As for myself, I wouldn't want to buy. We don't have that stigma here either btw against renting, I think most people still rent, not buy. It's normal. But it's renting from council, although due to shortage of council houses the percentage of private renting is going up fast. It never used to be customary like in the States.

Reason I don't want to buy, you have all the maintenance to do yourself as well. I cannot do that, nor can I afford to have it done.
If I was to buy a house, I'd need to have a really good income so I could afford that, or have a partner who could do the basics.
As it is, my rental is for sale as it is an older council house (1963) and they want to be rid of it. I can buy it, I have first right, buying from council is very beneficial too.
But I cannot afford it, nor would I if I could.
For instance the other day there was a problem with the rooftiles. No freaking what am I getting on a roof! Now I just phone council and within 2-3 days there's someone to fix the problem.
My central heating was bad, thing was 16 years old. After some 5 repairs that cost me nothing, I got a new one :)
Had it been my house... would've cost me a fortune I ain't got.

Back in 07 and 08 homes were selling for 1/2 to 1/3 of their value. I know people paying $450 a month for the mortgage. That includes taxes and ins. Now the market is back. I don't understand why more people didn't take advantage of the value.

Ive often thought it was fascinating that Americans can write off their interest up to one million dollars, which definitely helps towards income tax, but that trade off is you guys are charged capital gains tax unless you use the quit deed loophole .

Up here in Canada we are not charged with capital gains taxes when we sell out principal residence.

Here we aren't charged if we live in the home 4 out of 5 years or put the money right back into a home. I quit claimed my daughter her home because I'll probably need 24 hour care when I'm old and it will take everything I've worked for. They can't take what I don't own. Here you have to quit claim it to someone else 5 years in advance.

I wish I would have rented. We have no state income tax, but the annual property taxes are high - $3.50/$1000 by appraisal district.

I own my homes for a few reasons. Basically they are a investment that I have never lost money on, 2nd they are something I can leave my sons ( when I meet my untimely demise) and 3rd I don't like to have neighbors that close to me.. like a apartment or condo

I read that some people have begun to pass homes down from generation to generation. It would be great to get a home that only cost tax, ins, and maintaince. It would hurt banks if everyone did that.

In my " world" you purchase a house (or two if you can) and pay them off over the years with the intension of leaving them to your kids when you die. What they do with it is up to them. It is a security blanket of sorts. I get satisfaction out of it, that they will always have a roof over their head. and they get the comfort of knowing someday they will inherit and nice piece of change. They can plan with that in mind or leave it to their kids.

As long as they don't bump me off... to speed things up

:

according to clark howard, consumer advocate...

Tips for first-time homebuyers
Clark Howard

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...Plan to stay put for years
Sure, real estate can still be a deal, but only if you buy and hold.

Back during the recession, I was advising people to stay in a traditional single-family home for at least a minimum of five years, maybe more like seven years, before they went to move and sell again.

That’s at least how long it took real estate values to recover from the trough of the recession.

If you’re starting out in a townhouse, that particular market remains a bit more distressed than the single-family home market. You need to dig in your heels and stay put in a townhouse for at least 10 years.



he would often say that while home ownership used to be a valuable goal for most, it's now very often a lifestyle choice.
people used to have one job, one career. now many have 3 or more.
many peaople laid down roots in a community and stayed for life which is not an option for many people these days.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

as with all things there are pros and cons to modern home ownership. is it the right solution for everyone? of course not. is it a smart part of a person's overall portfolio?
possibly, but it's best to learn a little more about all the different points that make for sound investing for each individuals circumstances in a modern world.
if there's one thing we can count on...it's that the answers will change.

I think we are in another bubble and home prices will decline. It will be interesting watching the market. People who bought in o7 and a little later have a ton of equity.

The house i live in has been in the family for 3 generations. I paid 2/3 for it to buy out my siblings. I wish I knew how much my grandparents paid to have it built. I wonder if it was a lot less than I paid or about the same.

There have been several times in the past few years that I wish I had never bought this place. Much less all the land around it.

This house is too big. 9 big rooms. It sits on 10 acres with a large barn, my shop, plenty of trees and lots of grass/yard to keep clean. I bought all of this in 1982. I was 20. By the time I was 25 I talked myself into buying 140 acres that attach to my property.

Ever paid property tax on 150 acres with a house, barn, and shop on it? Plus upkeep? What I wanted to do is retire and work out of my shop as I wanted to, when I wanted too. It didn't turn out that way. I wanted to restore my 53 Chevy Belair Hardtop and my 60 Chevy Hardtop.

But, they are still over in the corner of the barn covered up and waiting there turn. While I work on other peoples cars just to keep things paid around here and not go bankrupt. On what I call a "quiet" month, my electric bill is a little over 500 bucks. If I get a little busy, it can be over 1000 a month. I let another guy rent my land for his cows. Another buys 70 acres worth of hay twice a year. Those two are paying a good portion of the property tax. The rest of the tax is on me to pay. And it ain't cheap.

