Does it even make sense to "buy" a house if you don't really own it?
#meme 
Discussion
Property tax
It's pure evil
I wonder about this too, but it depends on your individual situation. If your home is paid off, no mortgage, and it provides you with food and/or recreation, that is a plus. Hard to put a price on enjoyment of nature and animals that you have. Plus, if you think about it, when you rent, you are paying someone else's property taxes for them each month. So it just depends. Now if its a secondary property that you rent out, then i def dont think thats a smart decision. Any way you look at it, you have to live somewhere.
π―. You can't put a price on those things and having 1 less middle man should be cheaper in the long run, plus the extra benefits that you get.
Iβm so torn on it. Itβs like a soft ownership where you do have a lot of legal protections and freedom to do what you want with the land, but at the core, you do not own it.
You can dink around on the property and build whatever but the county can also come demand money and retroactive permitting if they catch you doing something against their rules.
It fucking sucks. But at the same time, I would love to have the food security and energy independence land can provide.
So true, it's hard to know what's best to do. Property taxes and regulations are an absolute disgrace. I hope this will one day change.
It can suck. But with renting, thatβs just one more layer of rules to navigate.
If the owner you are renting from does allow you to make these improvements, years later they can decide (or sell the property and the new owner decides) that they like what you have done and they wonβt be renewing your rent, now you are out and have nothing to show for the work, no value to you for the time and energy spent and you have to start over.
Been renting since I was 18. I wouldnβt have stacked as much if I had bought a house. I do live in a pricey area though.
That's cool it was a clear decision for you. Bitcoin performs better long term 100%
It definitely is worth it. You will always owe property taxes, but you wonβt be forced out due to raised rent, you can built/create/do so much more if you want, without having to get permission from the landowner.
If you rent, you are still paying the property tax, itβs just the ownersβ taxes. If you buy it - the payments will eventually end and you will only pay the property tax (which you are paying either way).
If you want to keep moving around, rent. If you want stability, buy.
Good call. Long term it probably makes sense and you cut out a middle man and gain greater flexibility with the property usually.
If you mortgage, the debt value halves in fiat every 7 years roughly too. But house prices are very inflated these days with the monetary premium.
Prices are definitely inflated like so many other things. For sure Iβm not defending the rental or mortgage costs.
It comes down to time preference. Long time preference will pretty much always win out. After allβ¦ you are making the house payment either way, one way is itβs your house payment you are making and you own it in the end; renting- you are making someone elseβs house payment and end up with no value in the end.
6 years into a 20 year mortgage, the taxes and insurance have become 50% of my note.
When you chart that home's appreciation in sats over those 6 years, it has plummeted in value.
RE is not the investment it used to be.
It's totally insane that all these property taxes and utility monopolies are not voluntary. Such a huge scam.
Thatβs a conversation Iβve had many times with my teenager. Weβve gone round and round arguing about thisβ¦and I always get pinned down by logic when I give the (common/accepted) answer.
Reading all the comments and reflecting on my personal experience, depending on (location, expected time in area, market conditions, and economy) youβre better off buying most of the time so long as you donβt leverage yourself. It usually provides better options (donβt live in an HOA, get equity, modify house to your needs) but puts all the responsibility on you the homeowner.
This is why RE is a sh*tcoin. π©
Agree, if you want to live there long term and you are allowed to do what you want with your property, it can make sense. A low cost loan, can be like leaving cash on the table shorting fiat.
True. Long term plans are important for this. If you move around a lot, you will lose a ton of resources (fiat) to fees, interest, depressed markets, etc. definitely rent if you donβt plan to stay long term. Another option is to buy something small and cheap that you can rent out when you move away - if you can manage that. Become the βgoodβ you want to see in the landlord system.