Is owning a home all it's cracked up to be?

I don't plan to buy a house any time soon, but someone told me that I shouldn't consider buying a house unless I am willing to live in it for, at least, seven years.

Interestingly enough, this young couple I know recently purchased a house outside Tampa. Not sure where they got the money, as the husband plays music for a church band and the wife is one of those dumbass, full-time, Instagram influencers.

 

Mid 30's here and I live in an area where a one bedroom condo goes for 220K. And these are workforce/local/deed restricted housing. So, to put it lightly, I won't be buying here. Having said that, I just got into a situation where I am a caretaker for a huge house at the base of the ski resort - I live in the basement/bottom floor and I basically do most things a homeowner would do, minus pay for it. Make sure renters can get in and don't burn the house down etc. Sometimes I pay for things if it's cheap and then have my rent deducted. But, rent is only $500 and I have a six bedroom house to myself for almost half a year. The money saved is going directly into my savings to maybe buy a house somewhere else. But, everything in CO is ridiculous. So we'll see.

 

Well for anyone considering buying a home, at least in the PA area, why not get your mortgage through an 80s one hit wonder (actually probably qualifies as a two hit wonder):

 

Yes.
I'm on my 2nd. Wouldn't have it any other way.
Parents have lived in the same home for 40 years now. The other home they've owned........5 houses up the same block. They were there for 3 years.

 

That's a pretty sweet gig.

 

Been in our home for 17 years and my parents have been in their's for 40. Homeownership has its stresses, both financially and emotionally, but it's worth it.

I bought my place for $108K, its value went up to about $200K, dropped down to the $130s during the recession, now it's up to $170-180K. It's a 3BR, 1 BA 1,400 square feet home , and mortgage, taxes and insurance are about $1,275 (we refinanced and consolidated our debt during a rough period 10 years ago.). Considering that rent for a 3 BR apartment is $1,300 and up, we feel pretty good overall about our decision.

 

Outing alert — Madhavok is this guy:

 

Friends of ours "bought" a home in 2004 and have been paying interest-only mortgage all this time. Galactically stupid, IMO, but I guess the smaller payments enabled them to live in a better house than we ever could. To each his own, I guess.

 

Im surprised so many journalists know what its like to own. I got sizeable cash down payment, credit score in the 800s, and the bank looked and my salary and approved what should get me a 550 sq foot hole. So there goes that idea.

 

Park Avenue isn't all it's cracked up to be, anyway.

 

Maybe being a dumbass Instagram influencer pays well. I pretty much watch youtube only for old concert videos and some sports, but niece tells
me there are kids who do pranks and other stupid shit and make a lot of $ off it.

 

Over-simplified answers:

Single: not worth buying.
Married: maybe worth buying.
Married + kids: definitely worth buying.

The map plays a big role here: We live in the midwest and built a 2500-sq-ft house two years ago. My parents moved into a two-bedroom apartment, which is not exactly swanky. They only pay $500 a month less, and we get a third of that back at tax time and the rest in equity. They wanted less to take care of. We have a kid and big dogs. Made sense for all parties, but for us it’s a financial boon.