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bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 8ba65af65adc438981ed0ea6b935d95f | 83d1971be4e34d27a9fef9aad64e11a0 | 1,676,824,261 | 1,676,855,304 | 4 | 51 | Yes, the main issue is sooner or later things will break in your house and your landlord won't fix them, or at least, won't put the same care into fixing them that you would have if it was your place.
| This could be a ridiculous take on it. I’ve owned since me and my wife were in our mid 20’s. We’ve raised 3 of our children and have one left. There is a non monetary value to owning a house and providing a stable home for your family. I wouldn’t try to out a number on it. But it’s not insignificant. Around 8 years ago we sold our large house and bought a smaller one in a cheaper area.
I’m in the trades and have seen way to many times the old couple living in a huge house that’s essentially falling apart. Partly due to age and partly due to the size of the house. Me and my wife planned ahead and bought our “last” house early. A smallish ranch so we’d never be worrying about climbing stairs as we get older. And something I can handle major repairs on myself. And now I see one bedroom apartments with a single parking spot cost more than my entire mortgage/taxes/insurance bill.
I consider our house part of our bond allocation. As it’s a fixed cost that is easy to make. And by the time I retire it’ll be simply a taxes and insurance payment. Any major repairs would come out of the emergency fund we’ve built. I guess all this is about sometimes you don’t need to make the best decision by what a calculator says. If you don’t want to own then don’t. Or maybe wait a couple years and see if the housing market corrects some. Or maybe you just want to never settle in one area. Housing unlike most investments can’t be measured just by the dollars and cents sometimes.
| 0 | 0.017241 | 31,043 | 12.75 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 8ba65af65adc438981ed0ea6b935d95f | 941f25be7d5d43159f38cdf26a81b4e5 | 1,676,824,261 | 1,676,857,718 | 4 | 176 | Yes, the main issue is sooner or later things will break in your house and your landlord won't fix them, or at least, won't put the same care into fixing them that you would have if it was your place.
| Yes, this is totally fine. It does require a considerable amount of discipline. Many people use their mortgage as a means of forced savings. You have to make absolutely sure that you're investing enough to make up for the absence of equity built up in a house.
| 0 | 0.121212 | 33,457 | 44 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 8ba65af65adc438981ed0ea6b935d95f | d92688a7f4124be09d8a7b5143bec601 | 1,676,824,261 | 1,676,859,215 | 4 | 81 | Yes, the main issue is sooner or later things will break in your house and your landlord won't fix them, or at least, won't put the same care into fixing them that you would have if it was your place.
| A lot of people feel that home appreciation equals increased net wealth. They like to add their $500k house to their asset column, yet don't seem to recognize they only realize that value if they sell the home. And what do they do next?
Every other home has appreciated as well, so unless you're massively downsizing or moving someplace with lower prices you aren't going to see any net gain.
Disclaimer: I owned a home and sold it in seven years for almost 2x. I then moved to Japan where homes are rapidly depreciating assets. Renting suits me better now for many reasons. Everyone will have a different situation and preference.
| 0 | 0.046154 | 34,954 | 20.25 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 8ba65af65adc438981ed0ea6b935d95f | 4ff8586a7ba941ea8ea090b9b50c4b63 | 1,676,824,261 | 1,676,861,484 | 4 | 176 | Yes, the main issue is sooner or later things will break in your house and your landlord won't fix them, or at least, won't put the same care into fixing them that you would have if it was your place.
| Yes, this is totally fine. It does require a considerable amount of discipline. Many people use their mortgage as a means of forced savings. You have to make absolutely sure that you're investing enough to make up for the absence of equity built up in a house.
| 0 | 0.121212 | 37,223 | 44 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 8ba65af65adc438981ed0ea6b935d95f | c0207f7adb4a4281a6cff77f9caab828 | 1,676,824,261 | 1,676,873,219 | 4 | 40 | Yes, the main issue is sooner or later things will break in your house and your landlord won't fix them, or at least, won't put the same care into fixing them that you would have if it was your place.
| I'm 45. I don't ever plan to buy a house again. I've owned several. Even when I was fortunate enough to be selling in a hot market, I never came out ahead after fees, commissions, etc., and it was a beating to sell each one.
I have the ability to make a 20% down payment on a house, but I would rather keep that 20% in the market as opposed to putting it into a house and immediately making it an illiquid asset that will also immediately lose 6% to a realtor when I need to sell it.
Remember....when you retire, you aren't going to need a 5-bedroom house. Your kids will be off living their own lives. My parents are retired, 75 years old, and they own a massive 5-bedroom house. They use about 15% of it. They don't even go upstairs. It's ridiculous.
| 0 | 0.046154 | 48,958 | 10 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 8ba65af65adc438981ed0ea6b935d95f | bab56cb4bdbb40a3aa51431849d7512f | 1,676,824,261 | 1,676,873,461 | 4 | 116 | Yes, the main issue is sooner or later things will break in your house and your landlord won't fix them, or at least, won't put the same care into fixing them that you would have if it was your place.
| Only based on my own life experience, I do not want to be moving when I am 50+ years old. The thought of packing up, moving, getting used to a new neighborhood/city, finding new friends, hoping for good neighbors and a fair landlord. Those things are not what I want to do when I'm 50 or 60 or 70 years old.
| 0 | 0.1 | 49,200 | 29 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 8ba65af65adc438981ed0ea6b935d95f | 4d61c6f681eb4392bcf071248259a49a | 1,676,824,261 | 1,676,883,333 | 4 | 116 | Yes, the main issue is sooner or later things will break in your house and your landlord won't fix them, or at least, won't put the same care into fixing them that you would have if it was your place.
| Only based on my own life experience, I do not want to be moving when I am 50+ years old. The thought of packing up, moving, getting used to a new neighborhood/city, finding new friends, hoping for good neighbors and a fair landlord. Those things are not what I want to do when I'm 50 or 60 or 70 years old.
| 0 | 0.1 | 59,072 | 29 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 8ba65af65adc438981ed0ea6b935d95f | 762369e9c626412e9838d3b5e59a9e0e | 1,676,824,261 | 1,676,885,266 | 4 | 81 | Yes, the main issue is sooner or later things will break in your house and your landlord won't fix them, or at least, won't put the same care into fixing them that you would have if it was your place.
| A lot of people feel that home appreciation equals increased net wealth. They like to add their $500k house to their asset column, yet don't seem to recognize they only realize that value if they sell the home. And what do they do next?
Every other home has appreciated as well, so unless you're massively downsizing or moving someplace with lower prices you aren't going to see any net gain.
Disclaimer: I owned a home and sold it in seven years for almost 2x. I then moved to Japan where homes are rapidly depreciating assets. Renting suits me better now for many reasons. Everyone will have a different situation and preference.
| 0 | 0.046154 | 61,005 | 20.25 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 8ba65af65adc438981ed0ea6b935d95f | e710d57e178f4b80972ecaf5b413940e | 1,676,824,261 | 1,676,896,917 | 4 | 116 | Yes, the main issue is sooner or later things will break in your house and your landlord won't fix them, or at least, won't put the same care into fixing them that you would have if it was your place.
| Only based on my own life experience, I do not want to be moving when I am 50+ years old. The thought of packing up, moving, getting used to a new neighborhood/city, finding new friends, hoping for good neighbors and a fair landlord. Those things are not what I want to do when I'm 50 or 60 or 70 years old.
| 0 | 0.1 | 72,656 | 29 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 8ba65af65adc438981ed0ea6b935d95f | d9317711ccf242fd954f3402a9ea5618 | 1,676,824,261 | 1,676,904,028 | 4 | 28 | Yes, the main issue is sooner or later things will break in your house and your landlord won't fix them, or at least, won't put the same care into fixing them that you would have if it was your place.
| This is what we do (50+ DINKSWD) and are very happy and our finances have improved when we made the switch from home owners to renters.
You will hear passionate arguments from both the homeowner and renter side. But ultimately you need to do what's best for your situation. For us, I move too much for work and we spend too much improving the house and on transaction costs to ever realize the gain. Now all the Home Depot project money gets invested. Most times the company covers the move so its not a loss for us.
Someday we plan on settling down and finding a retirement home, but its just not in the cards right now. So instead we rent and invest the money.
As far as my personal opinion on rent vs buy, the one thing you can't control about homeownership is your neighbors and that was a significant factor in our deciding to move in the past. We never want to relive those experiences and renting gives us the freedom of choice. Our investment accounts never have drive by shootings, cook food in their garages or have dogs they don't pick up after. Other people have better experiences with owning a home so YMMV.
| 0 | 0.03125 | 79,767 | 7 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 8ba65af65adc438981ed0ea6b935d95f | 5df26efb97ef438595aa27584fd48106 | 1,676,824,261 | 1,676,909,696 | 4 | 176 | Yes, the main issue is sooner or later things will break in your house and your landlord won't fix them, or at least, won't put the same care into fixing them that you would have if it was your place.
| Yes, this is totally fine. It does require a considerable amount of discipline. Many people use their mortgage as a means of forced savings. You have to make absolutely sure that you're investing enough to make up for the absence of equity built up in a house.
| 0 | 0.121212 | 85,435 | 44 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 8ba65af65adc438981ed0ea6b935d95f | 946235791044435ca3a6203de614a6ac | 1,676,824,261 | 1,677,257,308 | 4 | 165 | Yes, the main issue is sooner or later things will break in your house and your landlord won't fix them, or at least, won't put the same care into fixing them that you would have if it was your place.
| As a renter you will probably overpay some for housing. There are a zillion government programs that subsidize demand for homeownership specifically (first time buyer programs, the mortgage interest deduction, etc.). Few states have meaningful subsidies for renters because homeowners are 60% of the population (and tend to be wealthier, more ensconced in a community, with more political clout).
Over the past 30-40 years housing has also provided abnormally high returns ~~beyond those seen with index investing~~ (especially in some coastal markets) as zoning and other regulations sharply limited supply. This is great for a few people who bought houses in San Francisco in 1975 and are now multimillionaires, but far from certain to be repeated.
In any case, renting isn't the *only* way to overpay for housing. Another way to do it would be paying transaction costs to buy/sell a house every 5 years, or buying in the exurbs of a city right before it allows more housing downtown (so the exurb commute is now optional). It sounds like the former might happen with your current view on moving vs settling down. If you're paying a premium either way and value the flexibility, renting will provide more (at a cost).
| 0 | 0.026316 | 433,047 | 41.25 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 8ba65af65adc438981ed0ea6b935d95f | a89d2b412a7840b1b693de0e89a0dbb1 | 1,676,824,261 | 1,677,257,749 | 4 | 81 | Yes, the main issue is sooner or later things will break in your house and your landlord won't fix them, or at least, won't put the same care into fixing them that you would have if it was your place.
| A lot of people feel that home appreciation equals increased net wealth. They like to add their $500k house to their asset column, yet don't seem to recognize they only realize that value if they sell the home. And what do they do next?
Every other home has appreciated as well, so unless you're massively downsizing or moving someplace with lower prices you aren't going to see any net gain.
Disclaimer: I owned a home and sold it in seven years for almost 2x. I then moved to Japan where homes are rapidly depreciating assets. Renting suits me better now for many reasons. Everyone will have a different situation and preference.
| 0 | 0.046154 | 433,488 | 20.25 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 5d4530fa19e2498d89f174de62ea144e | eba9c10953a64292864f63f1fa6da5da | 1,676,825,350 | 1,676,826,851 | 165 | 176 | As a renter you will probably overpay some for housing. There are a zillion government programs that subsidize demand for homeownership specifically (first time buyer programs, the mortgage interest deduction, etc.). Few states have meaningful subsidies for renters because homeowners are 60% of the population (and tend to be wealthier, more ensconced in a community, with more political clout).
Over the past 30-40 years housing has also provided abnormally high returns ~~beyond those seen with index investing~~ (especially in some coastal markets) as zoning and other regulations sharply limited supply. This is great for a few people who bought houses in San Francisco in 1975 and are now multimillionaires, but far from certain to be repeated.
In any case, renting isn't the *only* way to overpay for housing. Another way to do it would be paying transaction costs to buy/sell a house every 5 years, or buying in the exurbs of a city right before it allows more housing downtown (so the exurb commute is now optional). It sounds like the former might happen with your current view on moving vs settling down. If you're paying a premium either way and value the flexibility, renting will provide more (at a cost).
| Yes, this is totally fine. It does require a considerable amount of discipline. Many people use their mortgage as a means of forced savings. You have to make absolutely sure that you're investing enough to make up for the absence of equity built up in a house.
| 0 | 0.042735 | 1,501 | 1.066667 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | e1de5b1efda14e68a2e1c3f84fca0df9 | d71e0637371847deada46783a389ed0e | 1,676,829,259 | 1,676,829,338 | 18 | 165 | I'd sit down and actually do the math on a spreadsheet if I were you.
Compare how much you're putting away in investments with avg compounding long term yields on your investments, then calculate how much you would buy a house for, how much of your payments are equity VS. Interest, and how much you'd otherwise be paying for rent.
Real estate does often do quite well on the long run. Unless you think there's a reason the house prices are going back down where you live, you could probably also do quite well buying and owning a house in the long run.
| As a renter you will probably overpay some for housing. There are a zillion government programs that subsidize demand for homeownership specifically (first time buyer programs, the mortgage interest deduction, etc.). Few states have meaningful subsidies for renters because homeowners are 60% of the population (and tend to be wealthier, more ensconced in a community, with more political clout).
Over the past 30-40 years housing has also provided abnormally high returns ~~beyond those seen with index investing~~ (especially in some coastal markets) as zoning and other regulations sharply limited supply. This is great for a few people who bought houses in San Francisco in 1975 and are now multimillionaires, but far from certain to be repeated.
In any case, renting isn't the *only* way to overpay for housing. Another way to do it would be paying transaction costs to buy/sell a house every 5 years, or buying in the exurbs of a city right before it allows more housing downtown (so the exurb commute is now optional). It sounds like the former might happen with your current view on moving vs settling down. If you're paying a premium either way and value the flexibility, renting will provide more (at a cost).
| 0 | 0.070866 | 79 | 9.166667 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | e1de5b1efda14e68a2e1c3f84fca0df9 | 5649af9c9d9344419fcfc110a5b2fb6c | 1,676,829,259 | 1,676,831,097 | 18 | 51 | I'd sit down and actually do the math on a spreadsheet if I were you.
Compare how much you're putting away in investments with avg compounding long term yields on your investments, then calculate how much you would buy a house for, how much of your payments are equity VS. Interest, and how much you'd otherwise be paying for rent.
