Why are Americans so obsessed with home ownership?

[cartman94501]

There are three things I'm good at: Windows system administration and general computer-related things, loving my wife and cat, and crossword puzzles. There are a number of other things I'm not that good at (if "good at" is even applicable) but enjoy, such as reading, TV, movies, games, etc. Construction, home repair, plumbing electrical work, and

Comments

[lexica510]

I read somewhere - and need to try to track down - an article arguing that the standard "you should own, not rent" maxim only holds true for business property, and makes no sense when discussing one's home.

I YEARN for a "now where did I read that???" button on my keyboard...

[cartman94501]

That's very interesting. I would think it would be even less important for business property. If you do discover that article, I'd love to see it. Thanks for reading. I plan to post more of these "Here's what I've been thinking about lately" sorts of articles.

[hitchhiker]

from an outsider's perspective:

- americans are pretty horrible about taking care of the homeless

- likewise (statistically) the older generation

- inflation can wipe out your savings, so you might not be able to afford rent indefinitely once you retire

- but if you own a house at least you'll always have somewhere to live

[cartman94501]

You make some good points. Americans have a deep-seated contempt for the poor. After all, we're a rich country, so if you're poor, there must be something wrong with you, or at the very least, you've let down the side. I think this attitude is reprehensible even though I often catch myself having it.

I'm not sure I agree with your assertion about the older generation. Most old people are far richer than most young people. In fact, we tax the crap out of young people to subsidize old people, and as the population ages, that's only going to get worse. After all, old people vote, and young people are disproportionally nonvoters and non-citizens. As a (with luck) future old person, I'm not sure how much I want the system to change, but as a numerate person, I fear it might have to.

Inflation might wipe out your savings, but it might also wipe out your ability to pay your property taxes, in which case the house you own outright gets seized by the taxing authorities. Currently we enjoy extremely low inflation, though of course this can

[hitchhiker]

by not taking care of the older generation, i meant their family. coming from india, one hears horror stories about old people in america being left to fend for themselves by uncaring kids. (having lived in america, i know that's not as prevalent as the stereotypes make it out to be, but still, the basic fear is better-founded than it would be in countries with more of an extended-family culture).

also, i didn't know property taxes were so high that paying them could be as great a hardship as paying rent (that's certainly not the case in india!). my personal preference is definitely for renting, but i can see the fear of growing old and not having a roof over one's head.

[cartman94501]

Cultural norms certainly vary around the world, but one can make a plausible argument that one shouldn't exhaust one's own resources caring for one's parents when one has children of one's own to raise, educate, etc. The American model is that you save your money and retire only when your savings and Social Security (public pension) are enough to live on. After all, children didn't ask their parents to have them, so the idea that you own your parents some sort of compensation for raising, feeding, and sheltering you is far from axiomatic. If they didn't want to do this, they shouldn't have had children.

I know that sounds cold, and I certainly would never have let my mother become homeless or do without basic needs if I could help it (fortunately, she was quite well off and even left me a moderate sum), but if I had children of my own to support, the reality might have been quite different. Gone are the days when even one middle-class income is sufficient to raise a family and provide for an uncertain future.

Property taxes vary

[melsky]

I'm a real estate agent who does sales and rentals in Syracuse, NY. Here it's generally a lot cheaper to buy a place than to rent - even with insurance and taxes. I've been working mostly in property management for the past 2 years and a lot of the property owners are making a very good return. If people are just going to be here for a few years it's probably still better to rent

[cartman94501]

The control thing is definitely something I hadn't taken into account. Our most recent landlords (1999-2004) got divorced and sold the property to someone who threw out all the tenants and made the into a single-family residence. Had we still been living there, we would have had to find a new place. Inconvenient, sure, as I hate moving, but we were ideal tenants (high income, low whining) and would have had no trouble finding a new rental. Had we been elderly or poor, it would have been much more difficult, but the poor generally find life a lot harder.

Having fixed housing costs is nice. The flip side, of course, is that if you need to have your housing costs go down because you find yourself, as Jane Austen might say, "in reduced circumstances," it's a lot harder to sell than to give up a rental move to a cheaper place or city.

I think the "money in the toilet" attitude comes from three fallacies: (1) that people who buy houses put all or most of their housing payments into building equity (in fact they pay a lot of interest and

[webmacher]

I read a great article the other day about how homeownership was overrated for a number of reasons. Now where did I find it?!? Maybe it was this one: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/22/AR2010082202273.html

We own our house, but yeah, there are drawbacks - we have no mobility. That's fine for me - I'm so deeply rooted in the Bay Area it would be hard for me to move - but most people (including my husband) would like a bit more flexibility in our options.

On the other hand, it's very hard to rent a house - all too often, the landlord wants it back for him/herself or for a relative. And I didn't love living in rental apartments after a while. I wanted a place I could really make my own. But I've never looked at buying a house as a money-making proposition - just the security of knowing I wouldn't have to move for a while!

[cartman94501]

Lack of mobility is a significant drag on the economy. I've lived here for 22 years, like it a lot, and don't really plan to leave, at least not permanently, but if Amy and I were both chronically unemployed and good jobs awaited us elsewhere, leaving would make sense. There are a lot of people struggling right now who could be keeping their heads above water if they could get out of their house.

Renting a house is definitely harder than renting an apartment for all the reasons you mention. But in a system whereby professional investors owned most or all of the housing stock and ordinary people just rented it from them, there would probably be more choice of rental properties. Personally, I don't mind apartment living, but it's not for everyone.

[webmacher]

I just tried looking for rental homes in Oakland on Craigslist to look for comparables and there were very few houses - mostly apartments!

[cartman94501]

I don't doubt it. Alameda seems to have more houses for rent, or at least it did when we were thinking of moving out of our rental to a cheaper one if the landlord didn't lower our rent (2002, I think). Fortunately, he was smart and market-savvy and did lower our rent, so we didn't move until we bought our house.