame, it´s just an observation. And as long as you don´t understand that outsider opinions about your living standards are like shackles, you won´t get anywhere.

Well that's where I thought I just had a breakthrough... I have this nice house for everyone else except myself. My kids benefit from it greatly, but at the end of the day we have no money. Simple as that. I'm living above my standards, and I shouldn't be.

The backyard looks great in the Summertime... but the swimming pool is an expense and a hassle.

It's different in Texas because everything is so spread out. If you don't have a car in Texas, you're gonna have a hard time getting from point A to point B. A dependable car in Texas is an absolute necessity. If your car breaks down and you don't have a rental or back up car, Good Luck. And if I have no car and need to go to the store for something from this house, nothing is within walking distance.
But that could change with a more urban apartment. And with traffic & heat the way it is in certain areas, I want to be sitting in something comfortable, that I'm driving, not some uber driver. A large percentage of stress is caused by traffic, and stress is the silent killer. It's exactly like standing in line, you'll spend years of your life doing it, I suggest having a comfortable car to eliminate stress, because that's how $hit works out here... You are forced to drive a car nonstop in order to get $hit done. I can put 100,000 miles on a car in 4 years time. So yes, I am looking at the automobile as a tool in this case, and I want the sharpest most dependable stress free tool in the shed. It can save your life, and it can give you peace of mind

...and this is perhaps different for everyone, but I think when people have your typical social gatherings at my age (38 middle class)... they prefer to go to nice places or do fun things which is expensive these days... Like idk, off the top of my head: Jet Skiing, Camping, Pro Sporting events, Shopping, Concerts, Restaurants, Resorts, Beaches, Amusement Parks, Theaters, Zoos, and let's not forget Road Trips. Children love to do those types of things... but when you are too busy dishing out money to fix a busted pipe, or fixing the sprinkler system, or repairing the garage door... where's the time, money and energy going to come from? I'm not really materialistic but I should be, I just hate stress, and a home can give you just as much stress as a bad relationship.

So like I said: I suggest some Americans consider going small on home, Big on Car, Bigger on Travel & Entertainment & Vacations & Life Experiences. Reverse this trend when you are 50-60 (because you'll be a grumpy old man anyway, and entertainment won't be as entertaining if that makes sense). I don't want to go to Hawaii when I'm 55... I want to go there while I'm still relatively young. The point is, a house can often prevent you from checking off all those boxes on your bucket list.

I don't know... after my house got flooded last night... (two rooms I need to pull carpet from) I'm even more anxious to sell it and start renting (and living).

Home repairs are some bull$hit.

but make no mistake, there are countless families that downgrade and go to great extremes to "live"

an example:

originally posted by: DD2029
I'm living above my standards, and I shouldn't be.

Problem identified, now fix it. What´s more important, even more so if you have family? A big fancy truck or a home to sleep and shelter your family?

By the way, I need to drive about 20km one way to get anywhere near a store / supermarket so there´s that. A reliable car does not need to be brand new and shiney. In fact, the most reliable cars are the older ones.

So what your thread really says is, you´re living over your standards and had the bad (selmade) luck to pruchase a ruin. If you know that you need to fix your roof for over a year, I see lazyness, too as a reason.

It aint going to cost you a fortune to go up there and fix that roof to prevent further damage. Couldn´t be a sturdy roof either if it breaks down because of hail. In summer 2003 we got golfball-tennisball sized hail here in south germany and I do not know one person who had damage on their roof. That´s what I mean, don´t buy and built houses out of plywood and sheets of paper.

Your expectation about life... driving jetski and such... It´s all good to have some fun now and then but for that you need a decent paying job. You can´t play like the big ones, have a yacht or dine in fancy overpriced restaurants, fly to the maledives if you never learned how to handle money.

After the war, my parents had almost nothing left besides the clothes they had on their bodies. If you´re 38 years old and you don´t have your "sheep in the dry" (german saying) you managed to do many things the wrong way financially, but there is still time to learn and catch up.

Just don´t believe everything they say you need to do in live. Safe up first, then you don´t have to pay rent and can afford the nice things in life. You don´t want to worry about money, when you´re old, everything hurts in your body.

