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Is it woth owning a house/property if you are going to be a single?

YS2003

YS2003

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Dec 24, 2004
2,138
0
Finally I have arrived.....
In USA (and many other countries, I believe), owning a house/property is a must to build your net worth. But, if you are a single person, does it really matter if you own a home? After you die, your properties will go to the state if you have not assigned someone who can inherit your stuffs. I am not attached to any one place. So, it is not important for me to stay in certain areas. I can pack up and take a hike in a few days.
Edit: Owning a home means the property tax (to finance schools and other stuffs your local gov't wants to spend, home owner's insurance, home maintenance, and etc. This question is based on factoring in all the negative effects of owning your own home.
 
If you get a single family home, it just means more lawns to mow and work for a single person.

But you can also have fewer kids jumping up and down on your head.
 
It can save you money while you are alive too,

1) The interest on your mortgage is tax deducible.
2) After the length of your mortgage, you will own the property outright, hence no more payments, whereas you have to pay rent forever.
 
MacNut said:
But you still have to pay taxes.
Click to expand...

Thank you, MacNut. I had to edit my post.

The keyword is "single person." Which means there is no dependent. Under this scenario, when I die, I don't have to worry about anyone else (as I don't have to leave things to someone else through inheritance).
 
Just curious but how old are you and do you ever intend to have a family.
 
i would say, if you're under 50, go for the house. if you're over, then rent.

there are perks of ownership, along with yard maintenance and house upkeep. it's a decent hedge against inflation and your interest payments come off your income. and a single homeowner is a chick magnet, so you may not be living alone very long --- there's always women looking for a place to live almost free.

if you're over 50 or so, an apartment makes more sense. no worries about upkeep and yard maintenance. but, your rent is likely to go up every couple years as housing around you appreciate.

if you don't need either, then just travel the world until you decide you have to stop and live someplace. there's always someplace to live in the world, different countries can be appealing places to live.

i'm 55, single, retired, and live in a paid-for house. that has it's bennies. utilities and taxes and insurance cost me about $250/mo. i live in a semi-rural area with a couple acres of land.
 
MacNut said:
Just curious but how old are you and do you ever intend to have a family.
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I am in early 30's and against my parents' wishes, as of now, I don't have any interest in having a family. I may change this stance of mine; but, knowing how I am, I think I will stay true to myself until the time I die.
 
orangemacapple said:
i'm 55, single, retired, and live in a paid-for house. that has it's bennies. utilities and taxes and insurance cost me about $250/mo. i live in a semi-rural area with a couple acres of land.
Click to expand...

I have not thought about owning property in the rural ares seriously (I did search the areas where there are not many young families are located---young families = higher property tax to finance schooling for kids (which I am not going to have). I believe that would be a good way to build equity as I get older. No landlord to worry about. Maybe I can get a pet dog as I used to have when I was still at my parents' home years ago.
 
YS2003 said:
I have not thought about owning property in the rural ares seriously (I did search the areas where there are not many young families are located---young families = higher property tax to finance schooling for kids (which I am not going to have). I believe that would be a good way to build equity as I get older. No landlord to worry about. Maybe I can get a pet dog as I used to have when I was still at my parents' home years ago.
Click to expand...

you're only as far from civilization as your computer. and no matter where you go in this country, there's always a walmart within 1/2 hour. ups delivers anyplace there's an address in the u.s.
ok, i have to drive 1/2 hour to raleigh and then another 30 minutes to get to some cultural events there within the city limits. not really so bad. i got a couple chickens in my backyard and a goat. and a cat.
 
You do realize that you also pay property taxes when you rent, right? They're just factored into your rent as your landlord passes them along to you.

Things obviously vary from market to market, landlord to landlord, and property to property, but typically somewhere in the neighborhood 60% of your rent goes to cover the expenses of the place. The rest is profit to the landlord. Obviously there are a lot more considerations when you're deciding whether to rent or own, but that's one thing to think about.

Your net worth isn't just about your heirs (or lack thereof)...your net worth helps you retire sooner, helps pay your expenses in retirement, etc. And wouldn't it be nice to have something to leave to someone? Even if you don't end up having a family, wouldn't you want to be able to leave something to a close friend, or a charity, or other family members?
 
you can probably give a paid-for house to a charity with the stipulation that you have lifetime rights. they'll gladly pay the taxes for you, so all you'll have will be your utilities and any upkeep you feel like doing. they don't take actual possession of the house until you're dead (of course they may take out a contract killing on you).

you can travel if you want and always have a place to come home to. out in the country, if you want to build a shop for your hobbies or a barn for your pets, you won't find resistance.

and a goat is better than a dog.
 
