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Do you own a house/condo/townhouse or rent?

Gene22

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Just north of Salt Lake City and I rent.

~ Graham
 

norcaltransplant

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Staten Island, soon to be Brooklyn, New York. Rent. I plan on starting to save (for a house/car) before my 30th birthday.
 

yerfdog

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LA is too expensive to buy at my age.
 

globetrotter

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I rent. chicago.

when I was younger I was torn over whether to live in a nicer place that I rented, or buy a place that was less nice. I was able usually to live in much nicer places than I could have afforded to buy.

now I am honestly not convinced that it is the best idea to buy, from an economic perspective - I have gone over various models and it seems that owning only pulls ahead after quite a bit of time, or if the value substantially goes up.

so I am sort of thinking about buying in the next 6 months or so, or not - I haven't been able to make a decision yet.
 

a tailor

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Originally Posted by globetrotter
I rent. chicago.

when I was younger I was torn over whether to live in a nicer place that I rented, or buy a place that was less nice. I was able usually to live in much nicer places than I could have afforded to buy.

now I am honestly not convinced that it is the best idea to buy, from an economic perspective - I have gone over various models and it seems that owning only pulls ahead after quite a bit of time, or if the value substantially goes up.

so I am sort of thinking about buying in the next 6 months or so, or not - I haven't been able to make a decision yet.


markets down, its a good time to buy.
timing is everything.
 

lance konami

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Originally Posted by globetrotter
I rent. chicago.

when I was younger I was torn over whether to live in a nicer place that I rented, or buy a place that was less nice. I was able usually to live in much nicer places than I could have afforded to buy.

now I am honestly not convinced that it is the best idea to buy, from an economic perspective - I have gone over various models and it seems that owning only pulls ahead after quite a bit of time, or if the value substantially goes up.

so I am sort of thinking about buying in the next 6 months or so, or not - I haven't been able to make a decision yet.


From an economic perspective, buying property trumps pissing away money in rent. Without question. Helping some landlord pay their mortgage in exchange for some convenient shelter at extremely high rates is really one of the biggest rip offs in the world. You get zero tax breaks from renting, you build zero equity, you get nothing but a roof over your head and annoying neighbors.

I hate renting. I'm buying as soon as I can, hopefully by the end of the year.
 

pauliodotnet

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i live in northen virginia, in fairfax county, one of the richest out there.. i scored a wonderful deal on a townhouse, that i found as a foreclosure, and raped the bank
smile.gif


I got it for 165k less than waht they were asking.

and the person who forclosed purchased it for 165k more than I got mine. I paid the least in the neighborhood
smile.gif
 

Thomas

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Own. One in Katy, one in Spring. Rented during our first year of marriage and wanted to buy that house (huge back yard) but landlord wasn't interested in selling.

Prefer to own. It's a hassle at times, but then again I have no one who will get in my way or drag their feet if something needs doing. The tax deductions are nice as well.
 

kwilkinson

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Originally Posted by Thomas
Own. One in Katy, one in Spring. Rented during our first year of marriage and wanted to buy that house (huge back yard) but landlord wasn't interested in selling.

Prefer to own. It's a hassle at times, but then again I have no one who will get in my way or drag their feet if something needs doing. The tax deductions are nice as well.


There are tax deductions for owning property?
I thought you got taxed on your properties.... Do the two offset each other? Do you come out ahead or behind?
 

pauliodotnet

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there are TONS of foreclosures in DC.. TONS

up by howard university there are plenty
 

Thomas

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Originally Posted by kwilkinson
There are tax deductions for owning property?
I thought you got taxed on your properties.... Do the two offset each other? Do you come out ahead or behind?


Generally speaking, the interest you pay on your mortgage is tax deductible, as long as you itemize your deductions. Some years I could itemize, and other years I could not.

Property taxes are deductible on your tax returns as well.

Generally speaking (there are of course exceptions...) if another tax authority has their hand in your pocket, Uncle Sam lets them have theirs and doesn't tax you again.

Now consider this: when you rent, the landlord has to make a profit on the property, or at least cover his/her costs. If principal plus interest on your portion of the building comes to $800 or so, and the taxes on your portion come to another $200, then (generally speaking) your rent base starts at $1000, plus maintenance and upkeep, plus margin depending on market conditions. Guess who gets to deduct the interest and taxes (and depreciation and fixtures and maintenance and mileage)?
 

kwilkinson

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Originally Posted by Thomas
Generally speaking, the interest you pay on your mortgage is tax deductible, as long as you itemize your deductions. Some years I could itemize, and other years I could not.

Property taxes are deductible on your tax returns as well.

Generally speaking (there are of course exceptions...) if another tax authority has their hand in your pocket, Uncle Sam lets them have theirs and doesn't tax you again.

Now consider this: when you rent, the landlord has to make a profit on the property, or at least cover his/her costs. If principal plus interest on your portion of the building comes to $800 or so, and the taxes on your portion come to another $200, then (generally speaking) your rent base starts at $1000, plus maintenance and upkeep, plus margin depending on market conditions. Guess who gets to deduct the interest and taxes (and depreciation and fixtures and maintenance and mileage)?



I definitely see the advantages to owning your own home versus renting, those are obvious, but I had no idea about deductions.... I knew the interest on your mortgage was deductible, but why are property taxes? Why would they tax you and then allow you to deduct that, versus just not taxing you and leaving out that step?

I mean... are the deductions less than the taxes you pay? Like say you pay $5,000/yr in property taxes, but can only deduct $3,500, then that would make sense b/c then they would be making a gain, versus if you could deduct all 5 grand, then what's the point?

Oy vey, I'm glad I've got a few years before I even think about buying.
 

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