Buying a house I’d argue is freeing. Yes you can’t move next year, but in about 5 or so you’ll have equity (baring any major market downturns) and can always sell. These days a lot of lenders will even allow you to pause payments and take it out of the sale proceeds.
Better than dumping cash into nothingness.
Plus if you absolutely have to due to lack of equity you can rent it out for a time before selling or maybe even moving back.
Owning a home is less flexible, but still the better move financially
You’re not wrong (generally speaking, specifically speaking I use the NYT rent vs. ownership calculator to see if it’s worth buying or investing in the sp500)
But the problem here is entirely the lack of flexibility. Once an employer knows you are less flexible than the guy in the next cube, you’re picking up the slack of the guy that can up and move his ass to the next town over in a week.
Yeah, buying a home is very much a double-edged sword. It can go well but it can also become an anchor.
One thing people don’t seem to properly account for (or at least I don’t see it talked about much) on the rent vs buy is costs of commuting and opportunity costs related to one’s career. Often the best way to get a raise is to change jobs.
Of course there’s also more to decision than just financial. It’s as much a lifestyle choice as anything else.
Buying may also be less appealing if you are by yourself or just a couple and don’t want or need a whole-ass house. The math on buying a condo often isn’t all that appealing compared to renting an apartment.
Buying a house I’d argue is freeing. Yes you can’t move next year, but in about 5 or so you’ll have equity (baring any major market downturns) and can always sell. These days a lot of lenders will even allow you to pause payments and take it out of the sale proceeds.
Better than dumping cash into nothingness.
Plus if you absolutely have to due to lack of equity you can rent it out for a time before selling or maybe even moving back.
Owning a home is less flexible, but still the better move financially
You’re not wrong (generally speaking, specifically speaking I use the NYT rent vs. ownership calculator to see if it’s worth buying or investing in the sp500)
But the problem here is entirely the lack of flexibility. Once an employer knows you are less flexible than the guy in the next cube, you’re picking up the slack of the guy that can up and move his ass to the next town over in a week.
Yeah, buying a home is very much a double-edged sword. It can go well but it can also become an anchor.
One thing people don’t seem to properly account for (or at least I don’t see it talked about much) on the rent vs buy is costs of commuting and opportunity costs related to one’s career. Often the best way to get a raise is to change jobs.
Of course there’s also more to decision than just financial. It’s as much a lifestyle choice as anything else.
Buying may also be less appealing if you are by yourself or just a couple and don’t want or need a whole-ass house. The math on buying a condo often isn’t all that appealing compared to renting an apartment.