Real estate does often do quite well on the long run. Unless you think there's a reason the house prices are going back down where you live, you could probably also do quite well buying and owning a house in the long run.
| This could be a ridiculous take on it. I’ve owned since me and my wife were in our mid 20’s. We’ve raised 3 of our children and have one left. There is a non monetary value to owning a house and providing a stable home for your family. I wouldn’t try to out a number on it. But it’s not insignificant. Around 8 years ago we sold our large house and bought a smaller one in a cheaper area.
I’m in the trades and have seen way to many times the old couple living in a huge house that’s essentially falling apart. Partly due to age and partly due to the size of the house. Me and my wife planned ahead and bought our “last” house early. A smallish ranch so we’d never be worrying about climbing stairs as we get older. And something I can handle major repairs on myself. And now I see one bedroom apartments with a single parking spot cost more than my entire mortgage/taxes/insurance bill.
I consider our house part of our bond allocation. As it’s a fixed cost that is easy to make. And by the time I retire it’ll be simply a taxes and insurance payment. Any major repairs would come out of the emergency fund we’ve built. I guess all this is about sometimes you don’t need to make the best decision by what a calculator says. If you don’t want to own then don’t. Or maybe wait a couple years and see if the housing market corrects some. Or maybe you just want to never settle in one area. Housing unlike most investments can’t be measured just by the dollars and cents sometimes.
| 0 | 0.030075 | 1,838 | 2.833333 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | e1de5b1efda14e68a2e1c3f84fca0df9 | 0f16ac3f29e24328a18b5ac5eef50713 | 1,676,829,259 | 1,676,831,294 | 18 | 165 | I'd sit down and actually do the math on a spreadsheet if I were you.
Compare how much you're putting away in investments with avg compounding long term yields on your investments, then calculate how much you would buy a house for, how much of your payments are equity VS. Interest, and how much you'd otherwise be paying for rent.
Real estate does often do quite well on the long run. Unless you think there's a reason the house prices are going back down where you live, you could probably also do quite well buying and owning a house in the long run.
| As a renter you will probably overpay some for housing. There are a zillion government programs that subsidize demand for homeownership specifically (first time buyer programs, the mortgage interest deduction, etc.). Few states have meaningful subsidies for renters because homeowners are 60% of the population (and tend to be wealthier, more ensconced in a community, with more political clout).
Over the past 30-40 years housing has also provided abnormally high returns ~~beyond those seen with index investing~~ (especially in some coastal markets) as zoning and other regulations sharply limited supply. This is great for a few people who bought houses in San Francisco in 1975 and are now multimillionaires, but far from certain to be repeated.
In any case, renting isn't the *only* way to overpay for housing. Another way to do it would be paying transaction costs to buy/sell a house every 5 years, or buying in the exurbs of a city right before it allows more housing downtown (so the exurb commute is now optional). It sounds like the former might happen with your current view on moving vs settling down. If you're paying a premium either way and value the flexibility, renting will provide more (at a cost).
| 0 | 0.070866 | 2,035 | 9.166667 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | e1de5b1efda14e68a2e1c3f84fca0df9 | 8c2d2a6fa1114cf18838e1ef89090e31 | 1,676,829,259 | 1,676,837,069 | 18 | 116 | I'd sit down and actually do the math on a spreadsheet if I were you.
Compare how much you're putting away in investments with avg compounding long term yields on your investments, then calculate how much you would buy a house for, how much of your payments are equity VS. Interest, and how much you'd otherwise be paying for rent.
Real estate does often do quite well on the long run. Unless you think there's a reason the house prices are going back down where you live, you could probably also do quite well buying and owning a house in the long run.
| Only based on my own life experience, I do not want to be moving when I am 50+ years old. The thought of packing up, moving, getting used to a new neighborhood/city, finding new friends, hoping for good neighbors and a fair landlord. Those things are not what I want to do when I'm 50 or 60 or 70 years old.
| 0 | 0.032787 | 7,810 | 6.444444 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | e1de5b1efda14e68a2e1c3f84fca0df9 | 1b72a43e457d4e199bdfb1c380aaf7f3 | 1,676,829,259 | 1,676,839,694 | 18 | 81 | I'd sit down and actually do the math on a spreadsheet if I were you.
Compare how much you're putting away in investments with avg compounding long term yields on your investments, then calculate how much you would buy a house for, how much of your payments are equity VS. Interest, and how much you'd otherwise be paying for rent.
Real estate does often do quite well on the long run. Unless you think there's a reason the house prices are going back down where you live, you could probably also do quite well buying and owning a house in the long run.
| A lot of people feel that home appreciation equals increased net wealth. They like to add their $500k house to their asset column, yet don't seem to recognize they only realize that value if they sell the home. And what do they do next?
Every other home has appreciated as well, so unless you're massively downsizing or moving someplace with lower prices you aren't going to see any net gain.
Disclaimer: I owned a home and sold it in seven years for almost 2x. I then moved to Japan where homes are rapidly depreciating assets. Renting suits me better now for many reasons. Everyone will have a different situation and preference.
| 0 | 0.060976 | 10,435 | 4.5 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | e1de5b1efda14e68a2e1c3f84fca0df9 | 77e6819bc34047c4bbc47cb504e0fce4 | 1,676,829,259 | 1,676,839,930 | 18 | 176 | I'd sit down and actually do the math on a spreadsheet if I were you.
Compare how much you're putting away in investments with avg compounding long term yields on your investments, then calculate how much you would buy a house for, how much of your payments are equity VS. Interest, and how much you'd otherwise be paying for rent.
Real estate does often do quite well on the long run. Unless you think there's a reason the house prices are going back down where you live, you could probably also do quite well buying and owning a house in the long run.
| Yes, this is totally fine. It does require a considerable amount of discipline. Many people use their mortgage as a means of forced savings. You have to make absolutely sure that you're investing enough to make up for the absence of equity built up in a house.
| 0 | 0.076923 | 10,671 | 9.777778 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | e1de5b1efda14e68a2e1c3f84fca0df9 | 6f29d9a9feb648d8ab52e2166908143e | 1,676,829,259 | 1,676,840,099 | 18 | 165 | I'd sit down and actually do the math on a spreadsheet if I were you.
Compare how much you're putting away in investments with avg compounding long term yields on your investments, then calculate how much you would buy a house for, how much of your payments are equity VS. Interest, and how much you'd otherwise be paying for rent.
Real estate does often do quite well on the long run. Unless you think there's a reason the house prices are going back down where you live, you could probably also do quite well buying and owning a house in the long run.
| As a renter you will probably overpay some for housing. There are a zillion government programs that subsidize demand for homeownership specifically (first time buyer programs, the mortgage interest deduction, etc.). Few states have meaningful subsidies for renters because homeowners are 60% of the population (and tend to be wealthier, more ensconced in a community, with more political clout).
Over the past 30-40 years housing has also provided abnormally high returns ~~beyond those seen with index investing~~ (especially in some coastal markets) as zoning and other regulations sharply limited supply. This is great for a few people who bought houses in San Francisco in 1975 and are now multimillionaires, but far from certain to be repeated.
In any case, renting isn't the *only* way to overpay for housing. Another way to do it would be paying transaction costs to buy/sell a house every 5 years, or buying in the exurbs of a city right before it allows more housing downtown (so the exurb commute is now optional). It sounds like the former might happen with your current view on moving vs settling down. If you're paying a premium either way and value the flexibility, renting will provide more (at a cost).
| 0 | 0.070866 | 10,840 | 9.166667 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | e1de5b1efda14e68a2e1c3f84fca0df9 | dfca63c75a4e4aeb80b0aebe5c10ce35 | 1,676,829,259 | 1,676,845,179 | 18 | 176 | I'd sit down and actually do the math on a spreadsheet if I were you.
Compare how much you're putting away in investments with avg compounding long term yields on your investments, then calculate how much you would buy a house for, how much of your payments are equity VS. Interest, and how much you'd otherwise be paying for rent.
Real estate does often do quite well on the long run. Unless you think there's a reason the house prices are going back down where you live, you could probably also do quite well buying and owning a house in the long run.
| Yes, this is totally fine. It does require a considerable amount of discipline. Many people use their mortgage as a means of forced savings. You have to make absolutely sure that you're investing enough to make up for the absence of equity built up in a house.
| 0 | 0.076923 | 15,920 | 9.777778 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | e1de5b1efda14e68a2e1c3f84fca0df9 | eb86d8a939224d2eac38801a7eb2842a | 1,676,829,259 | 1,676,852,753 | 18 | 28 | I'd sit down and actually do the math on a spreadsheet if I were you.
Compare how much you're putting away in investments with avg compounding long term yields on your investments, then calculate how much you would buy a house for, how much of your payments are equity VS. Interest, and how much you'd otherwise be paying for rent.
Real estate does often do quite well on the long run. Unless you think there's a reason the house prices are going back down where you live, you could probably also do quite well buying and owning a house in the long run.
| This is what we do (50+ DINKSWD) and are very happy and our finances have improved when we made the switch from home owners to renters.
You will hear passionate arguments from both the homeowner and renter side. But ultimately you need to do what's best for your situation. For us, I move too much for work and we spend too much improving the house and on transaction costs to ever realize the gain. Now all the Home Depot project money gets invested. Most times the company covers the move so its not a loss for us.
Someday we plan on settling down and finding a retirement home, but its just not in the cards right now. So instead we rent and invest the money.
As far as my personal opinion on rent vs buy, the one thing you can't control about homeownership is your neighbors and that was a significant factor in our deciding to move in the past. We never want to relive those experiences and renting gives us the freedom of choice. Our investment accounts never have drive by shootings, cook food in their garages or have dogs they don't pick up after. Other people have better experiences with owning a home so YMMV.
| 0 | 0.063063 | 23,494 | 1.555556 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | e1de5b1efda14e68a2e1c3f84fca0df9 | 95ca167cd3e84c01972d55c94488088c | 1,676,829,259 | 1,676,854,361 | 18 | 165 | I'd sit down and actually do the math on a spreadsheet if I were you.
Compare how much you're putting away in investments with avg compounding long term yields on your investments, then calculate how much you would buy a house for, how much of your payments are equity VS. Interest, and how much you'd otherwise be paying for rent.
Real estate does often do quite well on the long run. Unless you think there's a reason the house prices are going back down where you live, you could probably also do quite well buying and owning a house in the long run.
| As a renter you will probably overpay some for housing. There are a zillion government programs that subsidize demand for homeownership specifically (first time buyer programs, the mortgage interest deduction, etc.). Few states have meaningful subsidies for renters because homeowners are 60% of the population (and tend to be wealthier, more ensconced in a community, with more political clout).
Over the past 30-40 years housing has also provided abnormally high returns ~~beyond those seen with index investing~~ (especially in some coastal markets) as zoning and other regulations sharply limited supply. This is great for a few people who bought houses in San Francisco in 1975 and are now multimillionaires, but far from certain to be repeated.
In any case, renting isn't the *only* way to overpay for housing. Another way to do it would be paying transaction costs to buy/sell a house every 5 years, or buying in the exurbs of a city right before it allows more housing downtown (so the exurb commute is now optional). It sounds like the former might happen with your current view on moving vs settling down. If you're paying a premium either way and value the flexibility, renting will provide more (at a cost).
| 0 | 0.070866 | 25,102 | 9.166667 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | e1de5b1efda14e68a2e1c3f84fca0df9 | 83d1971be4e34d27a9fef9aad64e11a0 | 1,676,829,259 | 1,676,855,304 | 18 | 51 | I'd sit down and actually do the math on a spreadsheet if I were you.
Compare how much you're putting away in investments with avg compounding long term yields on your investments, then calculate how much you would buy a house for, how much of your payments are equity VS. Interest, and how much you'd otherwise be paying for rent.
Real estate does often do quite well on the long run. Unless you think there's a reason the house prices are going back down where you live, you could probably also do quite well buying and owning a house in the long run.
| This could be a ridiculous take on it. I’ve owned since me and my wife were in our mid 20’s. We’ve raised 3 of our children and have one left. There is a non monetary value to owning a house and providing a stable home for your family. I wouldn’t try to out a number on it. But it’s not insignificant. Around 8 years ago we sold our large house and bought a smaller one in a cheaper area.
I’m in the trades and have seen way to many times the old couple living in a huge house that’s essentially falling apart. Partly due to age and partly due to the size of the house. Me and my wife planned ahead and bought our “last” house early. A smallish ranch so we’d never be worrying about climbing stairs as we get older. And something I can handle major repairs on myself. And now I see one bedroom apartments with a single parking spot cost more than my entire mortgage/taxes/insurance bill.
I consider our house part of our bond allocation. As it’s a fixed cost that is easy to make. And by the time I retire it’ll be simply a taxes and insurance payment. Any major repairs would come out of the emergency fund we’ve built. I guess all this is about sometimes you don’t need to make the best decision by what a calculator says. If you don’t want to own then don’t. Or maybe wait a couple years and see if the housing market corrects some. Or maybe you just want to never settle in one area. Housing unlike most investments can’t be measured just by the dollars and cents sometimes.
| 0 | 0.030075 | 26,045 | 2.833333 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | e1de5b1efda14e68a2e1c3f84fca0df9 | 941f25be7d5d43159f38cdf26a81b4e5 | 1,676,829,259 | 1,676,857,718 | 18 | 176 | I'd sit down and actually do the math on a spreadsheet if I were you.
Compare how much you're putting away in investments with avg compounding long term yields on your investments, then calculate how much you would buy a house for, how much of your payments are equity VS. Interest, and how much you'd otherwise be paying for rent.
Real estate does often do quite well on the long run. Unless you think there's a reason the house prices are going back down where you live, you could probably also do quite well buying and owning a house in the long run.
| Yes, this is totally fine. It does require a considerable amount of discipline. Many people use their mortgage as a means of forced savings. You have to make absolutely sure that you're investing enough to make up for the absence of equity built up in a house.
| 0 | 0.076923 | 28,459 | 9.777778 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | e1de5b1efda14e68a2e1c3f84fca0df9 | d92688a7f4124be09d8a7b5143bec601 | 1,676,829,259 | 1,676,859,215 | 18 | 81 | I'd sit down and actually do the math on a spreadsheet if I were you.
Compare how much you're putting away in investments with avg compounding long term yields on your investments, then calculate how much you would buy a house for, how much of your payments are equity VS. Interest, and how much you'd otherwise be paying for rent.
Real estate does often do quite well on the long run. Unless you think there's a reason the house prices are going back down where you live, you could probably also do quite well buying and owning a house in the long run.
| A lot of people feel that home appreciation equals increased net wealth. They like to add their $500k house to their asset column, yet don't seem to recognize they only realize that value if they sell the home. And what do they do next?
Every other home has appreciated as well, so unless you're massively downsizing or moving someplace with lower prices you aren't going to see any net gain.
