Comments on: Why I Decided Not To Buy A House

By: Cindy M

Cindy M — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 11:37:37 +0000

I commented earlier and still believe in trying to own your own home. I do have a mortgage right now and knock on wood, found another job. Wow, is it ever a buyer’s market right now. I look at real estate all the time and in my town, you can pick up one of those huge old homes for $10,000 to $15,000. I figure it would cost a monthly bundle to heat one of them, and that’s surely why they’re so cheap, but wow, think of the possibilities. Enterprising couples/families should be snatching these up and making a go of it. In time, I can’t help but think the economy will turn around a bit, as these things go in cycles, it seems. I’m trying to stay hopeful, anyway.

By: Emigdio Frixione

Emigdio Frixione — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 23:41:58 +0000

Bad idea! Do not buy a house! You become a slave of the state, besides paying income taxes, yuo end up paying taxes over the house you DO NOT EVEN OWN, because until you pay the whole mortgage, it BELONGS TO THE BANK! It is better to rent, after all after you die, you do not take anything with you. And better yet. o not leave burdens to your relatives.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 07:54:48 +0000

I decided tonight not to buy a house in which I’ve made an offer. You’re right to think long and hard about buying. It’s smart regardless of the final decision. I’m not too concerned about the economy where I live and in my job (though that’s one good reason to not buy!), my decision got down to my ability to start a family. Just because you can afford a place doing what you’re doing now, you also have to consider what would happen if you or a spouse decided to take a few years off to raise a child. You also raised good points about maybe starting a business (which may be a drain on your income, or your entire income!), taking time off to travel, or doing something you love that doesn’t pay well. In my case, we do own, but it’s a cheap condo that’s cheaper to own than most places would be to rent. Faced with the prospect of having to reduce our spending and maybe cut back on retirement savings — stocks being much better place to park savings, the current market withstanding — we’ve decided to stay where we are. Anyhow, these are just some thoughts for others to consider. Thanks for the post.

By: APPLE

APPLE — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 11:54:50 +0000

i am a registered nurse and just started living here in america… people have different views about buying a house… some of my co-nurses are excited about having their own house (they believe it’s a “status symbol”… ) but after buying it, they don’t seem to be happy… their way of life has changed… imagine working 6-7 days/week just to cope up with their finances and mortgage… if they get tired from work, they sleep in their garage, inside their car (gosh, sleep in your bed, enjoy your house)… anyways, i asked them – “why are you working so hard? do you still see the house you bought? you don’t live in your house anymore – you actually live here in the hospital (the place where we work)… follow up question to them (with a menaingful look in their eyes) – “are you gonna work like this for 30 years? if not, then how long?”

well, they have been telling me they’re gonna have a profit out of it… but that’s just a simple HOPE… to this date – september, 2008 – how many foreclosures you have been seeing in the community? a lot…

what i did? i bought a house in my country, $60,000 equivalent, 4 bedroom, 2-storey… and enjoy my money here in america… by the way, i am not renting an apartment – the wiser move is – rent a room – $500.00/month with my friend… (of course, choose the one you can trust and comfortable living with)…

i’ve been thinking – life is too short… if you buy a house and hope to gain a profit (only GOD knows when), with the kind of stress we have for paying the mortgage plus other finances – people might end up getting sick… and sicker…

up to you to continue what i want to say…

enjoy the money you have now for you don’t know where it’ll go tomorrow…

do i make sense?

By: Scott

Scott — Thu, 01 May 2008 22:16:36 +0000

Looking back at some of the comments from a year ago is hilarious:

#14 “Foreclosures are incredibly rare” (The foreclosure rate is now at an all-time high nationally)

#7 “I would NEVER advise against home ownership” (So, you would have bought a house for $750K in San Francisco that’s now worth less than $500K)

I am a former homeowner who has just sold his house (bought 4 years ago) for a 40% gain. I got out becuase I see 1 out of every 10 homes in my area for sale. I got a good offer and have gone back to renting. They say that your house is your best investment, and this CAN be true. However, you have to judge the market, and not step blindly into something just because people say it’s what you should do. There are benefits to renting, such as low maintenance, and the security that you are not sitting on a depreciating asset.

