By What Age Should Someone Own/Have Bought a House?

It's difficult to feel like you own a home nowadays because of property taxes and insurance. Both of which have been going up a lot lately.

As the posts on this thread indicate, there are advantages and drawbacks to both owning one's home/residence and renting. But one thing I'll say I know for sure. I've never met a homeowner who wished they were renting instead of owning. 'NEVER'!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And that's a fact.

Unless you are underwater in negative equity because you took on an ARM and a HELOC and interest rates went to the moon.
And the bank calls your note and its jingle mail time. And a forced sale causes you lose every penny of equity you put in for the last 10 years, and you still owe the bank a bundle. And you cannot discharge the debt under bankruptcy.

No, I personally have not heard that either in quite those words. If owning matters to them and think rent is a waste of money, then they won't like the idea of renting no matter what. It is a matter of pride and principle. Moving from house to an apartment can be considered a downgrade to some due to smaller space and no more ownership. However, a lot of homeowners experience buyer's remorse because costs eat up thier savings and because of other issues. There are some who wish they never bought their home, but they may still not prefer renting as a matter of principle.

In Texas property taxes are very high due to no state income tax.

My wife has been a homeowner since the age of 18, but I first became a homeowner at the age of 65 when we purchased our current home in Tennessee in 2020.

Got a 30-year mortgage so it is unlikely that either one of us will live long enough to pay it off. Of course, we put down a large down payment and, as a result, are paying 60% for mortgage (including escrow, insurance) than previously for our townhome in Florida.

Since purchasing the home in Dec 2020, the house appraised value has increased by 40%+. Have no regrets whatsoever on this home purchase.

I live in Tennessee which does not have a state income tax either, but the property tax is much lower than our previous home in Florida, which doe does not have a state income tax either.

Homeowners insurance is much lower too than Florida. Of course, the reason for that is because Florida has hurricanes, which has been the cause of skyrocketing insurance rates. We got out of Florida just in time.

They might not want to rent, but I've known several people who feel trapped in a home they can't afford and it doesn't fit their needs because they rushed into buying, or are paying out the nose for what they find is a money pit, and don't feel they can afford to move anywhere else.

I've also known some people who thought they'd make a killing when they sold, but actually wound up losing money.

It really does seem to be a very individual situation.

I'd rather choose renting and remain debt free than take on a lifetime of debt for the massive costs to buy a house in my current location.

Right now I'm caught up on all my debts; unfortunately most home owners
today will likely never be.

An illiquid asset with huge impediments, risks, fees and taxes in bad market conditions.
In a roaring market RE is the bomb and sells like hot buttered pancakes smothered with real maple syrup.

Hubby and I lived in an apartment when we got married. Our goal was to get a house, but it was challenging for us to find something here within our budget, and for some reason, we didn’t want to live in a manufactured home. Guess where we live now? Lol We would probably still be in an apartment if we didn’t need more space ❤️.

Single family dwellings during the quarantines went sky high because of a lack of construction and increased demand. Multi family dwellings also were in demand for the same reason but not as much. All ultimately stemming from a lack of lumber and backups at the docks from the train debacle.

When demand is low and supply is high you buy....when demand is high and supply is low you sell.

Currently multi family dwellings are in higher demand because of rising interest rates. Nobody can afford to buy. And with the banking crisis it's not looking good to get one. Banks have tightened lending to homebuyers. A LOT. (We apparently squeaked in before the hammer fell)

That's investing....
But a home is more than an investment....it's your home...where you live. Your castle of refuge when the world has beaten you up. A place of relaxation after traveling.

A home can be either a blessing or a curse depending upon finances. And you have to allow for life's emergencies when they happen. (Water heaters don't announce ahead of time) Storms come and blow down trees through windows. Pipes can freeze.
A LOT of stuff needs to be bought when you own a home....lawnmowers, trash cans, garden hoses. Weedeaters, and all kinds of furniture. Apartments are about economizing space....houses aren't. Different kind of lifestyle....one that includes gardens.

Mobile homes on private lots retain value well because the land itself helps retain value. If the mobile home is in a park, the value will decrease rapidly.
The quality of mobile homes in the past left much to be desired. Today, you can buy modular homes that rival stick built quality.

Maybe it is different in your country but here in the US, when you can't make the payments on your home the bank puts the home in foreclosure (they seize ownership of the property and evict the homeowner), and then they put it up for auction in order to recover what they can to make up for the loss of the failed loan.

And you pay the difference......

At today's prices I don't know how people can afford to buy an a new home unless they are a married couple where both are making a very good income. I loosely follow the real estate market and I don't know how or why but the RE market has been positive for so long now and it doesn't make sense when hardly anyone can afford a home. Even one tv news reporter here admitted that her and her husband want to buy a new home but can't afford it even with both of them making decent incomes. The only thing I can think of is what's happening in my particular area which is in southern california. A lot of well-to-do foreigners are buying up the homes here. I don't have a problem with it since they're mostly asian so I fit right in, but it seems like foreigners are the ones buying up all the homes.
That's only if the lender decides to sue you for the leftover balance after the auction sale. Some states forbid lender's from suing if the foreclosed property was the homeowner's primary residence.

