Re: [C-L] affordable housing
From: Sharon Villines (sharonsharonvillines.com)
Date: Sat, 4 Jan 2020 15:57:49 -0800 (PST)
> On Jan 4, 2020, at 5:25 PM, Brian Bartholomew via Cohousing-L <cohousing-l 
> [at] cohousing.org> wrote:

> Let's count what it means to keep a house well-maintained: Re-roof
> every 20-30 years. Open the walls and re-plumb every 30-something
> years. New kitchen and washing appliances every 10 years. New
> heating and air conditioning appliances every 15 years. etc,

But if you rent you pay the same costs as rents rise. When you put an effort 
into a home you own, and the neighborhood increases in value, your property 
also increases in value. If you rent and don’t increase your income at the same 
rate, you have to move. You lose your neighbors and your sense of place.

Housing costs. The choice is whether you want to be building value or building 
someone else's value.

If you look at the rent/own calculator for those who already have a lot of 
disposable income or savings, investing that money in the market or even in 
rental property may very well put them ahead in the end. Particularly if you 
are a millionaire living in a rent controlled apartment.

The calculations that a person can rent for $1000 and put another $1000 or even 
$500 in the bank is not likely to be the case. Whether you pay the $1,000 in 
rent or pay it in interest on a mortgage makes a huge difference in time.

All of this assumes a good choice of real estate and no disasters in the 
housing market at the moment you have to sell to follow your job. But if you 
are renting you will have the same problem because landlords will raise their 
rents to cover their costs. You will move down the housing scale.

Some where there are estimates based real costs of owning a home in various 
price ranges.

Sharon
----
Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org





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