Saturday, January 23, 2010

I Politely Disagree

I was very disheartened when I saw that this article made it to the front page of Yahoo today - Home Economics: The Hidden Costs of the 'American Dream' . And after reading the article all I had to say is horse poop!

Take my house, to rent my house and pay utilities on it would cost about $300 dollars more a month than what I currently pay in mortgage, taxes, insurance, utilities, and yard care.

On top of that, I have never ever ever ever thought "American Dream" of owning a home was about owning a "house", but was about owning a "home". In this case "house" and "home" are not interchangeable.

A "house" is a thing - a "home" is an idea, a place, a dream. Owning a home is about having some place in the world that belongs to you. About having your own little plot of earth. No matter how long you live in a rental it will never be 100% yours.

If it costs you more to own than to rent then maybe you bought above your financial means.

There are some cases when renting makes sense like if you live in an area where home prices are elevated or if you don't plan on staying in the area for long.

Buying a home isn't about making a financial investment, it's about making an investment in yourself and your life.

Okay, I've said my piece, I'll hush now.

1 comment:

Jayne said...

I agree with you completely!