Reply to a comment  Reply to this comment  contrarian writes:
in response to spades:  It's a good financial move if you feel
reasonably confident that you'll live in that home for the next
20 years. Besides the maintenance issues, you're stuck with that
house. What if the neighborhood becomes less desirable and
drives down property values? What if you need to move for a job
and all of the sudden your only choice is to not take the job or
take a loss on the house?  Let's say it does appreciate in the
short term as well. Big deal. You're spending a fortune on
closing costs and while everyone loves to think that their
mortgage payment is now going towards a house that they own
rather than rent, people just don't understand how much of their
payment is going towards the interest during the first half.
Have you seen an amortization scale? Your principle doesn't
decrease by any significant amount for the first several years.
I'm not saying that owning a home is a bad thing but it
certainly isn't the only choice l