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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
People are confusing home ownership with real estate investment. A home is a place to live. One person on here said she kept buying up and has purchased 6 homes. The closing costs and moving costs of doing that would knock out a lot of whatever "investment" increases that person got. I'm sure if you bought and sold at just the right times you could make some money, but life is short and moving is a PITA.

The people who are renting out their homes are investors. Investors can write off depreciation on those homes. Yes, homes are a depreciating asset. Why? Because of maintenance. If a home is not maintained it turns into a dump. And maintenance is getting more expensive as a result of tariffs and inflation. You also have to pay taxes and insurance so a home is never really "paid off". Plus it's a "hands on" investment. You have to deal with making maintenance decisions. It's not a passive investment so your time in maintaining it should be considered as a cost when you compare it to stocks (for example).

My suggestion to OP is that if you buy a home, have a pretty good emergency fund in place after the purchase. Enjoy the home, but do not think that you are going to get rich by owning a home. Buy a home that is priced below your ability to pay for it. Do not listen to anyone who says you should "max out" on your home purchase (based on what you are qualified to borrow).

People say that landlords can increase your rent. Yes, they can. But your insurance and taxes on an "owned" home can increase as well from one year to the next. The price of maintenance goes up every year.

As immigrants are kicked out and the boomers die, the price of housing and rents may not go up. In fact rents may be the first thing that goes down. [/quote]

The Problem is that home ownership is still being sold to Americans as the sure way to build wealth. It's not. Insurance, tax and maintenance are a big drag for middle class households. They are seriously squeezed.  [/quote]

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