Quote:
Originally Posted by djmcmath
Even with housing prices going like they're going, rent is even worse. I could buy a place for less than I'm paying for rent right now. I just don't want to deal with the realistic possibility of a 15% drop in values and the 6% Realtor fee when I sell the place -- that kind of money adds up really quick. Maybe I'm being foolish; time will tell, I guess.
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I think it depends on a lot of variables. If you're under 40, have a decent downpayment, and think you're going to stay in the house/area for 5-10 years, then I think buying makes sense. In my case, I'm over 50, a downpayment would wipe out our rainy day fund (i.e. live for a year with no jobs), and I'm on soft money so the future is always fuzzy and if my job situation changed we'd likely get out of LA.
At this point, if we were to buy now the equity would really only benefit my son, and he's likely going to get his mom's house/equity so sorry kiddo
. For me, the benefits of buying (tax break) are outweighed by the risks/downsides (property taxes, maintenance costs, risk of a market correction in the next 5 years and us needing to move).
As my wife noted the other day, right now is pretty much as good as it likely will get. We're both employed, live in a great neighborhood, and we enjoy what we have. As far as we've seen, the "golden years" are another myth that continues to be propagated. The only "asset" you have is your health, and the guarantee is that that will decline so you better enjoy your time now...