[QUOTE="mattbbpl"][QUOTE="Crystal-Rush"]Rent money is dead money. You should start thinking about the long term in home ownershipCrystal-Rush
I'm a fan of home ownership, but it's not always that easy of an evaluation. A lot of money paid every month is "dead money" as well (insurance, property taxes, maintenance, etc). There's definitely an upside to renting, just as there's an upside to home ownership. That's why i said "long term". It is not something that can be taken easily, and without some considerable thought and planning. Home ownership is probably the way to go just because housing has fallen so much. But even now it's not so cut and dry. It's only an OPTION if you are looking to stay in an area for 5+ years IMHO, if you buy a house then need to move after a year or two it can be financially devastating.
Your suggestion for home ownership would have been a miserable failure if suggested 2006 though. even if people did put lots of thought into it and planned on staying forever the forces of the housing market were against them. Houses where I live that were going for $500,000 are now under $200,000. So people that took mortgages out on houses like that are all no longer making payments, foreclosing, ruining their credit, etc. Either that or they are sitting on hundreds of thousands of losses while continuing to make payments they can probably barely afford.
Owning a home can be hella expensive in it's own right even assuming your principial value remains stable. Closing costs right off the top are basically a year's rent or more. Some homes (nicer ones) are in HOA's that can go from $200-$1000+ a month just for HOA dues. Property taxes on a $200,000 home can be $2000 a year or more. Maintenance aint cheap either (especially in Florida if you have alot of landscaping to maintain) Bare minimum you proably sacrificing 2 years worth of rents in a for each time you transact on a home and then combine those incidental expenses of owning a home...
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