Homeownership is a Privilege

What beautiful homes for the price of a starter condo in our market. You could put a 1 in front of all your asking prices here. Home ownership in your area is very affordable.

Loreena - I don't think people recognize the fact that homeownership is a privilege, not a right or entitlement.  I still remember planning and saving for our first home.  There wasn't anything like interest only loans or 100% financing.  We had to put down 10% and rates where 7 or 8%.  In short, we had to be ready and prepared for homeownership.  We also had mortgage insurance so we paid down the loan as fast as possible to get down to 80% LTV.

I agree.  Home ownership is a privilege.  When I purchased my first home, I put 20% down and my rate was around 8%. 

Mine first rate was at 18% and I felt lucky to get it.  25% down was required too.

Owning you are right Loreena is a privilege and responsibility for sure. Big advantage is your control of your domicile and tax benefits. Negatives are financial risk with loss in value, lack of liquidity for your money, and the inability to possibly sell at YOUR price "quickly." Renting has advantages of being able to move fast but BIG negatives on lack of tax advantages, control of decorating the property, rising rents, and maybe just never feeling like it is HOME, as you said borrowing. Timeframe in how long you will stay there and where you are in life with moving and your income are key deciding factors of which is better. I ALWAYS tell all people ONE is not necessarily always better than the other. The answer is IT DEPENDS!!

Loreena - you are so right.  Our society has become one of entitlement and instant gratification.  It's time we got back to basics.

Hi Loreena,

So very true. And your statement about  "When banks have to seize properties back in foreclosure, no one wins..." you are so right, it imacts everyone, and it's not always about finances.

At this point I wonder how some of the "children of foreclosure" will be impacted years from now?  I can tell you personally it's something that my own father never got over.

Good food for thought. And I don't think you're stepping on any toes. You clearly differentiated the differences in who you were addressing. This is a good one!

Hi Loreena... sadly, what you describe reflects a societal econiomic concern that extends beyond housing.  We, as a society, have combined a sense of entitlement (where everything is perceived to be a right) with our need for immediate gratification for every urge or desire.  What ever happened to saving up IN ADAVANCE or layaway for big ticket items so that our spending was done responsibly?  Instead, as a society, we have grown accustomed to over extending ourselves and expecting to be bailed out for our poor spending habits when things take a bad turn.