Disclaimer: I owned a home and sold it in seven years for almost 2x. I then moved to Japan where homes are rapidly depreciating assets. Renting suits me better now for many reasons. Everyone will have a different situation and preference.
| 0 | 0.060976 | 29,956 | 4.5 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | e1de5b1efda14e68a2e1c3f84fca0df9 | 4ff8586a7ba941ea8ea090b9b50c4b63 | 1,676,829,259 | 1,676,861,484 | 18 | 176 | I'd sit down and actually do the math on a spreadsheet if I were you.
Compare how much you're putting away in investments with avg compounding long term yields on your investments, then calculate how much you would buy a house for, how much of your payments are equity VS. Interest, and how much you'd otherwise be paying for rent.
Real estate does often do quite well on the long run. Unless you think there's a reason the house prices are going back down where you live, you could probably also do quite well buying and owning a house in the long run.
| Yes, this is totally fine. It does require a considerable amount of discipline. Many people use their mortgage as a means of forced savings. You have to make absolutely sure that you're investing enough to make up for the absence of equity built up in a house.
| 0 | 0.076923 | 32,225 | 9.777778 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | e1de5b1efda14e68a2e1c3f84fca0df9 | c0207f7adb4a4281a6cff77f9caab828 | 1,676,829,259 | 1,676,873,219 | 18 | 40 | I'd sit down and actually do the math on a spreadsheet if I were you.
Compare how much you're putting away in investments with avg compounding long term yields on your investments, then calculate how much you would buy a house for, how much of your payments are equity VS. Interest, and how much you'd otherwise be paying for rent.
Real estate does often do quite well on the long run. Unless you think there's a reason the house prices are going back down where you live, you could probably also do quite well buying and owning a house in the long run.
| I'm 45. I don't ever plan to buy a house again. I've owned several. Even when I was fortunate enough to be selling in a hot market, I never came out ahead after fees, commissions, etc., and it was a beating to sell each one.
I have the ability to make a 20% down payment on a house, but I would rather keep that 20% in the market as opposed to putting it into a house and immediately making it an illiquid asset that will also immediately lose 6% to a realtor when I need to sell it.
Remember....when you retire, you aren't going to need a 5-bedroom house. Your kids will be off living their own lives. My parents are retired, 75 years old, and they own a massive 5-bedroom house. They use about 15% of it. They don't even go upstairs. It's ridiculous.
| 0 | 0.074074 | 43,960 | 2.222222 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | e1de5b1efda14e68a2e1c3f84fca0df9 | bab56cb4bdbb40a3aa51431849d7512f | 1,676,829,259 | 1,676,873,461 | 18 | 116 | I'd sit down and actually do the math on a spreadsheet if I were you.
Compare how much you're putting away in investments with avg compounding long term yields on your investments, then calculate how much you would buy a house for, how much of your payments are equity VS. Interest, and how much you'd otherwise be paying for rent.
Real estate does often do quite well on the long run. Unless you think there's a reason the house prices are going back down where you live, you could probably also do quite well buying and owning a house in the long run.
| Only based on my own life experience, I do not want to be moving when I am 50+ years old. The thought of packing up, moving, getting used to a new neighborhood/city, finding new friends, hoping for good neighbors and a fair landlord. Those things are not what I want to do when I'm 50 or 60 or 70 years old.
| 0 | 0.032787 | 44,202 | 6.444444 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | e1de5b1efda14e68a2e1c3f84fca0df9 | 4d61c6f681eb4392bcf071248259a49a | 1,676,829,259 | 1,676,883,333 | 18 | 116 | I'd sit down and actually do the math on a spreadsheet if I were you.
Compare how much you're putting away in investments with avg compounding long term yields on your investments, then calculate how much you would buy a house for, how much of your payments are equity VS. Interest, and how much you'd otherwise be paying for rent.
Real estate does often do quite well on the long run. Unless you think there's a reason the house prices are going back down where you live, you could probably also do quite well buying and owning a house in the long run.
| Only based on my own life experience, I do not want to be moving when I am 50+ years old. The thought of packing up, moving, getting used to a new neighborhood/city, finding new friends, hoping for good neighbors and a fair landlord. Those things are not what I want to do when I'm 50 or 60 or 70 years old.
| 0 | 0.032787 | 54,074 | 6.444444 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | e1de5b1efda14e68a2e1c3f84fca0df9 | 762369e9c626412e9838d3b5e59a9e0e | 1,676,829,259 | 1,676,885,266 | 18 | 81 | I'd sit down and actually do the math on a spreadsheet if I were you.
Compare how much you're putting away in investments with avg compounding long term yields on your investments, then calculate how much you would buy a house for, how much of your payments are equity VS. Interest, and how much you'd otherwise be paying for rent.
Real estate does often do quite well on the long run. Unless you think there's a reason the house prices are going back down where you live, you could probably also do quite well buying and owning a house in the long run.
| A lot of people feel that home appreciation equals increased net wealth. They like to add their $500k house to their asset column, yet don't seem to recognize they only realize that value if they sell the home. And what do they do next?
Every other home has appreciated as well, so unless you're massively downsizing or moving someplace with lower prices you aren't going to see any net gain.
Disclaimer: I owned a home and sold it in seven years for almost 2x. I then moved to Japan where homes are rapidly depreciating assets. Renting suits me better now for many reasons. Everyone will have a different situation and preference.
| 0 | 0.060976 | 56,007 | 4.5 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | e1de5b1efda14e68a2e1c3f84fca0df9 | e710d57e178f4b80972ecaf5b413940e | 1,676,829,259 | 1,676,896,917 | 18 | 116 | I'd sit down and actually do the math on a spreadsheet if I were you.
Compare how much you're putting away in investments with avg compounding long term yields on your investments, then calculate how much you would buy a house for, how much of your payments are equity VS. Interest, and how much you'd otherwise be paying for rent.
Real estate does often do quite well on the long run. Unless you think there's a reason the house prices are going back down where you live, you could probably also do quite well buying and owning a house in the long run.
| Only based on my own life experience, I do not want to be moving when I am 50+ years old. The thought of packing up, moving, getting used to a new neighborhood/city, finding new friends, hoping for good neighbors and a fair landlord. Those things are not what I want to do when I'm 50 or 60 or 70 years old.
| 0 | 0.032787 | 67,658 | 6.444444 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | e1de5b1efda14e68a2e1c3f84fca0df9 | d9317711ccf242fd954f3402a9ea5618 | 1,676,829,259 | 1,676,904,028 | 18 | 28 | I'd sit down and actually do the math on a spreadsheet if I were you.
Compare how much you're putting away in investments with avg compounding long term yields on your investments, then calculate how much you would buy a house for, how much of your payments are equity VS. Interest, and how much you'd otherwise be paying for rent.
Real estate does often do quite well on the long run. Unless you think there's a reason the house prices are going back down where you live, you could probably also do quite well buying and owning a house in the long run.
| This is what we do (50+ DINKSWD) and are very happy and our finances have improved when we made the switch from home owners to renters.
You will hear passionate arguments from both the homeowner and renter side. But ultimately you need to do what's best for your situation. For us, I move too much for work and we spend too much improving the house and on transaction costs to ever realize the gain. Now all the Home Depot project money gets invested. Most times the company covers the move so its not a loss for us.
Someday we plan on settling down and finding a retirement home, but its just not in the cards right now. So instead we rent and invest the money.
As far as my personal opinion on rent vs buy, the one thing you can't control about homeownership is your neighbors and that was a significant factor in our deciding to move in the past. We never want to relive those experiences and renting gives us the freedom of choice. Our investment accounts never have drive by shootings, cook food in their garages or have dogs they don't pick up after. Other people have better experiences with owning a home so YMMV.
| 0 | 0.063063 | 74,769 | 1.555556 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | e1de5b1efda14e68a2e1c3f84fca0df9 | 5df26efb97ef438595aa27584fd48106 | 1,676,829,259 | 1,676,909,696 | 18 | 176 | I'd sit down and actually do the math on a spreadsheet if I were you.
Compare how much you're putting away in investments with avg compounding long term yields on your investments, then calculate how much you would buy a house for, how much of your payments are equity VS. Interest, and how much you'd otherwise be paying for rent.
Real estate does often do quite well on the long run. Unless you think there's a reason the house prices are going back down where you live, you could probably also do quite well buying and owning a house in the long run.
| Yes, this is totally fine. It does require a considerable amount of discipline. Many people use their mortgage as a means of forced savings. You have to make absolutely sure that you're investing enough to make up for the absence of equity built up in a house.
| 0 | 0.076923 | 80,437 | 9.777778 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | e1de5b1efda14e68a2e1c3f84fca0df9 | 946235791044435ca3a6203de614a6ac | 1,676,829,259 | 1,677,257,308 | 18 | 165 | I'd sit down and actually do the math on a spreadsheet if I were you.
Compare how much you're putting away in investments with avg compounding long term yields on your investments, then calculate how much you would buy a house for, how much of your payments are equity VS. Interest, and how much you'd otherwise be paying for rent.
Real estate does often do quite well on the long run. Unless you think there's a reason the house prices are going back down where you live, you could probably also do quite well buying and owning a house in the long run.
| As a renter you will probably overpay some for housing. There are a zillion government programs that subsidize demand for homeownership specifically (first time buyer programs, the mortgage interest deduction, etc.). Few states have meaningful subsidies for renters because homeowners are 60% of the population (and tend to be wealthier, more ensconced in a community, with more political clout).
Over the past 30-40 years housing has also provided abnormally high returns ~~beyond those seen with index investing~~ (especially in some coastal markets) as zoning and other regulations sharply limited supply. This is great for a few people who bought houses in San Francisco in 1975 and are now multimillionaires, but far from certain to be repeated.
In any case, renting isn't the *only* way to overpay for housing. Another way to do it would be paying transaction costs to buy/sell a house every 5 years, or buying in the exurbs of a city right before it allows more housing downtown (so the exurb commute is now optional). It sounds like the former might happen with your current view on moving vs settling down. If you're paying a premium either way and value the flexibility, renting will provide more (at a cost).
| 0 | 0.070866 | 428,049 | 9.166667 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | e1de5b1efda14e68a2e1c3f84fca0df9 | a89d2b412a7840b1b693de0e89a0dbb1 | 1,676,829,259 | 1,677,257,749 | 18 | 81 | I'd sit down and actually do the math on a spreadsheet if I were you.
Compare how much you're putting away in investments with avg compounding long term yields on your investments, then calculate how much you would buy a house for, how much of your payments are equity VS. Interest, and how much you'd otherwise be paying for rent.
Real estate does often do quite well on the long run. Unless you think there's a reason the house prices are going back down where you live, you could probably also do quite well buying and owning a house in the long run.
| A lot of people feel that home appreciation equals increased net wealth. They like to add their $500k house to their asset column, yet don't seem to recognize they only realize that value if they sell the home. And what do they do next?
Every other home has appreciated as well, so unless you're massively downsizing or moving someplace with lower prices you aren't going to see any net gain.
Disclaimer: I owned a home and sold it in seven years for almost 2x. I then moved to Japan where homes are rapidly depreciating assets. Renting suits me better now for many reasons. Everyone will have a different situation and preference.
| 0 | 0.060976 | 428,490 | 4.5 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | d71e0637371847deada46783a389ed0e | 77e6819bc34047c4bbc47cb504e0fce4 | 1,676,829,338 | 1,676,839,930 | 165 | 176 | As a renter you will probably overpay some for housing. There are a zillion government programs that subsidize demand for homeownership specifically (first time buyer programs, the mortgage interest deduction, etc.). Few states have meaningful subsidies for renters because homeowners are 60% of the population (and tend to be wealthier, more ensconced in a community, with more political clout).
Over the past 30-40 years housing has also provided abnormally high returns ~~beyond those seen with index investing~~ (especially in some coastal markets) as zoning and other regulations sharply limited supply. This is great for a few people who bought houses in San Francisco in 1975 and are now multimillionaires, but far from certain to be repeated.
In any case, renting isn't the *only* way to overpay for housing. Another way to do it would be paying transaction costs to buy/sell a house every 5 years, or buying in the exurbs of a city right before it allows more housing downtown (so the exurb commute is now optional). It sounds like the former might happen with your current view on moving vs settling down. If you're paying a premium either way and value the flexibility, renting will provide more (at a cost).
| Yes, this is totally fine. It does require a considerable amount of discipline. Many people use their mortgage as a means of forced savings. You have to make absolutely sure that you're investing enough to make up for the absence of equity built up in a house.
| 0 | 0.042735 | 10,592 | 1.066667 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 5649af9c9d9344419fcfc110a5b2fb6c | 0f16ac3f29e24328a18b5ac5eef50713 | 1,676,831,097 | 1,676,831,294 | 51 | 165 | This could be a ridiculous take on it. I’ve owned since me and my wife were in our mid 20’s. We’ve raised 3 of our children and have one left. There is a non monetary value to owning a house and providing a stable home for your family. I wouldn’t try to out a number on it. But it’s not insignificant. Around 8 years ago we sold our large house and bought a smaller one in a cheaper area.
I’m in the trades and have seen way to many times the old couple living in a huge house that’s essentially falling apart. Partly due to age and partly due to the size of the house. Me and my wife planned ahead and bought our “last” house early. A smallish ranch so we’d never be worrying about climbing stairs as we get older. And something I can handle major repairs on myself. And now I see one bedroom apartments with a single parking spot cost more than my entire mortgage/taxes/insurance bill.
I consider our house part of our bond allocation. As it’s a fixed cost that is easy to make. And by the time I retire it’ll be simply a taxes and insurance payment. Any major repairs would come out of the emergency fund we’ve built. I guess all this is about sometimes you don’t need to make the best decision by what a calculator says. If you don’t want to own then don’t. Or maybe wait a couple years and see if the housing market corrects some. Or maybe you just want to never settle in one area. Housing unlike most investments can’t be measured just by the dollars and cents sometimes.
| As a renter you will probably overpay some for housing. There are a zillion government programs that subsidize demand for homeownership specifically (first time buyer programs, the mortgage interest deduction, etc.). Few states have meaningful subsidies for renters because homeowners are 60% of the population (and tend to be wealthier, more ensconced in a community, with more political clout).
Over the past 30-40 years housing has also provided abnormally high returns ~~beyond those seen with index investing~~ (especially in some coastal markets) as zoning and other regulations sharply limited supply. This is great for a few people who bought houses in San Francisco in 1975 and are now multimillionaires, but far from certain to be repeated.
