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Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!
Sadly it's never rent free though. Property tax is getting very high and will increase dramatically in the future. As well maintenance and upgrades will take their toll over time. Your capital counts for something too. Rent also increases so it's a wash there. But financially real estate really needs to go up a lot to make owning a financial success. Or you need to get income from it too.
I've held a mortgage on a house since 2008. The people bought it for 950k. It was just reappraised at 925k. They've paid off about 150k in mortgage and so are quite happy with the whole thing even though they are down 25k. But the real loss is around 250k in interest, 50k in property tax, about 25k in repairs and maintenance. Also their 250k down payment has to count for another 50k. It's just funny how some people calculate wins and losses.
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IMO, one of the biggest issues with owning is that people are buying the biggest home they can get their hands on and putting in the least down payment possible. In that way, they are paying a ridiculous amount of interest over the life of their mortgage. People need to spend time looking at their mortgage statements and the amount of interest per year vs focusing on whether they can meet their payment. IMO, it's almost like paying the minimum balance on a CC.
When my wife and I bought, we decided not to max our borrowings. We maximized our payment plans and made lump sum payments to drop the amortization years as much as the lender would allow. It makes way more sense to pay minimum payments when the mortgage is low and nearly done, and not at the beginning when you accrue the most interest.