[jajko]

Quite limited view thats valid in certain times in certain cases, in certain countries etc.

What about drawbacks of owning a house? You will spend non-trivial amount of your time, energy and money just to keep it up, keep fixing all things that deteriorate. And everything deteriorates. I mean really non-trivial, count how much your hourly rate is and how much you will waste instead of making some fun good activities, getting more healthy, enjoying life, resting, traveling and so on. Is that really how you want to spend some part of your me-time?

You are also locking yourself down at very specific place which may be a craphole in a decade, without good jobs around etc.

Also it will in normal cases vacuum your savings, degrading quality and fun in life in (at least) initial years after purchase - those are often the best years of one's remaining life.

People tend to look back with rosy glasses on the past, highlighting positives and shrinking negatives, thats basic psychology of each of us. Looking back at period of ownership people mostly look at money made, not all that stress and time with just keeping some property in same state.

Middle grounds are apartments, very little maintenance compared to house&land, much lower costs, but also less privacy and less feeling of 'in my own'.

There is room for each approach, ie right out school locking oneself in specific place may not be the smartest idea. Maybe you will earn some money on sell but maybe also some much better opportunities and better life will be missed due to inflexibility. Freedom is invaluable, properties ownership tends to take some of it away.

[kamaal]

>>You will spend non-trivial amount of your time, energy and money just to keep it up

To up keep your home! You also pretty much up keep your rented home too. And at the end you spend to maintain other people's home.

>>Is that really how you want to spend some part of your me-time?

Most of the times its not that bad, you talk like you are on-call 24x7 throughout the year.

>>You are also locking yourself down at very specific place which may be a craphole in a decade, without good jobs around etc.

That's called stability, and that brings wealth and happiness. Honestly people look down upon these things, people use wrong words(lifer, coaster etc) to put down stability. In reality stability, with a predictable schedule is one of the best things that you do to your health, and overall life stability/happiness.

>>Also it will in normal cases vacuum your savings, degrading quality and fun in life in (at least) initial years after purchase - those are often the best years of one's remaining life.

This is mostly an assumption, in my experience the exact opposite is true.

>>People tend to look back with rosy glasses on the past, highlighting positives and shrinking negatives, thats basic psychology of each of us. Looking back at period of ownership people mostly look at money made, not all that stress and time with just keeping some property in same state.

Its always a bad idea to make any investment today, and you feel deep regret to have not made an investment 20 years back. Im not talking about real estate in specific, but even things like education, or exercise, look pointless and something you can do without today, but you wish you had done more or atleast started decades back.

>>Middle grounds are apartments, very little maintenance compared to house&land, much lower costs, but also less privacy and less feeling of 'in my own'.

You don't even own walls in a apartment, its like the worst of all the worlds.

[forgetfreeman]

You're ice-skating uphill trying to convince someone who's perfectly happy to spend their money on their landlord's retirement that there's a better way. The giveaway here is when someone makes home maintenance sound like residential construction is made of cheese. They don't have any idea what goes into maintaining a home, don't have the skills, and don't want to learn. The first time I encountered this particular flavor of willful ignorance I was absolutely certain that I was being subjected to some kind of elaborate practical joke. It took me a solid six months to come to terms with the fact that an otherwise educated and intelligent grown-ass man would keep his family stuck in an apartment for the rest of their lives for no other reason than a comprehensive misunderstanding of the financials and time requirements of home ownership.

[cratermoon]

There's a reason the phrase "money pit" is used to describe owning a house.

[forgetfreeman]

Typically by people that don't own their own home and never have. Most everyone else uses the term to describe renovation projects the owners lack the skills to complete (contractors are expensive) or boats. Seriously, how often do y'all think a house needs major repairs or renovation work in the course of 20 years?

[cratermoon]

It depends on how well the owner maintains the house. My dad spent some time nearly every weekend doing something around the house. He did nearly everything himself: painting interior and exterior, plumbing, appliance repair and installation, window frame adjustments. He even rolled out fiberglass installation in the attic, and in the process accidentally slipped off a joist and put his foot through the ceiling, but he fixed the drywall himself. About the only thing he didn't do himself was re-roof. I'm sure he saved a ton of money not paying contractors to do all that.

For someone who doesn't do upkeep, or can't afford competent contractors to do it, major repairs can happen any time, without warning.

[forgetfreeman]

> For someone who doesn't do upkeep, or can't afford competent contractors to do it, major repairs can happen any time, without warning.

We're in violent agreement here. Home ownership is unforgiving if you lack all ability and the willingness to learn. I'd like to believe that this level of learned helplessness is rare enough in the adult population that it shouldn't factor meaningfully into a discussion of major investment decisions like owning property.

[cratermoon]

> I'd like to believe

You'd like to believe in a fantasy that doesn't exist? There are netflix shows for that.

[jajko]

lol lets just say we disagree on practically everything :) to each their own

Just one point - there is no way ownership of some home brings actual happiness, you overload the term massively. Not only some theory, I simply never met such a person so that this would be actually valid. I've lived in 3 different cultures and talk about 100s of folks knowing well personally.

Although I've met quite a few folks that, by chasing the dream of some home in suburbs 'to have their own place' ruined their marriage often beyond repair, including happy childhood of their kids.

[kamaal]

>>Just one point - there is no way ownership of some home brings actual happiness, you overload the term massively.

There was this stock broking platform owner here in India who was going on Youtube for years and telling people to rent instead of buying.

Last year, his landlord showed him the door, and he had to vacate.

Even for the rich. Not being to able to continuously associate with a place. Not being able to modify the premises, not being able to keep the beautification they would have done to the premises or just being asked to leave without having any control over the place is grounds enough to own a place.

>>Although I've met quite a few folks that, by chasing the dream of some home in suburbs 'to have their own place' ruined their marriage often beyond repair, including happy childhood of their kids.

Their wife and kids will likely hate homelessness more. Some times you have to experience worse to value to these things.

Everytime food gets bland at home, I go fasting for a while. Suddenly the blandest salad tastes good.

You can talk to the sages modern or ancient. They will give you this one advice- Avoid the big problems, and things that can kill you. You can only go upwards from here.

[psunavy03]

Sure there's a way owning a home brings happiness . . . when you're ready to retire, you've paid off your mortgage, and then you can actually, you know, retire. As opposed to funding your landlord's retirement paying rent for the rest of your life.