My house is my house

reason beyond rhetoric

My house is not an investment.


It is a house.

I don’t intend to make money off it; I intend to live in it.

It is not its paper value that matters to me, it is its intrinsic value. I don’t care what it is assessed for, or what it would sell for, I am concerned about its ability to protect my family from the elements and meet our shelter needs.


It is my home.


So the status of the economy and the housing-sales numbers are meaningless to me. I am not looking to sell my home, I am looking to live in it.


So the concept of being “upside down” on a mortgage is meaningless to me, as it should be to everyone. To owe more on your house than it is “worth” is only meaningful if you have forgotten the true worth of a home.

And that is not found in money or marketability. It isn’t determined by your mortgage rate or your payoff amount. The true worth of a home is determined by its ability to meet your needs.

It is a family shelter, not a tax shelter.


And its value is pretty subjective. Yes, you can calculate approximately what a house will bring on the open market. You can add up the resale value of the structure and its components.


But you will be left with meaningless numbers on paper.


Because the value of a house is a compilation of the comforts it provides and the needs it meets. Inasmuch as most of us are accustomed to living inside, away from the snow and rain, and inasmuch as most of us love our families a great deal, it becomes likely that a home – to shelter us from the elements and give us a place of our own – is great value.


After food, our home is probably – in true terms – the most essential and valuable component of our life. It’s priceless.


The value of a home is found around the family din
ner table, in a sleeping baby’s crib, kneeling for family prayer in the living room, in the sentimentality and memory of years spent and lives lived.

The value of my house has nothing to do with my realtor or my banker. It is not a function of dickering and refinancing.


It is my home and my castle.


And yet some people see their homes as their wealth and retirement. They see home as an aspect of net financial worth.


For such people, their foolishness causes great stress, particularly in the wake of natural and international struggles. They despair when there is no need, they demand bailouts when none are supported. They see newspaper stories and go home wracked with uncertainty and fear.

Even though the roof doesn’t leak.


And the windows don’t need repairing or replacement.

And they will be warm inside against the blizzards of winter.

Their houses are perfect. The balance sheet doesn’t say that, the smiles on their kid’s faces say that.


So I recommend caution, and a little bit of courage. I recommend that the sky-is-falling alarmism that passes for journalism these days be ignored.

I also recommend that people remember what the American dream is – not to make a fortune off a house, but to have a house.

A place to call your own.


To retreat to and grow in. To raise a family in and attend to the greatest purposes and joys of life.


House are for living in, not investing in.

Anybody who forgets that will probably lose not only money, but peace of mind.


So it doesn’t matter if your house is upside down. Unless you try to sell it, the numbers and their relationship to one another are meaningless. It is moot to calculate the value of a house that is not for sale.

And my house isn’t for sale.


My house is for living in.


My house is not an investment, it is a house.
And several million people would be a whole lot happier if they could only get that through their mind.

[tater]

Yep.

I always find the "underwater" or "upside down" crap on the news annoying. every single car driven off the lot is instantly "underwater." So what.

It only matters if you are forced to sell for some reason.

[SteamWake]

Many pepole do not buy real estate with the intent of living in it.

It 'used' to be a solid investment.

By the way technically its not really 'your' house...

http://www.expertlaw.com/library/rea...nt_domain.html

[Tchocky]

Well, it used to be an asset bubble.

So, yeah.


Sort of

[Oberon]

Half the houses around here only get lived in for four months a year

It is hard to hold home ownership (a house) as an ideal in a world where private property means nothing.

[AVGWarhawk]

In all reality the bank owns the house until you pay the entire loan. The agreement is you pay a certain amount each month for 15 or 30 years and the bank will let you live in their house until the loan comes to term. You may normally pay more per month without penalty of paying the loan off early. So, thank you Mr. Bank for letting me live in your house until paid at which point I call it MY house.

[Sailor Steve]

I only have one question: Who is the quote attributed to?

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

In all reality the bank owns the house until you pay the entire loan. The agreement is you pay a certain amount each month for 15 or 30 years and the bank will let you live in their house until the loan comes to term. You may normally pay more per month without penalty of paying the loan off early. So, thank you Mr. Bank for letting me live in your house until paid at which point I call it MY house.

The alternative is the king. One man who demands tribute for his generosity. And that generosity is only for those who can repay the favor.

[Ducimus]

Wish I could own a house. I've been renting apartments since I got out of the military. All those years paying anywhere between 800 and 1200 dollars a month. All that money could have been equity. But I can't even get my foot into the door of a house because of the astronomical value, combined with my medium month income.

A house...... tis a pipe dream. If owning a home is the american dream, it is a dream that remains unrealized, and untenable.

Originally Posted by Ducimus

Wish I could own a house. I've been renting apartments since I got out of the military. All those years paying anywhere between 800 and 1200 dollars a month. All that money could have been equity. But I can't even get my foot into the door of a house because of the astronomical value, combined with my medium month income.

A house...... tis a pipe dream. If owning a home is the american dream, it is a dream that remains unrealized, and untenable.

my mortgage is less than your rent. It may require some sacrifice to own a home. But it is your choice. It shouldn't be my payment.

[Ducimus]

Originally Posted by The Third Man

my mortgage is less than your rent..

If i had a dime every time I've heard that.

But you know, putting myself 300,000 to 700,000 dollars in the hole for a home in california? Suuuurre. 300K is like.. in a Getto, or a Barrio. (edit: Hell, youd be lucky to get a condo for that much. I even looked at those. 400K! ) A home in a decent neighborhood runs half a million or more. At least, last i looked. If i buy a home now, it will be when i move from california. There's a reason why this place is nicknamed, "cantaffordya".

Originally Posted by Ducimus

If i had a dime every time I've heard that.

But you know, putting myself 300,000 to 700,000 dollars in the hole for a home in california? Suuuurre. 300K is like.. in a Getto, or a Barrio. A home in a decent neighborhood runs half a million or more. At least, last i looked. If i buy a home now, it will be when i move from california. There's a reason why this place is nicknamed, "cantaffordya".

You are not restricted by where you live. That is the beauty of the US. get out of California. Cali is dieing and taking you along.

Las Vegas have lower rent and home rates. You can buy property at @$1 in Detroit. its a home don't limit yourself.

[AVGWarhawk]

Originally Posted by Ducimus

Wish I could own a house. I've been renting apartments since I got out of the military. All those years paying anywhere between 800 and 1200 dollars a month. All that money could have been equity. But I can't even get my foot into the door of a house because of the astronomical value, combined with my medium month income.

A house...... tis a pipe dream. If owning a home is the american dream, it is a dream that remains unrealized, and untenable.

Look into FHA and what the military can do for you concerning purchasing a home. It is obtainable if you look at the right programs that will work for you. FHA for sure. The military might be of help also. FHA you need only 3% down in most cases. $150,000.00 home you need $4500 down plus closing costs. As bad as it is now those cost can get paid by the home owner or the builder if it is new construction. Also, I think the Fed is going to start the $8000.00 towards a home again. This program worked. I know 2 people who got their homes using this program.

You need a down payment now?