In any case, renting isn't the *only* way to overpay for housing. Another way to do it would be paying transaction costs to buy/sell a house every 5 years, or buying in the exurbs of a city right before it allows more housing downtown (so the exurb commute is now optional). It sounds like the former might happen with your current view on moving vs settling down. If you're paying a premium either way and value the flexibility, renting will provide more (at a cost).
| 0 | 0.062827 | 197 | 3.235294 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 5649af9c9d9344419fcfc110a5b2fb6c | 8c2d2a6fa1114cf18838e1ef89090e31 | 1,676,831,097 | 1,676,837,069 | 51 | 116 | This could be a ridiculous take on it. I’ve owned since me and my wife were in our mid 20’s. We’ve raised 3 of our children and have one left. There is a non monetary value to owning a house and providing a stable home for your family. I wouldn’t try to out a number on it. But it’s not insignificant. Around 8 years ago we sold our large house and bought a smaller one in a cheaper area.
I’m in the trades and have seen way to many times the old couple living in a huge house that’s essentially falling apart. Partly due to age and partly due to the size of the house. Me and my wife planned ahead and bought our “last” house early. A smallish ranch so we’d never be worrying about climbing stairs as we get older. And something I can handle major repairs on myself. And now I see one bedroom apartments with a single parking spot cost more than my entire mortgage/taxes/insurance bill.
I consider our house part of our bond allocation. As it’s a fixed cost that is easy to make. And by the time I retire it’ll be simply a taxes and insurance payment. Any major repairs would come out of the emergency fund we’ve built. I guess all this is about sometimes you don’t need to make the best decision by what a calculator says. If you don’t want to own then don’t. Or maybe wait a couple years and see if the housing market corrects some. Or maybe you just want to never settle in one area. Housing unlike most investments can’t be measured just by the dollars and cents sometimes.
| Only based on my own life experience, I do not want to be moving when I am 50+ years old. The thought of packing up, moving, getting used to a new neighborhood/city, finding new friends, hoping for good neighbors and a fair landlord. Those things are not what I want to do when I'm 50 or 60 or 70 years old.
| 0 | 0.04 | 5,972 | 2.27451 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 5649af9c9d9344419fcfc110a5b2fb6c | 1b72a43e457d4e199bdfb1c380aaf7f3 | 1,676,831,097 | 1,676,839,694 | 51 | 81 | This could be a ridiculous take on it. I’ve owned since me and my wife were in our mid 20’s. We’ve raised 3 of our children and have one left. There is a non monetary value to owning a house and providing a stable home for your family. I wouldn’t try to out a number on it. But it’s not insignificant. Around 8 years ago we sold our large house and bought a smaller one in a cheaper area.
I’m in the trades and have seen way to many times the old couple living in a huge house that’s essentially falling apart. Partly due to age and partly due to the size of the house. Me and my wife planned ahead and bought our “last” house early. A smallish ranch so we’d never be worrying about climbing stairs as we get older. And something I can handle major repairs on myself. And now I see one bedroom apartments with a single parking spot cost more than my entire mortgage/taxes/insurance bill.
I consider our house part of our bond allocation. As it’s a fixed cost that is easy to make. And by the time I retire it’ll be simply a taxes and insurance payment. Any major repairs would come out of the emergency fund we’ve built. I guess all this is about sometimes you don’t need to make the best decision by what a calculator says. If you don’t want to own then don’t. Or maybe wait a couple years and see if the housing market corrects some. Or maybe you just want to never settle in one area. Housing unlike most investments can’t be measured just by the dollars and cents sometimes.
| A lot of people feel that home appreciation equals increased net wealth. They like to add their $500k house to their asset column, yet don't seem to recognize they only realize that value if they sell the home. And what do they do next?
Every other home has appreciated as well, so unless you're massively downsizing or moving someplace with lower prices you aren't going to see any net gain.
Disclaimer: I owned a home and sold it in seven years for almost 2x. I then moved to Japan where homes are rapidly depreciating assets. Renting suits me better now for many reasons. Everyone will have a different situation and preference.
| 0 | 0.047619 | 8,597 | 1.588235 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 5649af9c9d9344419fcfc110a5b2fb6c | 77e6819bc34047c4bbc47cb504e0fce4 | 1,676,831,097 | 1,676,839,930 | 51 | 176 | This could be a ridiculous take on it. I’ve owned since me and my wife were in our mid 20’s. We’ve raised 3 of our children and have one left. There is a non monetary value to owning a house and providing a stable home for your family. I wouldn’t try to out a number on it. But it’s not insignificant. Around 8 years ago we sold our large house and bought a smaller one in a cheaper area.
I’m in the trades and have seen way to many times the old couple living in a huge house that’s essentially falling apart. Partly due to age and partly due to the size of the house. Me and my wife planned ahead and bought our “last” house early. A smallish ranch so we’d never be worrying about climbing stairs as we get older. And something I can handle major repairs on myself. And now I see one bedroom apartments with a single parking spot cost more than my entire mortgage/taxes/insurance bill.
I consider our house part of our bond allocation. As it’s a fixed cost that is easy to make. And by the time I retire it’ll be simply a taxes and insurance payment. Any major repairs would come out of the emergency fund we’ve built. I guess all this is about sometimes you don’t need to make the best decision by what a calculator says. If you don’t want to own then don’t. Or maybe wait a couple years and see if the housing market corrects some. Or maybe you just want to never settle in one area. Housing unlike most investments can’t be measured just by the dollars and cents sometimes.
| Yes, this is totally fine. It does require a considerable amount of discipline. Many people use their mortgage as a means of forced savings. You have to make absolutely sure that you're investing enough to make up for the absence of equity built up in a house.
| 0 | 0.033613 | 8,833 | 3.45098 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 5649af9c9d9344419fcfc110a5b2fb6c | 6f29d9a9feb648d8ab52e2166908143e | 1,676,831,097 | 1,676,840,099 | 51 | 165 | This could be a ridiculous take on it. I’ve owned since me and my wife were in our mid 20’s. We’ve raised 3 of our children and have one left. There is a non monetary value to owning a house and providing a stable home for your family. I wouldn’t try to out a number on it. But it’s not insignificant. Around 8 years ago we sold our large house and bought a smaller one in a cheaper area.
I’m in the trades and have seen way to many times the old couple living in a huge house that’s essentially falling apart. Partly due to age and partly due to the size of the house. Me and my wife planned ahead and bought our “last” house early. A smallish ranch so we’d never be worrying about climbing stairs as we get older. And something I can handle major repairs on myself. And now I see one bedroom apartments with a single parking spot cost more than my entire mortgage/taxes/insurance bill.
I consider our house part of our bond allocation. As it’s a fixed cost that is easy to make. And by the time I retire it’ll be simply a taxes and insurance payment. Any major repairs would come out of the emergency fund we’ve built. I guess all this is about sometimes you don’t need to make the best decision by what a calculator says. If you don’t want to own then don’t. Or maybe wait a couple years and see if the housing market corrects some. Or maybe you just want to never settle in one area. Housing unlike most investments can’t be measured just by the dollars and cents sometimes.
| As a renter you will probably overpay some for housing. There are a zillion government programs that subsidize demand for homeownership specifically (first time buyer programs, the mortgage interest deduction, etc.). Few states have meaningful subsidies for renters because homeowners are 60% of the population (and tend to be wealthier, more ensconced in a community, with more political clout).
Over the past 30-40 years housing has also provided abnormally high returns ~~beyond those seen with index investing~~ (especially in some coastal markets) as zoning and other regulations sharply limited supply. This is great for a few people who bought houses in San Francisco in 1975 and are now multimillionaires, but far from certain to be repeated.
In any case, renting isn't the *only* way to overpay for housing. Another way to do it would be paying transaction costs to buy/sell a house every 5 years, or buying in the exurbs of a city right before it allows more housing downtown (so the exurb commute is now optional). It sounds like the former might happen with your current view on moving vs settling down. If you're paying a premium either way and value the flexibility, renting will provide more (at a cost).
| 0 | 0.062827 | 9,002 | 3.235294 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 5649af9c9d9344419fcfc110a5b2fb6c | dfca63c75a4e4aeb80b0aebe5c10ce35 | 1,676,831,097 | 1,676,845,179 | 51 | 176 | This could be a ridiculous take on it. I’ve owned since me and my wife were in our mid 20’s. We’ve raised 3 of our children and have one left. There is a non monetary value to owning a house and providing a stable home for your family. I wouldn’t try to out a number on it. But it’s not insignificant. Around 8 years ago we sold our large house and bought a smaller one in a cheaper area.
I’m in the trades and have seen way to many times the old couple living in a huge house that’s essentially falling apart. Partly due to age and partly due to the size of the house. Me and my wife planned ahead and bought our “last” house early. A smallish ranch so we’d never be worrying about climbing stairs as we get older. And something I can handle major repairs on myself. And now I see one bedroom apartments with a single parking spot cost more than my entire mortgage/taxes/insurance bill.
I consider our house part of our bond allocation. As it’s a fixed cost that is easy to make. And by the time I retire it’ll be simply a taxes and insurance payment. Any major repairs would come out of the emergency fund we’ve built. I guess all this is about sometimes you don’t need to make the best decision by what a calculator says. If you don’t want to own then don’t. Or maybe wait a couple years and see if the housing market corrects some. Or maybe you just want to never settle in one area. Housing unlike most investments can’t be measured just by the dollars and cents sometimes.
| Yes, this is totally fine. It does require a considerable amount of discipline. Many people use their mortgage as a means of forced savings. You have to make absolutely sure that you're investing enough to make up for the absence of equity built up in a house.
| 0 | 0.033613 | 14,082 | 3.45098 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 5649af9c9d9344419fcfc110a5b2fb6c | 95ca167cd3e84c01972d55c94488088c | 1,676,831,097 | 1,676,854,361 | 51 | 165 | This could be a ridiculous take on it. I’ve owned since me and my wife were in our mid 20’s. We’ve raised 3 of our children and have one left. There is a non monetary value to owning a house and providing a stable home for your family. I wouldn’t try to out a number on it. But it’s not insignificant. Around 8 years ago we sold our large house and bought a smaller one in a cheaper area.
I’m in the trades and have seen way to many times the old couple living in a huge house that’s essentially falling apart. Partly due to age and partly due to the size of the house. Me and my wife planned ahead and bought our “last” house early. A smallish ranch so we’d never be worrying about climbing stairs as we get older. And something I can handle major repairs on myself. And now I see one bedroom apartments with a single parking spot cost more than my entire mortgage/taxes/insurance bill.
I consider our house part of our bond allocation. As it’s a fixed cost that is easy to make. And by the time I retire it’ll be simply a taxes and insurance payment. Any major repairs would come out of the emergency fund we’ve built. I guess all this is about sometimes you don’t need to make the best decision by what a calculator says. If you don’t want to own then don’t. Or maybe wait a couple years and see if the housing market corrects some. Or maybe you just want to never settle in one area. Housing unlike most investments can’t be measured just by the dollars and cents sometimes.
| As a renter you will probably overpay some for housing. There are a zillion government programs that subsidize demand for homeownership specifically (first time buyer programs, the mortgage interest deduction, etc.). Few states have meaningful subsidies for renters because homeowners are 60% of the population (and tend to be wealthier, more ensconced in a community, with more political clout).
Over the past 30-40 years housing has also provided abnormally high returns ~~beyond those seen with index investing~~ (especially in some coastal markets) as zoning and other regulations sharply limited supply. This is great for a few people who bought houses in San Francisco in 1975 and are now multimillionaires, but far from certain to be repeated.
In any case, renting isn't the *only* way to overpay for housing. Another way to do it would be paying transaction costs to buy/sell a house every 5 years, or buying in the exurbs of a city right before it allows more housing downtown (so the exurb commute is now optional). It sounds like the former might happen with your current view on moving vs settling down. If you're paying a premium either way and value the flexibility, renting will provide more (at a cost).
| 0 | 0.062827 | 23,264 | 3.235294 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 5649af9c9d9344419fcfc110a5b2fb6c | 941f25be7d5d43159f38cdf26a81b4e5 | 1,676,831,097 | 1,676,857,718 | 51 | 176 | This could be a ridiculous take on it. I’ve owned since me and my wife were in our mid 20’s. We’ve raised 3 of our children and have one left. There is a non monetary value to owning a house and providing a stable home for your family. I wouldn’t try to out a number on it. But it’s not insignificant. Around 8 years ago we sold our large house and bought a smaller one in a cheaper area.
I’m in the trades and have seen way to many times the old couple living in a huge house that’s essentially falling apart. Partly due to age and partly due to the size of the house. Me and my wife planned ahead and bought our “last” house early. A smallish ranch so we’d never be worrying about climbing stairs as we get older. And something I can handle major repairs on myself. And now I see one bedroom apartments with a single parking spot cost more than my entire mortgage/taxes/insurance bill.
I consider our house part of our bond allocation. As it’s a fixed cost that is easy to make. And by the time I retire it’ll be simply a taxes and insurance payment. Any major repairs would come out of the emergency fund we’ve built. I guess all this is about sometimes you don’t need to make the best decision by what a calculator says. If you don’t want to own then don’t. Or maybe wait a couple years and see if the housing market corrects some. Or maybe you just want to never settle in one area. Housing unlike most investments can’t be measured just by the dollars and cents sometimes.
| Yes, this is totally fine. It does require a considerable amount of discipline. Many people use their mortgage as a means of forced savings. You have to make absolutely sure that you're investing enough to make up for the absence of equity built up in a house.
| 0 | 0.033613 | 26,621 | 3.45098 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 5649af9c9d9344419fcfc110a5b2fb6c | d92688a7f4124be09d8a7b5143bec601 | 1,676,831,097 | 1,676,859,215 | 51 | 81 | This could be a ridiculous take on it. I’ve owned since me and my wife were in our mid 20’s. We’ve raised 3 of our children and have one left. There is a non monetary value to owning a house and providing a stable home for your family. I wouldn’t try to out a number on it. But it’s not insignificant. Around 8 years ago we sold our large house and bought a smaller one in a cheaper area.
I’m in the trades and have seen way to many times the old couple living in a huge house that’s essentially falling apart. Partly due to age and partly due to the size of the house. Me and my wife planned ahead and bought our “last” house early. A smallish ranch so we’d never be worrying about climbing stairs as we get older. And something I can handle major repairs on myself. And now I see one bedroom apartments with a single parking spot cost more than my entire mortgage/taxes/insurance bill.
I consider our house part of our bond allocation. As it’s a fixed cost that is easy to make. And by the time I retire it’ll be simply a taxes and insurance payment. Any major repairs would come out of the emergency fund we’ve built. I guess all this is about sometimes you don’t need to make the best decision by what a calculator says. If you don’t want to own then don’t. Or maybe wait a couple years and see if the housing market corrects some. Or maybe you just want to never settle in one area. Housing unlike most investments can’t be measured just by the dollars and cents sometimes.
| A lot of people feel that home appreciation equals increased net wealth. They like to add their $500k house to their asset column, yet don't seem to recognize they only realize that value if they sell the home. And what do they do next?