Theres an old saying that most people in real estate use

and it goes something like ... renting is a ripooff unless its from me.

Either you're paying someone else's mortgage or you're paying your own. It depends on how much you like your area and how much interest you have in upkeep but I plan on buying a house over the next few years even if I'm still single because I feel like I'm sort of ripping myself off. Thats just me, I hope to have a few properties i'm renting out eventually ... so I can collect rent.
 
You can also buy a fixer upper, Buy the house cheap work on the house then turn around a few years later and sell it for a profit.
 
MacNut said:
You can also buy a fixer upper, Buy the house cheap work on the house then turn around a few years later and sell it for a profit.
Click to expand...
Is it from "Rich Dad Poor Dad" by Robert Kiosaki? I am not into to flipping properties. That is too risky. Look at Donald Trump (I know; this is a bad example. But I thought it would be a good extreme example). He is trying to make money by doing a TV show because he is not making money on his main jobs in the real estate.
 
I'm not sure how rural you're talking about when you mention rural, but if it's like the rural area my parents live in, the cheaper property taxes come with less services. Stuff like no city sewer (you deal with your own septic tank) and no curbside garbage pickup (you have to drive it to a central dumpster area yourself).

As for flipping a house being risky, not always. You're not trying to flip a house in 3 weeks for a quick profit. You're buying a trashed-out house in a good area for less money that other houses (because its trashed out), fixing it up over the two or three years that you live there, then selling it for a profit.
 
YS2003 said:
Look at Donald Trump (I know; this is a bad example. But I thought it would be a good extreme example). He is trying to make money by doing a TV show because he is not making money on his main jobs in the real estate.
Click to expand...


I think thats a real extreme and sort of dumb example. I would guess that trump makes more on his real estate annually than the TOTAL of active macrumors members.

The TV show is to make him famous again and to hone is brand image. I think he's obviously making some sweet cash from it but its not his main source of income.
 
If you don't want a house and all that goes with, then buy an apartment condo. Your own space and it will only accrue greater value, especially in an urban setting. You don't have to have a lawn and gardens. You can have a balcony and still get equity.
 
Flipping a house is the only way to be able to afford one, if you is poor like me!


For example, buy a house in a neighborhood of $200k houses, its a fixer upper so you get it for $150k.

Live in it, fix it up over a few months, years or whatever, and sell it.

Most likely in the time youve spent, the land and neighborhood have appreciated in value AND you fixed up the house increasing its value.

Granted, I dont know jack about capital gains on this kind of thing, but a possible $50-75k in profit aint bad.

Personally, I like working with my hands (har har) so a fixer upper is definitely my choice.


Though, the problem always is:

buy a 3/2 house for $100k, 10yrs later its worth $300k, but so are every other 3/2 house in your neighborhood and the surrounding towns/cities.

So you really didnt make $200k, you made nothing. Because to buy a similar 3/2 house, youd spend a similar amount to what you got for your house.

You have to move to truly make money in the real estate market, yes a house's equity going up is a nice thing, but when you sell it to get another house (u gotta live somewhere), the same size house is the same price as what you just got. You either have to find a smaller place, or move somewhere where the housing market isnt as high.

Buying and Selling real estate, without it as your main home, is a great way to invest and make money, IF you know what you are doing.
 
Use it to fund your retirement.

Even if your not going to will it, you can build up Retirement Equity in it.

You can even reverse Mortgage it later in life to fund whatever down the road.

I leaves you options instead of paying someone else's mortgage.
 
I'm a single guy in my late 20s, so we're in a vaguely similar situation. Personally, I own a condo, and would never want the hassle of a house, while I'm still single. I got a place that's not too large for one person, and ok for two people, which helped when I had a girl friend live with me a while back, and later on had a room mate.

I think the main reason to buy a home, is so that you've got some paid-off residence to live in when you're retired. Yes, there's always property taxes and utilities, but I can guarrantee you that rent will always be as much, or more than, those costs.

Also, while I plan on never using this, you might need to: a reverse mortgage. I plan on having a spouse and children who will care for me when I'm old and dying. But if you think that going it alone is better, than you will need access to a lot of capital in your last years. Depending on how well your investments go, it might be a necessity to use a reverse mortgage, which you will not have available if you rent your whole life.

Edit: Oh, I guess pilotError beat me to it.
 
Yes.
Buy one and fix it up.
Move out and rent it, buy a larger one, fix it up ... etc etc
It worked for my parents and it is working for me as a way to increase wealth and have a secure retirement in the future.
 
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