Coming from my perspective... In my CURRENT situation... (running my own numbers)

I could probably bring in an extra $10,000k a year if I rent a $1,500-$1600 a month 2 bedroom apartment or 3 bedroom home.

and that's living off about a 3% interest return off selling the house ($300k+)... Only 3%

New Place = $1,600 x 12 = $19200 - let's round up to $20k (rent)


Current Place =

property, county, city tax, HOA, home owners Insurance = $9k
utility savings = $2k (per year)
maintenance & upgrades & repairs = $4k (per year on average)
pool & lawn = $2k (per year)

Total Bill without mortgage payment = $17k - $18k (plus my own man hours)
a few thousand short of a nice two bedroom apartment.

if I sell I pocket $300k X .03% interest rate in alternative investments = $9k per year.

.03% = $9k a year
.04% = $12k a year (a .04% return is not unreasonable)
.06% = $18k a year

Plus I would have easier access to large sums of money if need be... for whatever I want.

Lots to consider.

Plus I would have easier access to large sums of money if need be... for whatever I want.

You can´t have both, a house and whatever you want if you´re not in the right financial situation. That´s the reality, face it.

Have fun now, pay for it later with misery when you´re old and can´t get a job to suplement what´s missing to have a warm meal everyday.

Or work for your future. You seem to only live in the now. Think ahead, times running out.

It´s a personal choice but I like to say this, people that think like that often rely on society to help them out. They put a burden on everyone else because they needed fun, the biggest toys for mainly feeding their ego.

your ego won´t keep you warm and fill your belly when you´re old. Until recently (100 years) it was a death sentence if someone thought the way you do. Lending/spending money for leisure / big cars but not building up a solid base for their retirement.

Back then, you lived with 3 generations in one house, the young could support the elderly if needed. Just look around you how it´s today. Everyone lives in separate houses, everyone want´s a nice shiney new car every 2-3 years. It´s not going to work, even if advertisement tells you that. Do you want to be a burden for your children when you´re old or stand on your own feet?



This all has the taste of "the american dream" only that it´s not expected anymore to work hard for it.

a reply to: DD2029
Here is a calculation similar to what I did:

550€+180€ per month debt payment for a three bedroom house with bath including a toilett + seperate toilet, double garage, machine shop, two living rooms and a kitchen plus garden.
= 730€ x 12 Months x 25 years (rate 2.5%) = 219.000,00€

Rent a flat in a 5 story building (= crowded) with a bedroom, a living room, bath and kitchen, WITHOUT garage, machine shop/barn and garden in the same town costs you 700-800€ cold (without "WARGARBL").

Difference is the poor guy in the crowded flat ALSO has to renovate at sometime, just it does not belong to him after 25 years.

For 220k€ you can get a decent one-family house, freestanding with garden and a double garage. Massive built with 40cm thick stone walls + insulation, tripple isolated glass and ceramic roof including a PV-system to cut your electrical bills.

So who´s the winner in this calculation? Is it the poor guy in the crowded flat or me?

The only reason why your calculation is so damning is because you bought cheap for expensive. Although I have to admit, your landowners/property tax seems rediculous high. Do you pay on value or space (square foot / meter) base?

Edit: I pay roughly 100€ per year for landowners tax / property tax.

originally posted by: verschickter

Or work for your future. You seem to only live in the now. Think ahead, times running out.

Man, you are from Germany... the people in your country once had to live behind enemy lines, How did things go for regular Germans folks financially before the war? Wasn't Germany rather prosperous right before things got of hand? How did the homeowners do in the 1930's compared to the 1940's?

I shouldn't maximize my housing potential within this American System... the idea of MAGA is great and all, but let's be honest with ourselves: Time is running out, and not just in the USA, but on a global level.

Enjoy the time, money and energy you got NOW, because like I said before... things will change. Diversify your portfolio to where 10% of your net worth will help you survive the worst case scenario. That's my advice. Go out and do something meaningful with another 10% of your net worth right NOW... that's more advice I have. Buy something nice for somebody you love, I don't know, but do something meaningful with your soul.