Every other home has appreciated as well, so unless you're massively downsizing or moving someplace with lower prices you aren't going to see any net gain.
Disclaimer: I owned a home and sold it in seven years for almost 2x. I then moved to Japan where homes are rapidly depreciating assets. Renting suits me better now for many reasons. Everyone will have a different situation and preference.
| 0 | 0.047619 | 28,118 | 1.588235 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 5649af9c9d9344419fcfc110a5b2fb6c | 4ff8586a7ba941ea8ea090b9b50c4b63 | 1,676,831,097 | 1,676,861,484 | 51 | 176 | This could be a ridiculous take on it. I’ve owned since me and my wife were in our mid 20’s. We’ve raised 3 of our children and have one left. There is a non monetary value to owning a house and providing a stable home for your family. I wouldn’t try to out a number on it. But it’s not insignificant. Around 8 years ago we sold our large house and bought a smaller one in a cheaper area.
I’m in the trades and have seen way to many times the old couple living in a huge house that’s essentially falling apart. Partly due to age and partly due to the size of the house. Me and my wife planned ahead and bought our “last” house early. A smallish ranch so we’d never be worrying about climbing stairs as we get older. And something I can handle major repairs on myself. And now I see one bedroom apartments with a single parking spot cost more than my entire mortgage/taxes/insurance bill.
I consider our house part of our bond allocation. As it’s a fixed cost that is easy to make. And by the time I retire it’ll be simply a taxes and insurance payment. Any major repairs would come out of the emergency fund we’ve built. I guess all this is about sometimes you don’t need to make the best decision by what a calculator says. If you don’t want to own then don’t. Or maybe wait a couple years and see if the housing market corrects some. Or maybe you just want to never settle in one area. Housing unlike most investments can’t be measured just by the dollars and cents sometimes.
| Yes, this is totally fine. It does require a considerable amount of discipline. Many people use their mortgage as a means of forced savings. You have to make absolutely sure that you're investing enough to make up for the absence of equity built up in a house.
| 0 | 0.033613 | 30,387 | 3.45098 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 5649af9c9d9344419fcfc110a5b2fb6c | bab56cb4bdbb40a3aa51431849d7512f | 1,676,831,097 | 1,676,873,461 | 51 | 116 | This could be a ridiculous take on it. I’ve owned since me and my wife were in our mid 20’s. We’ve raised 3 of our children and have one left. There is a non monetary value to owning a house and providing a stable home for your family. I wouldn’t try to out a number on it. But it’s not insignificant. Around 8 years ago we sold our large house and bought a smaller one in a cheaper area.
I’m in the trades and have seen way to many times the old couple living in a huge house that’s essentially falling apart. Partly due to age and partly due to the size of the house. Me and my wife planned ahead and bought our “last” house early. A smallish ranch so we’d never be worrying about climbing stairs as we get older. And something I can handle major repairs on myself. And now I see one bedroom apartments with a single parking spot cost more than my entire mortgage/taxes/insurance bill.
I consider our house part of our bond allocation. As it’s a fixed cost that is easy to make. And by the time I retire it’ll be simply a taxes and insurance payment. Any major repairs would come out of the emergency fund we’ve built. I guess all this is about sometimes you don’t need to make the best decision by what a calculator says. If you don’t want to own then don’t. Or maybe wait a couple years and see if the housing market corrects some. Or maybe you just want to never settle in one area. Housing unlike most investments can’t be measured just by the dollars and cents sometimes.
| Only based on my own life experience, I do not want to be moving when I am 50+ years old. The thought of packing up, moving, getting used to a new neighborhood/city, finding new friends, hoping for good neighbors and a fair landlord. Those things are not what I want to do when I'm 50 or 60 or 70 years old.
| 0 | 0.04 | 42,364 | 2.27451 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 5649af9c9d9344419fcfc110a5b2fb6c | 762369e9c626412e9838d3b5e59a9e0e | 1,676,831,097 | 1,676,885,266 | 51 | 81 | This could be a ridiculous take on it. I’ve owned since me and my wife were in our mid 20’s. We’ve raised 3 of our children and have one left. There is a non monetary value to owning a house and providing a stable home for your family. I wouldn’t try to out a number on it. But it’s not insignificant. Around 8 years ago we sold our large house and bought a smaller one in a cheaper area.
I’m in the trades and have seen way to many times the old couple living in a huge house that’s essentially falling apart. Partly due to age and partly due to the size of the house. Me and my wife planned ahead and bought our “last” house early. A smallish ranch so we’d never be worrying about climbing stairs as we get older. And something I can handle major repairs on myself. And now I see one bedroom apartments with a single parking spot cost more than my entire mortgage/taxes/insurance bill.
I consider our house part of our bond allocation. As it’s a fixed cost that is easy to make. And by the time I retire it’ll be simply a taxes and insurance payment. Any major repairs would come out of the emergency fund we’ve built. I guess all this is about sometimes you don’t need to make the best decision by what a calculator says. If you don’t want to own then don’t. Or maybe wait a couple years and see if the housing market corrects some. Or maybe you just want to never settle in one area. Housing unlike most investments can’t be measured just by the dollars and cents sometimes.
| A lot of people feel that home appreciation equals increased net wealth. They like to add their $500k house to their asset column, yet don't seem to recognize they only realize that value if they sell the home. And what do they do next?
Every other home has appreciated as well, so unless you're massively downsizing or moving someplace with lower prices you aren't going to see any net gain.
Disclaimer: I owned a home and sold it in seven years for almost 2x. I then moved to Japan where homes are rapidly depreciating assets. Renting suits me better now for many reasons. Everyone will have a different situation and preference.
| 0 | 0.047619 | 54,169 | 1.588235 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 5649af9c9d9344419fcfc110a5b2fb6c | e710d57e178f4b80972ecaf5b413940e | 1,676,831,097 | 1,676,896,917 | 51 | 116 | This could be a ridiculous take on it. I’ve owned since me and my wife were in our mid 20’s. We’ve raised 3 of our children and have one left. There is a non monetary value to owning a house and providing a stable home for your family. I wouldn’t try to out a number on it. But it’s not insignificant. Around 8 years ago we sold our large house and bought a smaller one in a cheaper area.
I’m in the trades and have seen way to many times the old couple living in a huge house that’s essentially falling apart. Partly due to age and partly due to the size of the house. Me and my wife planned ahead and bought our “last” house early. A smallish ranch so we’d never be worrying about climbing stairs as we get older. And something I can handle major repairs on myself. And now I see one bedroom apartments with a single parking spot cost more than my entire mortgage/taxes/insurance bill.
I consider our house part of our bond allocation. As it’s a fixed cost that is easy to make. And by the time I retire it’ll be simply a taxes and insurance payment. Any major repairs would come out of the emergency fund we’ve built. I guess all this is about sometimes you don’t need to make the best decision by what a calculator says. If you don’t want to own then don’t. Or maybe wait a couple years and see if the housing market corrects some. Or maybe you just want to never settle in one area. Housing unlike most investments can’t be measured just by the dollars and cents sometimes.
| Only based on my own life experience, I do not want to be moving when I am 50+ years old. The thought of packing up, moving, getting used to a new neighborhood/city, finding new friends, hoping for good neighbors and a fair landlord. Those things are not what I want to do when I'm 50 or 60 or 70 years old.
| 0 | 0.04 | 65,820 | 2.27451 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 5649af9c9d9344419fcfc110a5b2fb6c | 5df26efb97ef438595aa27584fd48106 | 1,676,831,097 | 1,676,909,696 | 51 | 176 | This could be a ridiculous take on it. I’ve owned since me and my wife were in our mid 20’s. We’ve raised 3 of our children and have one left. There is a non monetary value to owning a house and providing a stable home for your family. I wouldn’t try to out a number on it. But it’s not insignificant. Around 8 years ago we sold our large house and bought a smaller one in a cheaper area.
I’m in the trades and have seen way to many times the old couple living in a huge house that’s essentially falling apart. Partly due to age and partly due to the size of the house. Me and my wife planned ahead and bought our “last” house early. A smallish ranch so we’d never be worrying about climbing stairs as we get older. And something I can handle major repairs on myself. And now I see one bedroom apartments with a single parking spot cost more than my entire mortgage/taxes/insurance bill.
I consider our house part of our bond allocation. As it’s a fixed cost that is easy to make. And by the time I retire it’ll be simply a taxes and insurance payment. Any major repairs would come out of the emergency fund we’ve built. I guess all this is about sometimes you don’t need to make the best decision by what a calculator says. If you don’t want to own then don’t. Or maybe wait a couple years and see if the housing market corrects some. Or maybe you just want to never settle in one area. Housing unlike most investments can’t be measured just by the dollars and cents sometimes.
| Yes, this is totally fine. It does require a considerable amount of discipline. Many people use their mortgage as a means of forced savings. You have to make absolutely sure that you're investing enough to make up for the absence of equity built up in a house.
| 0 | 0.033613 | 78,599 | 3.45098 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 5649af9c9d9344419fcfc110a5b2fb6c | 946235791044435ca3a6203de614a6ac | 1,676,831,097 | 1,677,257,308 | 51 | 165 | This could be a ridiculous take on it. I’ve owned since me and my wife were in our mid 20’s. We’ve raised 3 of our children and have one left. There is a non monetary value to owning a house and providing a stable home for your family. I wouldn’t try to out a number on it. But it’s not insignificant. Around 8 years ago we sold our large house and bought a smaller one in a cheaper area.
I’m in the trades and have seen way to many times the old couple living in a huge house that’s essentially falling apart. Partly due to age and partly due to the size of the house. Me and my wife planned ahead and bought our “last” house early. A smallish ranch so we’d never be worrying about climbing stairs as we get older. And something I can handle major repairs on myself. And now I see one bedroom apartments with a single parking spot cost more than my entire mortgage/taxes/insurance bill.
I consider our house part of our bond allocation. As it’s a fixed cost that is easy to make. And by the time I retire it’ll be simply a taxes and insurance payment. Any major repairs would come out of the emergency fund we’ve built. I guess all this is about sometimes you don’t need to make the best decision by what a calculator says. If you don’t want to own then don’t. Or maybe wait a couple years and see if the housing market corrects some. Or maybe you just want to never settle in one area. Housing unlike most investments can’t be measured just by the dollars and cents sometimes.
| As a renter you will probably overpay some for housing. There are a zillion government programs that subsidize demand for homeownership specifically (first time buyer programs, the mortgage interest deduction, etc.). Few states have meaningful subsidies for renters because homeowners are 60% of the population (and tend to be wealthier, more ensconced in a community, with more political clout).
Over the past 30-40 years housing has also provided abnormally high returns ~~beyond those seen with index investing~~ (especially in some coastal markets) as zoning and other regulations sharply limited supply. This is great for a few people who bought houses in San Francisco in 1975 and are now multimillionaires, but far from certain to be repeated.
In any case, renting isn't the *only* way to overpay for housing. Another way to do it would be paying transaction costs to buy/sell a house every 5 years, or buying in the exurbs of a city right before it allows more housing downtown (so the exurb commute is now optional). It sounds like the former might happen with your current view on moving vs settling down. If you're paying a premium either way and value the flexibility, renting will provide more (at a cost).
| 0 | 0.062827 | 426,211 | 3.235294 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 5649af9c9d9344419fcfc110a5b2fb6c | a89d2b412a7840b1b693de0e89a0dbb1 | 1,676,831,097 | 1,677,257,749 | 51 | 81 | This could be a ridiculous take on it. I’ve owned since me and my wife were in our mid 20’s. We’ve raised 3 of our children and have one left. There is a non monetary value to owning a house and providing a stable home for your family. I wouldn’t try to out a number on it. But it’s not insignificant. Around 8 years ago we sold our large house and bought a smaller one in a cheaper area.
I’m in the trades and have seen way to many times the old couple living in a huge house that’s essentially falling apart. Partly due to age and partly due to the size of the house. Me and my wife planned ahead and bought our “last” house early. A smallish ranch so we’d never be worrying about climbing stairs as we get older. And something I can handle major repairs on myself. And now I see one bedroom apartments with a single parking spot cost more than my entire mortgage/taxes/insurance bill.
I consider our house part of our bond allocation. As it’s a fixed cost that is easy to make. And by the time I retire it’ll be simply a taxes and insurance payment. Any major repairs would come out of the emergency fund we’ve built. I guess all this is about sometimes you don’t need to make the best decision by what a calculator says. If you don’t want to own then don’t. Or maybe wait a couple years and see if the housing market corrects some. Or maybe you just want to never settle in one area. Housing unlike most investments can’t be measured just by the dollars and cents sometimes.
| A lot of people feel that home appreciation equals increased net wealth. They like to add their $500k house to their asset column, yet don't seem to recognize they only realize that value if they sell the home. And what do they do next?
Every other home has appreciated as well, so unless you're massively downsizing or moving someplace with lower prices you aren't going to see any net gain.
Disclaimer: I owned a home and sold it in seven years for almost 2x. I then moved to Japan where homes are rapidly depreciating assets. Renting suits me better now for many reasons. Everyone will have a different situation and preference.
| 0 | 0.047619 | 426,652 | 1.588235 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 4541318a3bd24a02b72f2cb498703eba | 0f16ac3f29e24328a18b5ac5eef50713 | 1,676,831,211 | 1,676,831,294 | 4 | 165 | Homeownership is a scam. If you can keep your rent to somewhere around what taxes, insurance, mortgage interest, and home maintenance costs every month then it absolutely makes sense not to buy. Better yet, buy an investment property and have someone else manage it while you rent. Get all the benefits of home ownership with almost none of the headaches.
| As a renter you will probably overpay some for housing. There are a zillion government programs that subsidize demand for homeownership specifically (first time buyer programs, the mortgage interest deduction, etc.). Few states have meaningful subsidies for renters because homeowners are 60% of the population (and tend to be wealthier, more ensconced in a community, with more political clout).
Over the past 30-40 years housing has also provided abnormally high returns ~~beyond those seen with index investing~~ (especially in some coastal markets) as zoning and other regulations sharply limited supply. This is great for a few people who bought houses in San Francisco in 1975 and are now multimillionaires, but far from certain to be repeated.
