Does home value matter if you don't plan to move?

[Goldy1]

MY dh bought our home in 1997. IT is quite nice in a nice neighborhood an dI am happy with location, and home. Home prices are now pre 2000 levels in many suburbs of Metro Detroit newspapers report and I believe it based on recent sales.
WE may have put about 35 to 40 grand as a rough estimate(we do have exact records somewhere) of improvements.
We got a high end furnace and ac, stamped concrete patio and walkway, new driveway, some landscaping, half the house redone in higher end wood floors, paint, remodeled one bathroom, sprinkler system etc but nothing totally huge.

I would estimate if we sold today we would be somewhere in the ballpark of selling house for what dh bought it for plus the improvement costs, but not sure.

Heck, I guess hopefully that beat paying rent. lol

We owe only about 29 K on the home due to very agressive extra mortgage principal automatically deducted and a couple few thousand dump payments on principal.

I was listening to a talk show where a man called in to complain he felt it was unfair for people to get tax credits/breaks for buying FORECLOSED homes which was proposed by someone. He kept reiterating how he DOES NOT plan to move and sell his home, BUT IF HE WAS he feels it is unfair to compete with these breaks for people buying only foreclosed.
The radio host told him forclosures help no one b/c they bring down the neighborhood not being taken care of. ie a foreclosed property fallign to shambles down the street doesn't help your property value so it's a good thing.
The caller kept insisting he was against the tax break even tho he isn't selling.
The host said it is "immaterial" /doesn't matter to him if he isn't moving, and was for the tax breaks.

I am kind of in the same boat. Not moving but house decreased in value. The thing is there is a possibility I could move one day for work. I don't think anyone in thier 30's can consider themselves "never moving" altho having much equity means I will be less pressed to HAVE TO for survival.

[cicy33]

I think value of a house is always important. Even if you are not moving you might need to make improvements and loans are based on value. I think that foreclosures being sold and actually moved into are helping the neighborhood because they aren't being trashed, it is the others that are making it worse. I actually saw a show on tv recently where banks are paying people to not trash the house when they leave???

[boosami]

You can't get a home equity loan if you have no equity!

[TBH]

I can see how it would be hard to watch your home value drop even if you didn't want to sell any time soon, but it seems to me that you should just stay focused on the good things.

You have a nice home that you like in a nice area. Not only is it affordable for you, but you're able to pay off the mortgage early. You don't plan to move soon, so there's a good chance the economy and the home's value will recover before you sell if you end up needing to take a job elsewhere. Seems like you should just keep doing what you're doing, paying down the mortgage, working, etc.

Also, if you did have to move, is there a chance you could keep it as a rental if the value makes selling unattractive? Maybe when it's paid off you could funnel those payments you're currently making on the mortgage into a savings account so you'd have a down payment on a home wherever you ended up moving in case you weren't able to sell this house or didn't want to. Just a thought.

[larryb711]

Don't worry about your home value as long as you plan on living in the home. The only time you should worry about the value of the home is the year prior to your planning on selling the home.

And just remember, if your home drops in value, then the home your planning to purchase has most likely dropped, so it pretty much works out to being equal.

[Seeker]

If you live in a house for 10 years and your area rent is somewhere in the neighborhood of $1000/month.... have you not avoided paying rent of 120k over the years? It's not "equity" per se, but it's a benefit gained.

Maybe Michigan's rents are not as high, but 1997 - 2008 is eleven years.

House values will always go up/down when owned. But you've saved yourself paying someone else rental fees, and there's a benefit to that as well.

When you're looking at "value," those avoided costs needs to be included in your cost/benefit analysis. You've saved more than just the earned equity... even if earned equity goes below original costs.

[carlsguide]

If you are living in your home and owe only a small amount on it and do not need to borrow against it then it's value is not in dollars but in your happiness and security.

[Goldy1]

Yea I agree, it was nice to hear you guys say it also.
"No dollar sign on a piece of mind"
but yea, rents vary around here. I could get a small simple one bedroom apt for about $700 ish, and live in a 1900 sq ft home for about 1K including taxes so I feel blessed.
My home would rent at least my mortgage but I shudder to think of what tenants would do to my newer wide plank hardwood floors etc. lol

My parents are landlords with a couple homes(flats) they inherited and it aint always pretty! One ex tenant moved out and splattered red paint all over one of thier house inside and left the water running. I guess insurance picked up the tab.