The housing market does fluctuatei, with the last downturn occurring during the financial crisis of 2008. But since then it's been on a long term bull run, with no let up.

Despite the high price of home ownership, people are still desperate to be home owners. Over the last 14 years, I've watched the list price of my residence/condo quadruple. Despite this, whenever a unit in my area comes up for sale, the prospective buyer needs to bid at least 10% above the asking price, otherwise they won't be considered. Bidding is fierce and all home sales move within 30 days of listing.

Thank you for bringing this up, Zero.

This is a major reason as to why I'm reluctant to buy a house in my current location, let alone a fleet of rentals. It brings up another good topic -- how normal should debt be, and how much debt should be considered normal?

I know debt is impossible to avoid, but I've finally got to a point where I don't have any student loans or car payments left. I understand the point of buying a home and building equity, but I also see it as legally agreeing to allow a bank to put a giant noose around my neck. And the more properties I would try to buy (even if I had the money to do so, lol,) would just be all the more nooses I would be piling on.

And what is becoming of all the landlords now in the aftermath of covid, when the government said it was ok for people to not pay their rent? I'm not trying to be insensitive to anyone who lost their job and couldn't pay, but there's always a trickle-down effect. The landlords rely on that income for their own livelihood as well, so what happens when it comes to a screeching halt? I sure wouldn't want to own, say, 5 rentals and then not have anyone paying anything on any of them for even one month, let alone an extended amount of time.

Even the Bible says the the borrower is servant to the lender. Right now, I'm not a slave to any bank or institution, and it's a good feeling. I don't have to worry about anyone coming and taking something away from me because I missed the payments. The costs I would otherwise spend on a house (taxes, HOA, landscaping, maintenance) all go into investing for the future instead.

I know it sounds crazy, but now that I've experienced something different, I even hate the psychological burden alone of being in debt.

As has been mentioned before, I really do think the rent vs. own debate is highly individual. I'm in a situation right now where I like knowing that I can literally be there for friends and family in a relatively short amount of time. I don't have to worry about how long it will take for a house to sell.

My situation has been very fluid over the past several years, and I've come to rely on the flexibility when family members had surgery or other issues where they needed me to move to be with them. Perhaps it's one of the reason God has kept me single.

Funny thing -- none of us who have answered this thread have attempted to answer the original question of what age a person should be looking at buying or owning a home. But I appreciate the discussions we have going, as I think it's been very informative for most everyone.

One of the reasons I've been open about stating my own position is because I want other singles to know it's ok to be in a different position or of a different mindset than everyone else around them. Buying and maintaining a home is a lot harder when it's just one person doing it.

Not all of us might be cut from a potential home-owning cloth, and that's ok.

After all, God has individual callings and directions for each of us.

How does it work in Canada if someone can't make the payments on a home?

I'd be interested in hearing how this is handled in other countries, especially since more and more people here in the USA are going into foreclosures because they are finding out that they bought a house during the bull market that they actually can't afford.

I have a friend whose parents did this, and paid a lot more than they should have because of low supply and high demand. He told me they now call him in tears all the time because they have discovered that in the long run, they can't afford it.

Worse yet, they don't even like the house very much -- they just wanted to quick grab a house during all the hype so that they "wouldn't miss out."

First the banks extend the amortization period to 35 years (fully 1/3 of mortgages in Canada have had this happen already - HUGE RED FLAG). This destroys any hope of building equity, as interest-only costs skyrocket. Then, if interest rates continue to climb, a tipping point is reached, where your monthly payment (which does not change) does NOT cover the interest-only part of the payment.

Then the bank may have to take action.......reluctantly. They do not want jingle mail if they can avoid it.

But the REAL kicker is that in Canada, the vast majority of mortgage comes up for renewal every 5 years. If property values plummet, and you do not have enough equity in the home, and have a huge HELOC.....you will have huge negative equity. The bank may DEMAND the $$$difference$$$ before renewal/refi, driving you into bankruptcy.

How many people can pony up $200,00K to cover the difference in such an emergency? When your monthly costs were sucking 80% of your cash flow?

Thank you so much for this in-depth reply!

I think issues like this are VITALLY important to talk about during these discussions.

I've always heard the "Buy a home; build equity!" persuasion as if it were gospel when it comes to buying vs. renting, but NO ONE seems to talk about the realities of what happens when things go wrong. Especially since, as you pointed out, more and more people are finding themselves in trouble.

And I have to wonder if this is part of the reason why -- because people are often only given the rosy picture of owning a home (because it's been ingrained into our way of thinking for so long?)

I'm sure it might be wonderful for some, but very few people seem to lay out the realities of what happens when things don't go as planned (job loss, pay cuts, rising costs, etc.) and they fall behind on the payments, or find out they are in way over their heads.