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The title on the post itself (and the slug in the URL) is "Why I Am Never Going to Own a Home Again" (emphasis mine). In the article, the author states "there a

by gr366 16y ago

The title on the post itself (and the slug in the URL) is "Why I Am Never Going to Own a Home Again" (emphasis mine). In the article, the author states "there are many reasons to not buy a home," and the reasons are from his perspective, which presumably is what his friends are asking for. However, the title here on HN makes it sound like the author is suggesting nobody ever buy a home again — probably not his intent. Sure, there are numerous reasons for not buying a home just as there are numerous reasons for buying a home — it depends on your situation. I can personally relate to some of the author's arguments. Having rented out the house I bought 5 years ago while I'm living abroad, I'm essentially paying a 2nd rent to make up the difference between what I'm getting from my renter and the sum of my mortgage, taxes and homeowner's insurance.

zeroplus 16y ago
Read the article. The author is definitely saying nobody should buy a home again. He structured the article as advice using his own personal experience.
- gr366 16y ago
  Just because we had different interpretations, you shouldn't assume I haven't read the article. To me, there is a difference between saying: "From my personal experience, when my friends ask my advice, I present them these reasons for not buying a house," and: "Nobody should ever buy a house." If nobody bought a house, who would we rent from? Update: fixed spelling
  - billpaetzke 16y ago
    >If nobody bought a house, who would we rent from? James is saying: don't buy a home and make it your primary residence. He is fine with buying real estate (homes, condos, apartment buildings, REITs, etc) as investment properties. An added interpretation of mine: he assumes that you would have a property management company take care of the landlord duties for you. In the case of REITs, it's really hands off. Sources: By the way, this is going to sound like a contradiction: but I think housing is a great investment right now. I think housing prices have gone down far enough and I can list the reasons why housing as an abstract investment concept is going to go higher from here. - from the linked article Rather than spend $100-200k+ on a down payment for a house (which is like throwing money away since it is completely illiquid as long as you own the house) you can put that money in a portfolio of diversified REITS (REZ is an ETF of residential REITs, for instance) if you truly believe in housing. You can do it with some leverage as well if you believe in the idea (like 90% of Americans do) that you should leverage up 200% the single largest investment in your portfolio (your house). - from http://www.jamesaltucher.com/2010/02/never-own-a-home-again/ http://www.jamesaltucher.com/2010/02/never-own-a-home-again/
billswift 16y ago
Since the author is the one who submitted it, why should you think the title here says anything that is not "his intent"?

by gr366 16y ago

zeroplus 16y ago

Read the article. The author is definitely saying nobody should buy a home again. He structured the article as advice using his own personal experience.

gr366 16y ago
Just because we had different interpretations, you shouldn't assume I haven't read the article. To me, there is a difference between saying: "From my personal experience, when my friends ask my advice, I present them these reasons for not buying a house," and: "Nobody should ever buy a house." If nobody bought a house, who would we rent from? Update: fixed spelling
- billpaetzke 16y ago
  >If nobody bought a house, who would we rent from? James is saying: don't buy a home and make it your primary residence. He is fine with buying real estate (homes, condos, apartment buildings, REITs, etc) as investment properties. An added interpretation of mine: he assumes that you would have a property management company take care of the landlord duties for you. In the case of REITs, it's really hands off. Sources: By the way, this is going to sound like a contradiction: but I think housing is a great investment right now. I think housing prices have gone down far enough and I can list the reasons why housing as an abstract investment concept is going to go higher from here. - from the linked article Rather than spend $100-200k+ on a down payment for a house (which is like throwing money away since it is completely illiquid as long as you own the house) you can put that money in a portfolio of diversified REITS (REZ is an ETF of residential REITs, for instance) if you truly believe in housing. You can do it with some leverage as well if you believe in the idea (like 90% of Americans do) that you should leverage up 200% the single largest investment in your portfolio (your house). - from http://www.jamesaltucher.com/2010/02/never-own-a-home-again/ http://www.jamesaltucher.com/2010/02/never-own-a-home-again/

billswift 16y ago

Since the author is the one who submitted it, why should you think the title here says anything that is not "his intent"?