I will look to get back into a house in a year or two when inventory levels have subsided, and the selling panic is over.

Supply and Demand!

By: Scott

Scott — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 21:33:28 +0000

I bought a house for 160K in Austin, TX. I also bought a car for 70K. Buying the car took about a half an hour and the house took 2 months with all the BS that goes with it. At the end of the day, I can sell the car today in about 30 minutes and seel the house in about 6 months with all the BS. My question is…why is dealing with property such a pain in the butt? To me, its almost not worth it. I would rather rent and not deal with the hassel of repairs. Tax write-offs? Big deal. Pride of ownership? Big deal. The government can take your land/house with “imminent domain” anyway. I have come to the coonclusion that being a ‘homeowner’ is a scam that only puts money into the pockets of banks and we all know how banks run this country.

By: Kristi

Kristi — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 19:38:11 +0000

I lived in Washington, D.C. a couple of years ago when everything was very very expensive. I had no savings so my mother suggested that she would be a co-owner and help me buy a townhouse (she lives in another state). Do I regret buying a home there? YES! First, who wants to be trapped in home ownership with your mother? I got really tired of calling her about home repairs such as a $1,500 new air conditioner, $2,000 new roof and $2,000 new siding. Homes are money pits. And then after a few years I got married and we decided to move to the midwest. Guess what? Noone wanted to buy the house – even after all of the improvements were made. It took 6 months to get rid of the damn place. Did I make a little bit of money? Yes. Was it worth it? No. Now we are happily renting a mini-mansion in the midwest for much less than owning. Freedom to move whenever you want, freedom to put your money towards other things besides a huge mortgage & home repairs/renovations, freedom to live in a large beautiful home without being house poor…we love it.

By: Money Walks - Personal Finance » Update and Articles

Money Walks - Personal Finance » Update and Articles — Wed, 02 May 2007 03:35:15 +0000

[...] explains why she Decided Not to Buy a House. Owning a home is definitely something that is looked upon as a great life accomplishment and a [...]

By: Gail

Gail — Tue, 01 May 2007 05:34:15 +0000

Amy, You seem to have thought out your reasons for not buying a home and if that makes you happy, go for it. I bought a home almost 6 years ago for $60,000. We are hoping to sell it this summer and move into a home my hubby has been building as he has had time (started it 10 years ago, five years before he met me). We HOPE to sell it for $75,000. So it truly depends on your location, the home and a lot of variables. What I didn’t count on when buying this home in my mid-40′s was getting married again and coming down with severe arthritis, that makes upkeep of the huge yard, etc. almost impossible. There are a lot of pluses and minuses to home ownership. If you are track with saving for retiremnet and those unexpected things like job lay-offs, illness etc. then you are in good shape without a house investment. For some people it is the only way to get them to save.

By: C

Tue, 01 May 2007 02:05:21 +0000

(rats, sorry about the double post)

Don’t ever let anyone talk you into buying a house because “no one ever lost money on it.”

Whoever said no one mentions the fees, maintenance, interest, etc. when calculating their profits is right.

I bought a house 1.5 yrs ago. I knew what I was getting into. I’m not streteched, I put 20% down. I don’t regret it, but you know what? I wouldn’t do it again. I could save more money renting.

There are benefits to having a home, being able to do what you want, having fairly fixed costs (if you don’t have an ARM), but I don’t think it’s a guaranteed jackpot. In fact, I find it hard to see how I’ll make any money once you take into account all the fees, interest, taxes and extra expenses that come with home ownership. Not to mention my time taking care of the yard, etc.

Bottom line: don’t buy a house because you think it’s your ticket to riches; it probably isn’t. If you want your to stay put for awhile and like being able to do your own thing, then fine.