Counting home value in net worth

[Anonymous]

I see a lot of folks saying not to do this. IMO, the main issues would be whether a) you live in a very expensive home vs cheap home (or HCOL vs LCOL) and b) willingness to relocate or downsize in retirement. It's much easier to utilize the equity in an expensive multi million dollar house than a cheap 500k house for living purposes. If you live in a city like DC, NYC, SF you can easily find a bigger property in a cheaper area for a fraction of the cost. What's the harm in including a 3M townhouse in your NW if you intend to sell it eventually and downsize to a 500k property in another state (or country)?

I know some people can't imagine not living in a major city, but many of us are only here for economic opportunities and couldn't care less for the culture or amenities.

[Anonymous]

They are wrong, you count it.

[Anonymous]

It's just a word, doesn't matter. I'm retired and I never calculated my net worth, but I guess I would count it.

[Anonymous]

I don’t count it. I need a place to live so it’s not wealth to me.

[Anonymous]

If it is high value and there is a desire to downsize at some point you should count it.

[Anonymous]

What difference does it make? Who is asking for your “net worth” anyway?

[Anonymous]

Count it. I have retirement home that cost nothing and costs about $3k a year for utilities, cable, upkeep, wifi. Imagine selling the $500k house, but money doesn't exist because...
Sell the home, buy dividend stock/etf and have passive income pay your rent. The money exists and should keep growing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I see a lot of folks saying not to do this. IMO, the main issues would be whether a) you live in a very expensive home vs cheap home (or HCOL vs LCOL) and b) willingness to relocate or downsize in retirement. It's much easier to utilize the equity in an expensive multi million dollar house than a cheap 500k house for living purposes. If you live in a city like DC, NYC, SF you can easily find a bigger property in a cheaper area for a fraction of the cost. What's the harm in including a 3M townhouse in your NW if you intend to sell it eventually and downsize to a 500k property in another state (or country)?

I know some people can't imagine not living in a major city, but many of us are only here for economic opportunities and couldn't care less for the culture or amenities.

Do you include 3 mil or 2.5 mil in that case? You will need a place to live.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What difference does it make? Who is asking for your “net worth” anyway?

Agree.

The net worth number is only eye candy for me. We have a lot of equity in our house too.

For me, the important number is investment portfolio. This is what we live on.

[Anonymous]

You should count it.

[Anonymous]

It should be counted. You can sell this home and downsize or move if need be. But no need to write off 500k homes as “cheap”. You can own that home outright and make a nice profit and move to a condo, v. someone overextended on a multimillion property could have very little equity.

[Anonymous]

If you're counting assets versus liabilities and have a balance on your home, you should figure out the equity. If you are willing to sell the house when you retire you can also take that into consideration when planning (though you then need to calculate housing costs).

If it's just a vanity calculation... eh, who cares?

[Anonymous]

I consider net worth the proxy for the value of your estate for estate tax purposes. If the IRS or the state tax authorities count it in your estate, then I do too. Ergo, your house counts.

[Anonymous]

Sorry you can't count it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t count it. I need a place to live so it’s not wealth to me.

Same. It's not an asset I would leverage to pull money out of or sell unless I were absolutely desperate.