In any case, renting isn't the *only* way to overpay for housing. Another way to do it would be paying transaction costs to buy/sell a house every 5 years, or buying in the exurbs of a city right before it allows more housing downtown (so the exurb commute is now optional). It sounds like the former might happen with your current view on moving vs settling down. If you're paying a premium either way and value the flexibility, renting will provide more (at a cost).
| 0 | 0.059322 | 83 | 41.25 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 4541318a3bd24a02b72f2cb498703eba | 8c2d2a6fa1114cf18838e1ef89090e31 | 1,676,831,211 | 1,676,837,069 | 4 | 116 | Homeownership is a scam. If you can keep your rent to somewhere around what taxes, insurance, mortgage interest, and home maintenance costs every month then it absolutely makes sense not to buy. Better yet, buy an investment property and have someone else manage it while you rent. Get all the benefits of home ownership with almost none of the headaches.
| Only based on my own life experience, I do not want to be moving when I am 50+ years old. The thought of packing up, moving, getting used to a new neighborhood/city, finding new friends, hoping for good neighbors and a fair landlord. Those things are not what I want to do when I'm 50 or 60 or 70 years old.
| 0 | 0.04 | 5,858 | 29 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 4541318a3bd24a02b72f2cb498703eba | 1b72a43e457d4e199bdfb1c380aaf7f3 | 1,676,831,211 | 1,676,839,694 | 4 | 81 | Homeownership is a scam. If you can keep your rent to somewhere around what taxes, insurance, mortgage interest, and home maintenance costs every month then it absolutely makes sense not to buy. Better yet, buy an investment property and have someone else manage it while you rent. Get all the benefits of home ownership with almost none of the headaches.
| A lot of people feel that home appreciation equals increased net wealth. They like to add their $500k house to their asset column, yet don't seem to recognize they only realize that value if they sell the home. And what do they do next?
Every other home has appreciated as well, so unless you're massively downsizing or moving someplace with lower prices you aren't going to see any net gain.
Disclaimer: I owned a home and sold it in seven years for almost 2x. I then moved to Japan where homes are rapidly depreciating assets. Renting suits me better now for many reasons. Everyone will have a different situation and preference.
| 0 | 0.055556 | 8,483 | 20.25 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 4541318a3bd24a02b72f2cb498703eba | 77e6819bc34047c4bbc47cb504e0fce4 | 1,676,831,211 | 1,676,839,930 | 4 | 176 | Homeownership is a scam. If you can keep your rent to somewhere around what taxes, insurance, mortgage interest, and home maintenance costs every month then it absolutely makes sense not to buy. Better yet, buy an investment property and have someone else manage it while you rent. Get all the benefits of home ownership with almost none of the headaches.
| Yes, this is totally fine. It does require a considerable amount of discipline. Many people use their mortgage as a means of forced savings. You have to make absolutely sure that you're investing enough to make up for the absence of equity built up in a house.
| 0 | 0.097561 | 8,719 | 44 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 4541318a3bd24a02b72f2cb498703eba | 6f29d9a9feb648d8ab52e2166908143e | 1,676,831,211 | 1,676,840,099 | 4 | 165 | Homeownership is a scam. If you can keep your rent to somewhere around what taxes, insurance, mortgage interest, and home maintenance costs every month then it absolutely makes sense not to buy. Better yet, buy an investment property and have someone else manage it while you rent. Get all the benefits of home ownership with almost none of the headaches.
| As a renter you will probably overpay some for housing. There are a zillion government programs that subsidize demand for homeownership specifically (first time buyer programs, the mortgage interest deduction, etc.). Few states have meaningful subsidies for renters because homeowners are 60% of the population (and tend to be wealthier, more ensconced in a community, with more political clout).
Over the past 30-40 years housing has also provided abnormally high returns ~~beyond those seen with index investing~~ (especially in some coastal markets) as zoning and other regulations sharply limited supply. This is great for a few people who bought houses in San Francisco in 1975 and are now multimillionaires, but far from certain to be repeated.
In any case, renting isn't the *only* way to overpay for housing. Another way to do it would be paying transaction costs to buy/sell a house every 5 years, or buying in the exurbs of a city right before it allows more housing downtown (so the exurb commute is now optional). It sounds like the former might happen with your current view on moving vs settling down. If you're paying a premium either way and value the flexibility, renting will provide more (at a cost).
| 0 | 0.059322 | 8,888 | 41.25 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 4541318a3bd24a02b72f2cb498703eba | dfca63c75a4e4aeb80b0aebe5c10ce35 | 1,676,831,211 | 1,676,845,179 | 4 | 176 | Homeownership is a scam. If you can keep your rent to somewhere around what taxes, insurance, mortgage interest, and home maintenance costs every month then it absolutely makes sense not to buy. Better yet, buy an investment property and have someone else manage it while you rent. Get all the benefits of home ownership with almost none of the headaches.
| Yes, this is totally fine. It does require a considerable amount of discipline. Many people use their mortgage as a means of forced savings. You have to make absolutely sure that you're investing enough to make up for the absence of equity built up in a house.
| 0 | 0.097561 | 13,968 | 44 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 4541318a3bd24a02b72f2cb498703eba | eb86d8a939224d2eac38801a7eb2842a | 1,676,831,211 | 1,676,852,753 | 4 | 28 | Homeownership is a scam. If you can keep your rent to somewhere around what taxes, insurance, mortgage interest, and home maintenance costs every month then it absolutely makes sense not to buy. Better yet, buy an investment property and have someone else manage it while you rent. Get all the benefits of home ownership with almost none of the headaches.
| This is what we do (50+ DINKSWD) and are very happy and our finances have improved when we made the switch from home owners to renters.
You will hear passionate arguments from both the homeowner and renter side. But ultimately you need to do what's best for your situation. For us, I move too much for work and we spend too much improving the house and on transaction costs to ever realize the gain. Now all the Home Depot project money gets invested. Most times the company covers the move so its not a loss for us.
Someday we plan on settling down and finding a retirement home, but its just not in the cards right now. So instead we rent and invest the money.
As far as my personal opinion on rent vs buy, the one thing you can't control about homeownership is your neighbors and that was a significant factor in our deciding to move in the past. We never want to relive those experiences and renting gives us the freedom of choice. Our investment accounts never have drive by shootings, cook food in their garages or have dogs they don't pick up after. Other people have better experiences with owning a home so YMMV.
| 0 | 0.091837 | 21,542 | 7 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 4541318a3bd24a02b72f2cb498703eba | 95ca167cd3e84c01972d55c94488088c | 1,676,831,211 | 1,676,854,361 | 4 | 165 | Homeownership is a scam. If you can keep your rent to somewhere around what taxes, insurance, mortgage interest, and home maintenance costs every month then it absolutely makes sense not to buy. Better yet, buy an investment property and have someone else manage it while you rent. Get all the benefits of home ownership with almost none of the headaches.
| As a renter you will probably overpay some for housing. There are a zillion government programs that subsidize demand for homeownership specifically (first time buyer programs, the mortgage interest deduction, etc.). Few states have meaningful subsidies for renters because homeowners are 60% of the population (and tend to be wealthier, more ensconced in a community, with more political clout).
Over the past 30-40 years housing has also provided abnormally high returns ~~beyond those seen with index investing~~ (especially in some coastal markets) as zoning and other regulations sharply limited supply. This is great for a few people who bought houses in San Francisco in 1975 and are now multimillionaires, but far from certain to be repeated.
In any case, renting isn't the *only* way to overpay for housing. Another way to do it would be paying transaction costs to buy/sell a house every 5 years, or buying in the exurbs of a city right before it allows more housing downtown (so the exurb commute is now optional). It sounds like the former might happen with your current view on moving vs settling down. If you're paying a premium either way and value the flexibility, renting will provide more (at a cost).
| 0 | 0.059322 | 23,150 | 41.25 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 4541318a3bd24a02b72f2cb498703eba | 83d1971be4e34d27a9fef9aad64e11a0 | 1,676,831,211 | 1,676,855,304 | 4 | 51 | Homeownership is a scam. If you can keep your rent to somewhere around what taxes, insurance, mortgage interest, and home maintenance costs every month then it absolutely makes sense not to buy. Better yet, buy an investment property and have someone else manage it while you rent. Get all the benefits of home ownership with almost none of the headaches.
| This could be a ridiculous take on it. I’ve owned since me and my wife were in our mid 20’s. We’ve raised 3 of our children and have one left. There is a non monetary value to owning a house and providing a stable home for your family. I wouldn’t try to out a number on it. But it’s not insignificant. Around 8 years ago we sold our large house and bought a smaller one in a cheaper area.
I’m in the trades and have seen way to many times the old couple living in a huge house that’s essentially falling apart. Partly due to age and partly due to the size of the house. Me and my wife planned ahead and bought our “last” house early. A smallish ranch so we’d never be worrying about climbing stairs as we get older. And something I can handle major repairs on myself. And now I see one bedroom apartments with a single parking spot cost more than my entire mortgage/taxes/insurance bill.
I consider our house part of our bond allocation. As it’s a fixed cost that is easy to make. And by the time I retire it’ll be simply a taxes and insurance payment. Any major repairs would come out of the emergency fund we’ve built. I guess all this is about sometimes you don’t need to make the best decision by what a calculator says. If you don’t want to own then don’t. Or maybe wait a couple years and see if the housing market corrects some. Or maybe you just want to never settle in one area. Housing unlike most investments can’t be measured just by the dollars and cents sometimes.
| 0 | 0.041322 | 24,093 | 12.75 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 4541318a3bd24a02b72f2cb498703eba | 941f25be7d5d43159f38cdf26a81b4e5 | 1,676,831,211 | 1,676,857,718 | 4 | 176 | Homeownership is a scam. If you can keep your rent to somewhere around what taxes, insurance, mortgage interest, and home maintenance costs every month then it absolutely makes sense not to buy. Better yet, buy an investment property and have someone else manage it while you rent. Get all the benefits of home ownership with almost none of the headaches.
| Yes, this is totally fine. It does require a considerable amount of discipline. Many people use their mortgage as a means of forced savings. You have to make absolutely sure that you're investing enough to make up for the absence of equity built up in a house.
| 0 | 0.097561 | 26,507 | 44 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 4541318a3bd24a02b72f2cb498703eba | d92688a7f4124be09d8a7b5143bec601 | 1,676,831,211 | 1,676,859,215 | 4 | 81 | Homeownership is a scam. If you can keep your rent to somewhere around what taxes, insurance, mortgage interest, and home maintenance costs every month then it absolutely makes sense not to buy. Better yet, buy an investment property and have someone else manage it while you rent. Get all the benefits of home ownership with almost none of the headaches.
| A lot of people feel that home appreciation equals increased net wealth. They like to add their $500k house to their asset column, yet don't seem to recognize they only realize that value if they sell the home. And what do they do next?
Every other home has appreciated as well, so unless you're massively downsizing or moving someplace with lower prices you aren't going to see any net gain.
Disclaimer: I owned a home and sold it in seven years for almost 2x. I then moved to Japan where homes are rapidly depreciating assets. Renting suits me better now for many reasons. Everyone will have a different situation and preference.
| 0 | 0.055556 | 28,004 | 20.25 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 4541318a3bd24a02b72f2cb498703eba | 4ff8586a7ba941ea8ea090b9b50c4b63 | 1,676,831,211 | 1,676,861,484 | 4 | 176 | Homeownership is a scam. If you can keep your rent to somewhere around what taxes, insurance, mortgage interest, and home maintenance costs every month then it absolutely makes sense not to buy. Better yet, buy an investment property and have someone else manage it while you rent. Get all the benefits of home ownership with almost none of the headaches.
| Yes, this is totally fine. It does require a considerable amount of discipline. Many people use their mortgage as a means of forced savings. You have to make absolutely sure that you're investing enough to make up for the absence of equity built up in a house.
| 0 | 0.097561 | 30,273 | 44 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 4541318a3bd24a02b72f2cb498703eba | c0207f7adb4a4281a6cff77f9caab828 | 1,676,831,211 | 1,676,873,219 | 4 | 40 | Homeownership is a scam. If you can keep your rent to somewhere around what taxes, insurance, mortgage interest, and home maintenance costs every month then it absolutely makes sense not to buy. Better yet, buy an investment property and have someone else manage it while you rent. Get all the benefits of home ownership with almost none of the headaches.
| I'm 45. I don't ever plan to buy a house again. I've owned several. Even when I was fortunate enough to be selling in a hot market, I never came out ahead after fees, commissions, etc., and it was a beating to sell each one.
I have the ability to make a 20% down payment on a house, but I would rather keep that 20% in the market as opposed to putting it into a house and immediately making it an illiquid asset that will also immediately lose 6% to a realtor when I need to sell it.
Remember....when you retire, you aren't going to need a 5-bedroom house. Your kids will be off living their own lives. My parents are retired, 75 years old, and they own a massive 5-bedroom house. They use about 15% of it. They don't even go upstairs. It's ridiculous.
| 0 | 0.041096 | 42,008 | 10 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 4541318a3bd24a02b72f2cb498703eba | bab56cb4bdbb40a3aa51431849d7512f | 1,676,831,211 | 1,676,873,461 | 4 | 116 | Homeownership is a scam. If you can keep your rent to somewhere around what taxes, insurance, mortgage interest, and home maintenance costs every month then it absolutely makes sense not to buy. Better yet, buy an investment property and have someone else manage it while you rent. Get all the benefits of home ownership with almost none of the headaches.
| Only based on my own life experience, I do not want to be moving when I am 50+ years old. The thought of packing up, moving, getting used to a new neighborhood/city, finding new friends, hoping for good neighbors and a fair landlord. Those things are not what I want to do when I'm 50 or 60 or 70 years old.
| 0 | 0.04 | 42,250 | 29 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 4541318a3bd24a02b72f2cb498703eba | 4d61c6f681eb4392bcf071248259a49a | 1,676,831,211 | 1,676,883,333 | 4 | 116 | Homeownership is a scam. If you can keep your rent to somewhere around what taxes, insurance, mortgage interest, and home maintenance costs every month then it absolutely makes sense not to buy. Better yet, buy an investment property and have someone else manage it while you rent. Get all the benefits of home ownership with almost none of the headaches.
| Only based on my own life experience, I do not want to be moving when I am 50+ years old. The thought of packing up, moving, getting used to a new neighborhood/city, finding new friends, hoping for good neighbors and a fair landlord. Those things are not what I want to do when I'm 50 or 60 or 70 years old.
| 0 | 0.04 | 52,122 | 29 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 4541318a3bd24a02b72f2cb498703eba | 762369e9c626412e9838d3b5e59a9e0e | 1,676,831,211 | 1,676,885,266 | 4 | 81 | Homeownership is a scam. If you can keep your rent to somewhere around what taxes, insurance, mortgage interest, and home maintenance costs every month then it absolutely makes sense not to buy. Better yet, buy an investment property and have someone else manage it while you rent. Get all the benefits of home ownership with almost none of the headaches.
| A lot of people feel that home appreciation equals increased net wealth. They like to add their $500k house to their asset column, yet don't seem to recognize they only realize that value if they sell the home. And what do they do next?
Every other home has appreciated as well, so unless you're massively downsizing or moving someplace with lower prices you aren't going to see any net gain.