I mean, how long do we have until Europe no longer becomes attractive to American tourists because of radical Islam? The political climate, and "climate change" in general are both getting out of hand... There is still time left to enjoy things as the way we know them NOW. The time to do regular-life-type of activities, and basic things we take for granted, is NOW. Not when your 60 years old, can barely walk, and the country has fallen apart. Who's to say you'll ever have another opportunity to seize the day the way you do in 2018? Once that quote "bomb" unquote goes off: that's it. There are no more items on the bucket list to be crossed off because we'll be at war, and Americans will be saying "I never got to this, and I never got to do that"

That is the X-Factor in all this mess... how much time do we really have?
Here in the USA, I think it's obvious... not that much. 5 years? 10 years?

it's time to start making significant changes now, while we have the time to do so... and do the things we always wanted to do. A giant house is probably not the best way to go right now IMO. Not in 2018, and not when you're still in your 30s.

a reply to: DD2029

How did the homeowners do in the 1930's compared to the 1940's?

Bad, because many homes either seized by NSDAP, different nations or simply bombed away. After the war there was a great economic uprise, but not because people were spending their money and time on fun stuff but building this up. Vathers house was taken by US troops, then burned down. By accident or intent, IDK. There was definitly no firefight with german troops anymore at that time, so accident or intent.

Of course, the invaded countries didn´t have it any better but since you were asking specific about Germany.

Enjoy the time, money and energy you got NOW, because like I said before... things will change.

You repeat that very often, yet never told where and when you came to this conclusion. That´s why I suspect someone planted that seed of thought and you´re just repeating it because you had a bad experience that goes in line with what you are told.

Why exactly should you be in better hands renting stuff when it´s clearly paradox. Why would anyone buy a house and rent it out then? They´re not doing this because they are so humanitarian. They do it to lend money.

That being said, it can all be destroyed if you rent your house to someone not paying rent and living it (the house) down. Made that experience. Never again. I think that´s also the reason rents are going up. At least in Germany, the one that rents but does not pay has more rights than the owner. Had to fight over two years in the court to get them out and over 30k€ costs.

Anti-social behavior in terms of not valueing other stuff is a red blanket for me. Hence my problem with antiauthoritian antifas. But that´s not the topic here (and I´m not thinking you are that way).

But the gist of your posts sounds like that:

All is lost, everybody leave the sinking ship, let´s spend our days like it´s the last. Well, that spawns a self fulfilling cycle.

a reply to: DD2029

I certainly think it's an individual choice. I have my reasons for not wanting to purchase a home in the traditional sense.
I've owned homes and rented for a greater length of time than owned. I have always been rather transient by choice and that is my future plan as well. This is why I work so much, to squirrel away for my future once the kiddos are grown and settled enough. I'm thinking 2 or 3 more years and I can head out.
My rent is minimal. $600/month for a very nice 3 bed/2 bath house on about 1/2 acre in town. Nicely done inside with decent appliances. If something major breaks it's not my problem, but I have had fantastic landlords and I treat them equally as well by doing the upkeep (minor repairs, pressure washing, painting, yard work etc) myself.
Anyway, that's just my deal and I don't presume that anyone else might 'get it'. It's just what works for me.

It really depends on the situation (as said), but the general advice in the OP to just rent and always be on the better side of things is just not true.

originally posted by: verschickter

You repeat that very often, yet never told where and when you came to this conclusion. That´s why I suspect someone planted that seed of thought and you´re just repeating it because you had a bad experience that goes in line with what you are told.

No, it's just a life philosophy.

people should be checking off items on the bucket list in all different stages in life... Not just when you get old, or finally have the retirement money.

a reply to: verschickter

Right, I can see that.
If I were to settle down and want to stay in one place and make that commitment and investment it would certainly make sense financially and looking down the road.

a reply to: DD2029

I never said don´t have fun. It´s a difference if someone lays out their life with the mindset "nice shiney truck will give me many girlfriends and ego-points" and basically lives like tomorrow is the last day...

Yes, that might be true to some degree, I never said do not have fun in life. But only fun, will get you in trouble. But I guess that´s the mindset. People think they deserve all that but don´t see how it actually has to be accomplished.