All of it's paid for now. (house and land) But it's still a source of aggravation sometimes. Just too much for one person to do. My dad helps. But, he's 84. He gets around pretty good. But still, he's 84. He's had his own set of problems. So have I.

It's OK if you are young and you want to buy. But at the same time, when you buy, buy thinking about the future. Is this something you want to have to deal with when you get older? It's good to prepare for the future. But you can overload yourself.

I'll hang on to the place for now. But, when time finally catches up with my dad, most likely I will sell this place. That is if when that time comes someone will buy it.


This is a big set of mountains where I live. There are still many nice homes sitting empty. Been sitting empty for several years now.

In the past year or so, several small businesses have closed in town. About all this little town attracts is fast food joints that serve almost nothing but chicken. And maybe 3 or 4 places where people can work and make a decent living. Most of these places are already covered by local people. And they aren't going anywhere yet.


For the most part, That leaves going into Atlanta. But many people don't want to commute 120-mile round trip every day. In other words, You can buy a house. And when you try to sell it, it may be worth every penny you are asking for it. But, if no one will buy it,(my case) mainly because the closest town is still a "one-horse" town, what is it really worth?


Two things are constant when buying and selling. Location, and it always has been, and always will be, a buyers market on anything you sell. It could be sitting on a beautiful mountain just like this one is. With plenty of land and room to do whatever you want. But, if you can't find a person that wants that specific thing, you won't sell it.

Charles, but on the brightside when its time to retire and you sell well that is a nice little pay day too.

Im like you , as Im a single guy in a big house, not the acres but in a prime area and my place is free and clear but when it comes time where I cannot look after the place I can sell and either downsize and get a condo and not worry about the property maintenance.

so many possibilities.

It's a sellers market right now. Could probably get a lot more than you think.

Owning would give me more peace of mind than renting.
You can’t inherently trust on the good will of other people. Because people are unpredictable.
Owning a place has the advantage that you can rest assured that you will not be kicked out.
Even if you paid your landlord, they could always come up with excuses and throw you out that month. Nothing stops them. They are owner and you are not.

I know just about what the place is worth. On the main road side of my property, a house sold for 130 thousand sitting on one acre of land. But the house sat for three years. It finally sold early this summer.

I don't know about other places, but around here, homes sell very slow. 5 have been sitting empty, I think about 4 years.

Here's my thing, Nobody seems to want to take this much on. Most of the people who do move up here are retired people that are trying to get out of the Atlanta area. On the main road side of my property, almost every one of those is retired people that left Cobb County. (Something must really be wrong with Cobb County).

About the only ones that are interested in taking on this much are big developers that want to build "Country" Apartments. Which will absolutely ruin it up here.

I've had people who live around me, practically begging me not to sell my property. Because I own so much, if I sold it to the wrong people, it could ruin other people's property value.

I had the presence of mind when I was young to jump on a good deal for 75 acres. Paying for that 75 acres led me to finally getting the house and the rest of the land. But because of having good sense when I was young, I worked my azz off, Some of the folks around me seem to think I should suffer for it.

When I finally do sell this, I'm gonna piss off a lot of people. When I finally do sell this place, I want to go somewhere where it's drier. Maybe a small house in Arizona with a little shop behind it. And a building big enough to keep my cars.

I'm no Jay Leno. I only have 5. And it took me most of my life to get them. I worked my azz off for them. I did most of the work. I worked 3 jobs at times to pay for all of this.

But sometimes I do wonder if I bought the wrong place. I hate to say it, I love where I live. But since the town, I live closest to refuse to let much of anything in job wise, except fast food joints that serve mostly chicken, places to spend your money, but not earn money, I fear that when I do decide to sell I'll have to sell it to some developer.


New blood doesn't seem to come here. But it does seem to leave. Finding an individual who wants this much that is willing to work elsewhere and bring his/her money back here and pay for this, I fear will be hard.

I like the rent to own option , if its available. The monthly installments are a lot more manageable for a single person

I watch a show "buying the farm". It's basically people moving from the city to a farm. I wonder if they realize how much work it is and how long before they sell it.

I saw a home online today on coosa river. Looked like a nice place. Great view. Not a bad price either.

When the perceived value of a house goes up (USA) property taxes go up with it. What the government refuses to take into account is a good part of that is inflation. If the government was forced to take inflation into account taxes would decrease resulting in government income going down.

Every nation co-ordinates their tax system differently. The USA may have some taxes higher than Canada but I'm sure Canadians pay other taxes that are higher than in America. Ultimately the people pay to support the political spenders.

Georgia used to be a low property tax state. They are trying to change that. It's getting out of control. The spenders need to be put on a budget.

Also, I've noticed the only homes being build are larger and appeal to only wealthy buyers. Tax on these homes are outrageous. I'm hearing a lot of people say that taxes are half their mortgage. That's wrong. We aren't buying our home from the local gov't.