Disclaimer: I owned a home and sold it in seven years for almost 2x. I then moved to Japan where homes are rapidly depreciating assets. Renting suits me better now for many reasons. Everyone will have a different situation and preference.
| 0 | 0.055556 | 54,055 | 20.25 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 4541318a3bd24a02b72f2cb498703eba | e710d57e178f4b80972ecaf5b413940e | 1,676,831,211 | 1,676,896,917 | 4 | 116 | Homeownership is a scam. If you can keep your rent to somewhere around what taxes, insurance, mortgage interest, and home maintenance costs every month then it absolutely makes sense not to buy. Better yet, buy an investment property and have someone else manage it while you rent. Get all the benefits of home ownership with almost none of the headaches.
| Only based on my own life experience, I do not want to be moving when I am 50+ years old. The thought of packing up, moving, getting used to a new neighborhood/city, finding new friends, hoping for good neighbors and a fair landlord. Those things are not what I want to do when I'm 50 or 60 or 70 years old.
| 0 | 0.04 | 65,706 | 29 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 4541318a3bd24a02b72f2cb498703eba | d9317711ccf242fd954f3402a9ea5618 | 1,676,831,211 | 1,676,904,028 | 4 | 28 | Homeownership is a scam. If you can keep your rent to somewhere around what taxes, insurance, mortgage interest, and home maintenance costs every month then it absolutely makes sense not to buy. Better yet, buy an investment property and have someone else manage it while you rent. Get all the benefits of home ownership with almost none of the headaches.
| This is what we do (50+ DINKSWD) and are very happy and our finances have improved when we made the switch from home owners to renters.
You will hear passionate arguments from both the homeowner and renter side. But ultimately you need to do what's best for your situation. For us, I move too much for work and we spend too much improving the house and on transaction costs to ever realize the gain. Now all the Home Depot project money gets invested. Most times the company covers the move so its not a loss for us.
Someday we plan on settling down and finding a retirement home, but its just not in the cards right now. So instead we rent and invest the money.
As far as my personal opinion on rent vs buy, the one thing you can't control about homeownership is your neighbors and that was a significant factor in our deciding to move in the past. We never want to relive those experiences and renting gives us the freedom of choice. Our investment accounts never have drive by shootings, cook food in their garages or have dogs they don't pick up after. Other people have better experiences with owning a home so YMMV.
| 0 | 0.091837 | 72,817 | 7 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 4541318a3bd24a02b72f2cb498703eba | 5df26efb97ef438595aa27584fd48106 | 1,676,831,211 | 1,676,909,696 | 4 | 176 | Homeownership is a scam. If you can keep your rent to somewhere around what taxes, insurance, mortgage interest, and home maintenance costs every month then it absolutely makes sense not to buy. Better yet, buy an investment property and have someone else manage it while you rent. Get all the benefits of home ownership with almost none of the headaches.
| Yes, this is totally fine. It does require a considerable amount of discipline. Many people use their mortgage as a means of forced savings. You have to make absolutely sure that you're investing enough to make up for the absence of equity built up in a house.
| 0 | 0.097561 | 78,485 | 44 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 4541318a3bd24a02b72f2cb498703eba | 946235791044435ca3a6203de614a6ac | 1,676,831,211 | 1,677,257,308 | 4 | 165 | Homeownership is a scam. If you can keep your rent to somewhere around what taxes, insurance, mortgage interest, and home maintenance costs every month then it absolutely makes sense not to buy. Better yet, buy an investment property and have someone else manage it while you rent. Get all the benefits of home ownership with almost none of the headaches.
| As a renter you will probably overpay some for housing. There are a zillion government programs that subsidize demand for homeownership specifically (first time buyer programs, the mortgage interest deduction, etc.). Few states have meaningful subsidies for renters because homeowners are 60% of the population (and tend to be wealthier, more ensconced in a community, with more political clout).
Over the past 30-40 years housing has also provided abnormally high returns ~~beyond those seen with index investing~~ (especially in some coastal markets) as zoning and other regulations sharply limited supply. This is great for a few people who bought houses in San Francisco in 1975 and are now multimillionaires, but far from certain to be repeated.
In any case, renting isn't the *only* way to overpay for housing. Another way to do it would be paying transaction costs to buy/sell a house every 5 years, or buying in the exurbs of a city right before it allows more housing downtown (so the exurb commute is now optional). It sounds like the former might happen with your current view on moving vs settling down. If you're paying a premium either way and value the flexibility, renting will provide more (at a cost).
| 0 | 0.059322 | 426,097 | 41.25 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 4541318a3bd24a02b72f2cb498703eba | a89d2b412a7840b1b693de0e89a0dbb1 | 1,676,831,211 | 1,677,257,749 | 4 | 81 | Homeownership is a scam. If you can keep your rent to somewhere around what taxes, insurance, mortgage interest, and home maintenance costs every month then it absolutely makes sense not to buy. Better yet, buy an investment property and have someone else manage it while you rent. Get all the benefits of home ownership with almost none of the headaches.
| A lot of people feel that home appreciation equals increased net wealth. They like to add their $500k house to their asset column, yet don't seem to recognize they only realize that value if they sell the home. And what do they do next?
Every other home has appreciated as well, so unless you're massively downsizing or moving someplace with lower prices you aren't going to see any net gain.
Disclaimer: I owned a home and sold it in seven years for almost 2x. I then moved to Japan where homes are rapidly depreciating assets. Renting suits me better now for many reasons. Everyone will have a different situation and preference.
| 0 | 0.055556 | 426,538 | 20.25 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 0f16ac3f29e24328a18b5ac5eef50713 | 77e6819bc34047c4bbc47cb504e0fce4 | 1,676,831,294 | 1,676,839,930 | 165 | 176 | As a renter you will probably overpay some for housing. There are a zillion government programs that subsidize demand for homeownership specifically (first time buyer programs, the mortgage interest deduction, etc.). Few states have meaningful subsidies for renters because homeowners are 60% of the population (and tend to be wealthier, more ensconced in a community, with more political clout).
Over the past 30-40 years housing has also provided abnormally high returns ~~beyond those seen with index investing~~ (especially in some coastal markets) as zoning and other regulations sharply limited supply. This is great for a few people who bought houses in San Francisco in 1975 and are now multimillionaires, but far from certain to be repeated.
In any case, renting isn't the *only* way to overpay for housing. Another way to do it would be paying transaction costs to buy/sell a house every 5 years, or buying in the exurbs of a city right before it allows more housing downtown (so the exurb commute is now optional). It sounds like the former might happen with your current view on moving vs settling down. If you're paying a premium either way and value the flexibility, renting will provide more (at a cost).
| Yes, this is totally fine. It does require a considerable amount of discipline. Many people use their mortgage as a means of forced savings. You have to make absolutely sure that you're investing enough to make up for the absence of equity built up in a house.
| 0 | 0.042735 | 8,636 | 1.066667 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | c84e656dac9b46858ba1f3482e93a9d0 | 8c2d2a6fa1114cf18838e1ef89090e31 | 1,676,836,575 | 1,676,837,069 | 4 | 116 | Yes, the main issue is sooner or later things will break in your house and your landlord won't fix them, or at least, won't put the same care into fixing them that you would have if it was your place.
| Only based on my own life experience, I do not want to be moving when I am 50+ years old. The thought of packing up, moving, getting used to a new neighborhood/city, finding new friends, hoping for good neighbors and a fair landlord. Those things are not what I want to do when I'm 50 or 60 or 70 years old.
| 0 | 0.1 | 494 | 29 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | c84e656dac9b46858ba1f3482e93a9d0 | 1b72a43e457d4e199bdfb1c380aaf7f3 | 1,676,836,575 | 1,676,839,694 | 4 | 81 | Yes, the main issue is sooner or later things will break in your house and your landlord won't fix them, or at least, won't put the same care into fixing them that you would have if it was your place.
| A lot of people feel that home appreciation equals increased net wealth. They like to add their $500k house to their asset column, yet don't seem to recognize they only realize that value if they sell the home. And what do they do next?
Every other home has appreciated as well, so unless you're massively downsizing or moving someplace with lower prices you aren't going to see any net gain.
Disclaimer: I owned a home and sold it in seven years for almost 2x. I then moved to Japan where homes are rapidly depreciating assets. Renting suits me better now for many reasons. Everyone will have a different situation and preference.
| 0 | 0.046154 | 3,119 | 20.25 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | c84e656dac9b46858ba1f3482e93a9d0 | 77e6819bc34047c4bbc47cb504e0fce4 | 1,676,836,575 | 1,676,839,930 | 4 | 176 | Yes, the main issue is sooner or later things will break in your house and your landlord won't fix them, or at least, won't put the same care into fixing them that you would have if it was your place.
| Yes, this is totally fine. It does require a considerable amount of discipline. Many people use their mortgage as a means of forced savings. You have to make absolutely sure that you're investing enough to make up for the absence of equity built up in a house.
| 0 | 0.121212 | 3,355 | 44 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | c84e656dac9b46858ba1f3482e93a9d0 | 6f29d9a9feb648d8ab52e2166908143e | 1,676,836,575 | 1,676,840,099 | 4 | 165 | Yes, the main issue is sooner or later things will break in your house and your landlord won't fix them, or at least, won't put the same care into fixing them that you would have if it was your place.
| As a renter you will probably overpay some for housing. There are a zillion government programs that subsidize demand for homeownership specifically (first time buyer programs, the mortgage interest deduction, etc.). Few states have meaningful subsidies for renters because homeowners are 60% of the population (and tend to be wealthier, more ensconced in a community, with more political clout).
Over the past 30-40 years housing has also provided abnormally high returns ~~beyond those seen with index investing~~ (especially in some coastal markets) as zoning and other regulations sharply limited supply. This is great for a few people who bought houses in San Francisco in 1975 and are now multimillionaires, but far from certain to be repeated.
In any case, renting isn't the *only* way to overpay for housing. Another way to do it would be paying transaction costs to buy/sell a house every 5 years, or buying in the exurbs of a city right before it allows more housing downtown (so the exurb commute is now optional). It sounds like the former might happen with your current view on moving vs settling down. If you're paying a premium either way and value the flexibility, renting will provide more (at a cost).
| 0 | 0.026316 | 3,524 | 41.25 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | c84e656dac9b46858ba1f3482e93a9d0 | dfca63c75a4e4aeb80b0aebe5c10ce35 | 1,676,836,575 | 1,676,845,179 | 4 | 176 | Yes, the main issue is sooner or later things will break in your house and your landlord won't fix them, or at least, won't put the same care into fixing them that you would have if it was your place.
| Yes, this is totally fine. It does require a considerable amount of discipline. Many people use their mortgage as a means of forced savings. You have to make absolutely sure that you're investing enough to make up for the absence of equity built up in a house.
| 0 | 0.121212 | 8,604 | 44 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | c84e656dac9b46858ba1f3482e93a9d0 | eb86d8a939224d2eac38801a7eb2842a | 1,676,836,575 | 1,676,852,753 | 4 | 28 | Yes, the main issue is sooner or later things will break in your house and your landlord won't fix them, or at least, won't put the same care into fixing them that you would have if it was your place.
| This is what we do (50+ DINKSWD) and are very happy and our finances have improved when we made the switch from home owners to renters.
You will hear passionate arguments from both the homeowner and renter side. But ultimately you need to do what's best for your situation. For us, I move too much for work and we spend too much improving the house and on transaction costs to ever realize the gain. Now all the Home Depot project money gets invested. Most times the company covers the move so its not a loss for us.
Someday we plan on settling down and finding a retirement home, but its just not in the cards right now. So instead we rent and invest the money.
As far as my personal opinion on rent vs buy, the one thing you can't control about homeownership is your neighbors and that was a significant factor in our deciding to move in the past. We never want to relive those experiences and renting gives us the freedom of choice. Our investment accounts never have drive by shootings, cook food in their garages or have dogs they don't pick up after. Other people have better experiences with owning a home so YMMV.
| 0 | 0.03125 | 16,178 | 7 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | c84e656dac9b46858ba1f3482e93a9d0 | 95ca167cd3e84c01972d55c94488088c | 1,676,836,575 | 1,676,854,361 | 4 | 165 | Yes, the main issue is sooner or later things will break in your house and your landlord won't fix them, or at least, won't put the same care into fixing them that you would have if it was your place.
| As a renter you will probably overpay some for housing. There are a zillion government programs that subsidize demand for homeownership specifically (first time buyer programs, the mortgage interest deduction, etc.). Few states have meaningful subsidies for renters because homeowners are 60% of the population (and tend to be wealthier, more ensconced in a community, with more political clout).
Over the past 30-40 years housing has also provided abnormally high returns ~~beyond those seen with index investing~~ (especially in some coastal markets) as zoning and other regulations sharply limited supply. This is great for a few people who bought houses in San Francisco in 1975 and are now multimillionaires, but far from certain to be repeated.
In any case, renting isn't the *only* way to overpay for housing. Another way to do it would be paying transaction costs to buy/sell a house every 5 years, or buying in the exurbs of a city right before it allows more housing downtown (so the exurb commute is now optional). It sounds like the former might happen with your current view on moving vs settling down. If you're paying a premium either way and value the flexibility, renting will provide more (at a cost).
| 0 | 0.026316 | 17,786 | 41.25 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | c84e656dac9b46858ba1f3482e93a9d0 | 83d1971be4e34d27a9fef9aad64e11a0 | 1,676,836,575 | 1,676,855,304 | 4 | 51 | Yes, the main issue is sooner or later things will break in your house and your landlord won't fix them, or at least, won't put the same care into fixing them that you would have if it was your place.
| This could be a ridiculous take on it. I’ve owned since me and my wife were in our mid 20’s. We’ve raised 3 of our children and have one left. There is a non monetary value to owning a house and providing a stable home for your family. I wouldn’t try to out a number on it. But it’s not insignificant. Around 8 years ago we sold our large house and bought a smaller one in a cheaper area.
I’m in the trades and have seen way to many times the old couple living in a huge house that’s essentially falling apart. Partly due to age and partly due to the size of the house. Me and my wife planned ahead and bought our “last” house early. A smallish ranch so we’d never be worrying about climbing stairs as we get older. And something I can handle major repairs on myself. And now I see one bedroom apartments with a single parking spot cost more than my entire mortgage/taxes/insurance bill.
