irfubar,
My brother!
15 years ago it used to blow my mind listening to talk of equity.
Like it meant a dam thing. Was 5 years into a 15 hear mortgage that
followed me like a storm cloud. Had people telling me how I had so much
equity in my little house in a fancy pants neighborhood. How I could take that equity and add on.
"What they hell you talking about? Equity ain't nothing. Its the difference
between owning something, and owing more than it's worth! I'm trying to
have no dam debt, not get more. And if I sell, I have no where to sleep
until I buy another place. Then, I won't have money anymore."
Must be a space alien. You say this stuff to people, and they look at you
like a mule looking at a new gate.
Read the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Disagreed with some of his ideas, obviously. But one thing in the very beginning of the book was to list assets and liabilities. He then explained how your home is a liability. Not an asset.
How, even after you pay it off, you continually pour money into it.
Another thing on home prices. People who think the difference between
buying price and selling price is money made. Our house has easily doubled in price in twenty years, maybe more now. But at double, I'd be losing my ass.
Right off the bat, it cost thousands to do the deal.
Considering interest, you pay back 2+ times the borrowed money.
But hell, people like me would crash our economy.
You aren't crazy..... people have been conditioned to believe the narrative... congrats on being an independent thinker.....
My house has doubled in value the last few years and I see that as a bad thing
