Re:Why the New American Real Estate Dream Is Renting
by dionidium on Saturday August 15, 2009 @04:07PM
(#765136)
This is so far from the truth that you couldn't possibly be doing anything but repeating something you've heard without independent verification.
If you have to borrow money, then you have to pay something akin to rent, except you pay it on the money borrowed, not the property itself. Second, under standard mortgage amortization schedules, nearly all of your early payments go toward interest (and by corollary, very little goes toward principal).
Length of ownership, prevailing interest rates, and potential maintenance costs should all be factored into a home-buying decision. It is far from obvious that owning is better than renting.
If you have to borrow money, then you have to pay something akin to rent, except you pay it on the money borrowed, not the property itself. Second, under standard mortgage amortization schedules, nearly all of your early payments go toward interest (and by corollary, very little goes toward principal).
Length of ownership, prevailing interest rates, and potential maintenance costs should all be factored into a home-buying decision. It is far from obvious that owning is better than renting.