I consider our house part of our bond allocation. As it’s a fixed cost that is easy to make. And by the time I retire it’ll be simply a taxes and insurance payment. Any major repairs would come out of the emergency fund we’ve built. I guess all this is about sometimes you don’t need to make the best decision by what a calculator says. If you don’t want to own then don’t. Or maybe wait a couple years and see if the housing market corrects some. Or maybe you just want to never settle in one area. Housing unlike most investments can’t be measured just by the dollars and cents sometimes.
| 0 | 0.017241 | 18,729 | 12.75 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | c84e656dac9b46858ba1f3482e93a9d0 | 941f25be7d5d43159f38cdf26a81b4e5 | 1,676,836,575 | 1,676,857,718 | 4 | 176 | Yes, the main issue is sooner or later things will break in your house and your landlord won't fix them, or at least, won't put the same care into fixing them that you would have if it was your place.
| Yes, this is totally fine. It does require a considerable amount of discipline. Many people use their mortgage as a means of forced savings. You have to make absolutely sure that you're investing enough to make up for the absence of equity built up in a house.
| 0 | 0.121212 | 21,143 | 44 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | c84e656dac9b46858ba1f3482e93a9d0 | d92688a7f4124be09d8a7b5143bec601 | 1,676,836,575 | 1,676,859,215 | 4 | 81 | Yes, the main issue is sooner or later things will break in your house and your landlord won't fix them, or at least, won't put the same care into fixing them that you would have if it was your place.
| A lot of people feel that home appreciation equals increased net wealth. They like to add their $500k house to their asset column, yet don't seem to recognize they only realize that value if they sell the home. And what do they do next?
Every other home has appreciated as well, so unless you're massively downsizing or moving someplace with lower prices you aren't going to see any net gain.
Disclaimer: I owned a home and sold it in seven years for almost 2x. I then moved to Japan where homes are rapidly depreciating assets. Renting suits me better now for many reasons. Everyone will have a different situation and preference.
| 0 | 0.046154 | 22,640 | 20.25 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | c84e656dac9b46858ba1f3482e93a9d0 | 4ff8586a7ba941ea8ea090b9b50c4b63 | 1,676,836,575 | 1,676,861,484 | 4 | 176 | Yes, the main issue is sooner or later things will break in your house and your landlord won't fix them, or at least, won't put the same care into fixing them that you would have if it was your place.
| Yes, this is totally fine. It does require a considerable amount of discipline. Many people use their mortgage as a means of forced savings. You have to make absolutely sure that you're investing enough to make up for the absence of equity built up in a house.
| 0 | 0.121212 | 24,909 | 44 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | c84e656dac9b46858ba1f3482e93a9d0 | c0207f7adb4a4281a6cff77f9caab828 | 1,676,836,575 | 1,676,873,219 | 4 | 40 | Yes, the main issue is sooner or later things will break in your house and your landlord won't fix them, or at least, won't put the same care into fixing them that you would have if it was your place.
| I'm 45. I don't ever plan to buy a house again. I've owned several. Even when I was fortunate enough to be selling in a hot market, I never came out ahead after fees, commissions, etc., and it was a beating to sell each one.
I have the ability to make a 20% down payment on a house, but I would rather keep that 20% in the market as opposed to putting it into a house and immediately making it an illiquid asset that will also immediately lose 6% to a realtor when I need to sell it.
Remember....when you retire, you aren't going to need a 5-bedroom house. Your kids will be off living their own lives. My parents are retired, 75 years old, and they own a massive 5-bedroom house. They use about 15% of it. They don't even go upstairs. It's ridiculous.
| 0 | 0.046154 | 36,644 | 10 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | c84e656dac9b46858ba1f3482e93a9d0 | bab56cb4bdbb40a3aa51431849d7512f | 1,676,836,575 | 1,676,873,461 | 4 | 116 | Yes, the main issue is sooner or later things will break in your house and your landlord won't fix them, or at least, won't put the same care into fixing them that you would have if it was your place.
| Only based on my own life experience, I do not want to be moving when I am 50+ years old. The thought of packing up, moving, getting used to a new neighborhood/city, finding new friends, hoping for good neighbors and a fair landlord. Those things are not what I want to do when I'm 50 or 60 or 70 years old.
| 0 | 0.1 | 36,886 | 29 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | c84e656dac9b46858ba1f3482e93a9d0 | 4d61c6f681eb4392bcf071248259a49a | 1,676,836,575 | 1,676,883,333 | 4 | 116 | Yes, the main issue is sooner or later things will break in your house and your landlord won't fix them, or at least, won't put the same care into fixing them that you would have if it was your place.
| Only based on my own life experience, I do not want to be moving when I am 50+ years old. The thought of packing up, moving, getting used to a new neighborhood/city, finding new friends, hoping for good neighbors and a fair landlord. Those things are not what I want to do when I'm 50 or 60 or 70 years old.
| 0 | 0.1 | 46,758 | 29 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | c84e656dac9b46858ba1f3482e93a9d0 | 762369e9c626412e9838d3b5e59a9e0e | 1,676,836,575 | 1,676,885,266 | 4 | 81 | Yes, the main issue is sooner or later things will break in your house and your landlord won't fix them, or at least, won't put the same care into fixing them that you would have if it was your place.
| A lot of people feel that home appreciation equals increased net wealth. They like to add their $500k house to their asset column, yet don't seem to recognize they only realize that value if they sell the home. And what do they do next?
Every other home has appreciated as well, so unless you're massively downsizing or moving someplace with lower prices you aren't going to see any net gain.
Disclaimer: I owned a home and sold it in seven years for almost 2x. I then moved to Japan where homes are rapidly depreciating assets. Renting suits me better now for many reasons. Everyone will have a different situation and preference.
| 0 | 0.046154 | 48,691 | 20.25 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | c84e656dac9b46858ba1f3482e93a9d0 | e710d57e178f4b80972ecaf5b413940e | 1,676,836,575 | 1,676,896,917 | 4 | 116 | Yes, the main issue is sooner or later things will break in your house and your landlord won't fix them, or at least, won't put the same care into fixing them that you would have if it was your place.
| Only based on my own life experience, I do not want to be moving when I am 50+ years old. The thought of packing up, moving, getting used to a new neighborhood/city, finding new friends, hoping for good neighbors and a fair landlord. Those things are not what I want to do when I'm 50 or 60 or 70 years old.
| 0 | 0.1 | 60,342 | 29 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | c84e656dac9b46858ba1f3482e93a9d0 | d9317711ccf242fd954f3402a9ea5618 | 1,676,836,575 | 1,676,904,028 | 4 | 28 | Yes, the main issue is sooner or later things will break in your house and your landlord won't fix them, or at least, won't put the same care into fixing them that you would have if it was your place.
| This is what we do (50+ DINKSWD) and are very happy and our finances have improved when we made the switch from home owners to renters.
You will hear passionate arguments from both the homeowner and renter side. But ultimately you need to do what's best for your situation. For us, I move too much for work and we spend too much improving the house and on transaction costs to ever realize the gain. Now all the Home Depot project money gets invested. Most times the company covers the move so its not a loss for us.
Someday we plan on settling down and finding a retirement home, but its just not in the cards right now. So instead we rent and invest the money.
As far as my personal opinion on rent vs buy, the one thing you can't control about homeownership is your neighbors and that was a significant factor in our deciding to move in the past. We never want to relive those experiences and renting gives us the freedom of choice. Our investment accounts never have drive by shootings, cook food in their garages or have dogs they don't pick up after. Other people have better experiences with owning a home so YMMV.
| 0 | 0.03125 | 67,453 | 7 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | c84e656dac9b46858ba1f3482e93a9d0 | 5df26efb97ef438595aa27584fd48106 | 1,676,836,575 | 1,676,909,696 | 4 | 176 | Yes, the main issue is sooner or later things will break in your house and your landlord won't fix them, or at least, won't put the same care into fixing them that you would have if it was your place.
| Yes, this is totally fine. It does require a considerable amount of discipline. Many people use their mortgage as a means of forced savings. You have to make absolutely sure that you're investing enough to make up for the absence of equity built up in a house.
| 0 | 0.121212 | 73,121 | 44 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | c84e656dac9b46858ba1f3482e93a9d0 | 946235791044435ca3a6203de614a6ac | 1,676,836,575 | 1,677,257,308 | 4 | 165 | Yes, the main issue is sooner or later things will break in your house and your landlord won't fix them, or at least, won't put the same care into fixing them that you would have if it was your place.
| As a renter you will probably overpay some for housing. There are a zillion government programs that subsidize demand for homeownership specifically (first time buyer programs, the mortgage interest deduction, etc.). Few states have meaningful subsidies for renters because homeowners are 60% of the population (and tend to be wealthier, more ensconced in a community, with more political clout).
Over the past 30-40 years housing has also provided abnormally high returns ~~beyond those seen with index investing~~ (especially in some coastal markets) as zoning and other regulations sharply limited supply. This is great for a few people who bought houses in San Francisco in 1975 and are now multimillionaires, but far from certain to be repeated.
In any case, renting isn't the *only* way to overpay for housing. Another way to do it would be paying transaction costs to buy/sell a house every 5 years, or buying in the exurbs of a city right before it allows more housing downtown (so the exurb commute is now optional). It sounds like the former might happen with your current view on moving vs settling down. If you're paying a premium either way and value the flexibility, renting will provide more (at a cost).
| 0 | 0.026316 | 420,733 | 41.25 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | c84e656dac9b46858ba1f3482e93a9d0 | a89d2b412a7840b1b693de0e89a0dbb1 | 1,676,836,575 | 1,677,257,749 | 4 | 81 | Yes, the main issue is sooner or later things will break in your house and your landlord won't fix them, or at least, won't put the same care into fixing them that you would have if it was your place.
| A lot of people feel that home appreciation equals increased net wealth. They like to add their $500k house to their asset column, yet don't seem to recognize they only realize that value if they sell the home. And what do they do next?
Every other home has appreciated as well, so unless you're massively downsizing or moving someplace with lower prices you aren't going to see any net gain.
Disclaimer: I owned a home and sold it in seven years for almost 2x. I then moved to Japan where homes are rapidly depreciating assets. Renting suits me better now for many reasons. Everyone will have a different situation and preference.
| 0 | 0.046154 | 421,174 | 20.25 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 8c2d2a6fa1114cf18838e1ef89090e31 | 77e6819bc34047c4bbc47cb504e0fce4 | 1,676,837,069 | 1,676,839,930 | 116 | 176 | Only based on my own life experience, I do not want to be moving when I am 50+ years old. The thought of packing up, moving, getting used to a new neighborhood/city, finding new friends, hoping for good neighbors and a fair landlord. Those things are not what I want to do when I'm 50 or 60 or 70 years old.
| Yes, this is totally fine. It does require a considerable amount of discipline. Many people use their mortgage as a means of forced savings. You have to make absolutely sure that you're investing enough to make up for the absence of equity built up in a house.
| 0 | 0.042553 | 2,861 | 1.517241 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 8c2d2a6fa1114cf18838e1ef89090e31 | 6f29d9a9feb648d8ab52e2166908143e | 1,676,837,069 | 1,676,840,099 | 116 | 165 | Only based on my own life experience, I do not want to be moving when I am 50+ years old. The thought of packing up, moving, getting used to a new neighborhood/city, finding new friends, hoping for good neighbors and a fair landlord. Those things are not what I want to do when I'm 50 or 60 or 70 years old.
| As a renter you will probably overpay some for housing. There are a zillion government programs that subsidize demand for homeownership specifically (first time buyer programs, the mortgage interest deduction, etc.). Few states have meaningful subsidies for renters because homeowners are 60% of the population (and tend to be wealthier, more ensconced in a community, with more political clout).
Over the past 30-40 years housing has also provided abnormally high returns ~~beyond those seen with index investing~~ (especially in some coastal markets) as zoning and other regulations sharply limited supply. This is great for a few people who bought houses in San Francisco in 1975 and are now multimillionaires, but far from certain to be repeated.
In any case, renting isn't the *only* way to overpay for housing. Another way to do it would be paying transaction costs to buy/sell a house every 5 years, or buying in the exurbs of a city right before it allows more housing downtown (so the exurb commute is now optional). It sounds like the former might happen with your current view on moving vs settling down. If you're paying a premium either way and value the flexibility, renting will provide more (at a cost).
| 0 | 0.057377 | 3,030 | 1.422414 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 8c2d2a6fa1114cf18838e1ef89090e31 | dfca63c75a4e4aeb80b0aebe5c10ce35 | 1,676,837,069 | 1,676,845,179 | 116 | 176 | Only based on my own life experience, I do not want to be moving when I am 50+ years old. The thought of packing up, moving, getting used to a new neighborhood/city, finding new friends, hoping for good neighbors and a fair landlord. Those things are not what I want to do when I'm 50 or 60 or 70 years old.
| Yes, this is totally fine. It does require a considerable amount of discipline. Many people use their mortgage as a means of forced savings. You have to make absolutely sure that you're investing enough to make up for the absence of equity built up in a house.
| 0 | 0.042553 | 8,110 | 1.517241 | 1 |
bogleheads | 1162ml7 | We have second thoughts about buying a house due to two reasons. One is that we do not feel like settling down at a location in the long term (at least we cannot imagine yet despite being in mid 30s). Second is that house prices are through the roof where we live. We do not want to buy a house over a million dollars (no reasonable house exists where we live below that) and live house poor. Instead we rent a single family house and invest the rest of the money that would have gone into mortgage payments. While this is sustainable now, I am wondering if this is a realistic scenario indefinitely. I have not heard of comfortable retirement stories without home ownership and I wonder if investing the money that would be used for mortgage payments instead in a three fund portfolio would be a realistic strategy on the long term. | Is it ok to never buy a house but keep investing in a three fund portfolio? | 8c2d2a6fa1114cf18838e1ef89090e31 | 95ca167cd3e84c01972d55c94488088c | 1,676,837,069 | 1,676,854,361 | 116 | 165 | Only based on my own life experience, I do not want to be moving when I am 50+ years old. The thought of packing up, moving, getting used to a new neighborhood/city, finding new friends, hoping for good neighbors and a fair landlord. Those things are not what I want to do when I'm 50 or 60 or 70 years old.
| As a renter you will probably overpay some for housing. There are a zillion government programs that subsidize demand for homeownership specifically (first time buyer programs, the mortgage interest deduction, etc.). Few states have meaningful subsidies for renters because homeowners are 60% of the population (and tend to be wealthier, more ensconced in a community, with more political clout).
Over the past 30-40 years housing has also provided abnormally high returns ~~beyond those seen with index investing~~ (especially in some coastal markets) as zoning and other regulations sharply limited supply. This is great for a few people who bought houses in San Francisco in 1975 and are now multimillionaires, but far from certain to be repeated.
In any case, renting isn't the *only* way to overpay for housing. Another way to do it would be paying transaction costs to buy/sell a house every 5 years, or buying in the exurbs of a city right before it allows more housing downtown (so the exurb commute is now optional). It sounds like the former might happen with your current view on moving vs settling down. If you're paying a premium either way and value the flexibility, renting will provide more (at a cost).
| 0 | 0.057377 | 17,292 | 1.422414 | 1 |
Subsets and Splits