On Tue, 21 Apr 2015 22:01:48 -0400, wrote:

On Tue, 21 Apr 2015 21:02:41 -0400, krw wrote:

On Tue, 21 Apr 2015 12:46:49 -0400, "dadiOH"
wrote:

wrote:
A house has a much better chance of being a "good investment" than a
vehicle, for sure||
You need to look at what it would cost to rent "the same"
accomodation, buying too much house is seldom a good investment.
Buying good basic shelter USUALLY is.

I've been in this house 34 years this June. Paid $65K-ish for it.
It's worth $350K-ish today. Spent another 3\$35,000 more or less on
renovations and repairs and $50,000 more or less on taxes. Renting a 3
bedroom family home when I bought was over $800 per month here - over
$2500 today.
Utility costs would have been similar

Rent would have amounted to well over $500,000 for the duration and I
would not have an assett at the end.

Comes out about 4 times the cost to rent. Can't beat that as an
"investment" - even IF the house had not appreciated one cent over the
34 years

General "words of wisdom" in real estate are, "Rent where you live, own what
you rent".

That seems contradictory but it means rent where you live so you have
capital to buy rentals...let the rental income pay the mortgage, taxes, etc.
Suppose you buy a rental house worth 150,000 with, say, 15K down and a few
years later you sell it for $180,000. ROI is 200%.

...and if you live in it (two years out of five) that ROI is tax free.
There once was a time when this was a foolproof plan. Not so much
anymore.

But there are better deals. House next to me sits on 12 acres purchased for
60K or so in 1996. The buyer put a prefab garage (modified into a 1 bedroom
house) on it and added a 28K prefab barn elsewhere on the property. He sold
all 6-7 years later for $287,000. That buyer was foreclosed upon in the
fall of 2013 for 51K. An investor bought it from the bank for 40K and sold
it a few months later for 133K. THAT's making money

Sure, sometimes you just can't lose. ...until you do.
In the USA you have the added benefit that your mortgage interest is
tax deductible (on your primary residence? or any?)

Any residence, with some restrictions at the very top end. The
mortgage interest deduction applies to vacation homes, including boats
and RVs, as well. Of course interest on rental property is deductible
as a business expense, as well.