Do you own your home? Do you wish you did?

We paid off our house early, and the stress levels have gone down considerably. I semi-retired by changing careers so that I could be home to take care of the kids, couldn’t do that if we still had a mortgage to pay off. We considered using the cash we had to pay off the mortgage to invest in the market, but the risk of lose was not worth it. Paying off a house is about risk mitigation. When you have a mortgage, or worse a margin account against your home, you are at risk of losing it. When it is paid off, your expenses are property taxes, which should be manageable.

The stock market has many unpredictable declines that can wipe you out if you are not careful and investing for the short term. There are plenty of people on TV showing how well they did, but most people can’t time the market and loose a significant amount of money during the downturns. The question to ask, can you afford to loose 50% of your investments and still have a house over your head? I wouldn’t want to try and find a rental in this market, there is nothing available in my town and many people are having to move 45 minutes away just to find an available rental. Warren Buffet has a famous quote, which I am going to butcher, but basically be fearful when people are enthusiastic about the market. When people are going all in to the stock market, it is usually the peak, so invest wisely.
 
My wife and I have done pretty good with our investment, so we are doing ok. I couldn't imagen not owning our own place. I suppose if we lived in the city and didn't have any hobbies that might be a different story. But we don't live in the city we live in the country and we both have hobbies. We have a camper, enclosed trailer, a tractor with a few implements and ATVs to play on. I have truck projects, a shop full of tools, soon to have a mill and a lathe, Ham radio gear and antennas. My wife has a Donkey (used to have horses but the Donkey lives on) Fruit trees, you name we got it, LOL. We have a greenhouse with fresh vegetables for the winter. Nope, renting a place would not work for us.

Tim
 
pdentrem said:
Yes suffered downs, which are opportunities to buy stocks on sale.
Click to expand...
Down turns in the market are buying opportunities. You don't lose anything during one if you don't sell. Best time to sell dogs is when the market is up. If the market takes a big drop, jump in with both feet. The ETFs I bought 1 1/2 years ago when the market panicked due to Covid are all up 70%+-. Bought ETFs because I couldn't decide which stocks were going to be hit and stay down longer. They pay dividends but not real great.
 
I knew as a young kid that I wanted to own my own home. I found my old journal that I kept when I was in 9th grade. It said that one day I wanted to own acreage and a home with a big iron gate and a couple Dobermans guarding everything. Fast forward to my mid 20's and I was married and we had five acres and a new home.........and a black iron gate with two Dobermans. We started with bare land and I did all the work myself. My wife and I worked hard and had the whole place paid off in our mid 30's. I absolutely love owning my home and property. My advice to any young person is get the hell out of debt as fast as you can. Life is so much more enjoyable when you're out of debt and all you have is basic bills. I have lived a very conservative life but I have no regrets. I find pleasure in the simple things in life. Unless you want to be homeless we all have to live in some sort of shelter. Why pay the landlords mortgage for them? My vote is for own your own home.
 
What has happened in the past two days . My son and DIL are down from Canada . He is now duel citizenship . He was informed that his vehicle MUST be exported Canada in order to enter by vehicle . We did the number crunching over the past 4 hrs . For him to import the 4 Runner into Canada was $6000 . Tough pill to swallow eh ? Ain't no friggin way . So we talk about having cash on hand that doesn't pay a yearly % ? So the family discussions have been heated , but I believe we have come to a pretty good conclusion .

#1 - I co-signed the loan on the 4 runner which makes me the owner
#2 - I have my 2003 Ford Escape which has brand new engine and trans .
#3- My son lives in the Stadium ( Blues Jays ) district and drives 4 miles a week .
#4 - He worked hard for the truck , still loves it , but the payment is $500 a month . Payoff amount is $18K and change .
#5- My son has not worked in Canada because of the different laws regarding OP lincesing . He has passed the test up there but is still awaiting some kind of card .
#6- My plan . I gift the Escape to my son . KBB value is $1400 . Total Canadian Import fees would be $900 tops . Once again , new engine and new trans , ready to go .
#7- I take my available play money , pay the loan off in full . Clear title .
#8- My son says he would sell the Runner for 31K which is well below the private party selling price . The truck would stay in the states while I did this .
#9- I have 2 Honda CRVs . My wife has never been ecstatic over them as she says she like a higher ride . She was always driving the K5 Blazers way back then .
#10- Numbers crunching . Cash . I pay the $18K loan off in cash . I give my son $13K in cash . I gift the Escape to him and import it to Canada . He would be done .
#11- I own the 4 Runner outright . I sell one of the CRXs and keep the 4 Runner in the family . I think my son would love the chance to inherit it back some day . My wife and I don't drive 5000 miles yearly to work and back , and we'll both be retired next year .
#12- If the 4 Runner would fit the wifes needs , this is the plan . I have my beater Civic which goes to work , and I have the Deisel F250 for my towing trips to the Adirondacks . And I have to downsize in all areas .


Comments welcome from all . These challenging questions seem to pop up daily now that age is creeping up . It's hard to think about it all because everyone's situations are different . :dunno:
 
I own my home and don’t have a mortgage. Depending on where you live, property values can, and have been generating returns above market indexes. Such is the case where I live. Rents seem to be going up even faster, so my best investments have been in residential rental properties. If you think the “rich people don't own anything” you are badly mistaken.
 
@Janderso Are you considering renting?! I would not do this for the sake of my tools & shop.

It took me 2+ years to set up my shop, & moving my shop (again) would take time & money away from shop time.

Even if a landlord gives you a 5 year lease, would you want to risk having to move your shop again and again if the landlord raised the rent too much or if he decided to sell?

My advice: set up a stable retirement shop which probably means owning the property. Moving sucks & shop time is good time.

Be safe & enjoy working in your shop; that’s what I plan to do.
 
Nothing can compare with the luxury of owning a home and being otherwise debt free.
My rules are----- Avoid paying interest and collect interest from someone else on your assets.
Works for me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top