Now I am no economic genius----they are all in the other Washington----and I certainly am no expert in the sales side of real estate either---even though I was a decent builder in my day. I read a statistic somewhere that claims that over the long haul, a home’s value stays relatively flat-----after adjustments for inflation and all that. So how did people get persuaded to jump on the “investment bandwagon?” Once on board though, it makes sense that they would now be so upset with the huge supposed loses that have resulted in the most recent downturn. Nobody likes to be a sucker. So if a house is not a good “investment” what is it and why would anyone buy one? Mainly because it is a “HOME.” (And that is not to say that a rental could not also be a home.) Here is a short list of what makes a house a home as opposed to an investment (I am sure you can think of other things to add and are encouraged to do so in your comments). 1. You can paint it whatever color you choose (in most cases). 2. You can remodel it any way you choose (with proper permits of course). 3. You don’t HAVE to mow the lawn or you can mow in either a diagonal or horizontal pattern (in most cases). 4. You can punch holes in the walls and you don’t HAVE to fix them (there is no damage deposit). 5. You can let the toilet leak until it falls through the floor. 6. Being able to fart at will. 7. You can change your own damn furnace filter. 8. You can turn your whole yard into a vegetable garden if you want (in most cases). 9. You can plant a cherry tree. 10. You can cut down that 40 foot tall tree that you are afraid the airplanes might hit. Now here are a few things that also make a house a home----although ownership is not required. And this list is also an “investment” albeit a more valuable asset than what “investment” has come to mean. 1. A place to chase the old lady or old man around in, which results in: 2. Having babies in them. 3. Raising babies in them (translate to: a place to change diapers and feel the babies smiles----not all smiles mean they have gas). 4. Fixing the windows the babies kick soccer balls through. 5. Sending the babies off to college or war. 6. Grieving the loss of a parent. 7. Grieving the loss of a child. 8. Grieving the loss of a spouse. 9. Divorcing the old lady or old man you chased around the house. 10. Discussing politics, religion and food. 11. A place to be a believer. 12. A place to be one that does not believe. 13. Thanksgiving Dinner. 14. Getting wasted (you pick your poison). 15. Watching television (could be included in #11) 16. A place to be sick. 17. A place to be taken care of when you are sick. 18. A place to care for sick people. 19. Eventually a place to change your own diaper; and finally: 20. Something to pass on to your kids (by then they will KNOW it is not a “monetary investment” but is actually their own personal money-pit---but they will take it for the memories). When all is said and done----a home becomes a collection of memories that gets embedded in the structure of the house that forms its character over time----a social investment that can be read in the worn floors, the nicked door jambs and the stains on the ceilings. Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector
I think that one of the things that went horribly wrong a while back (hard to pinpoint an exact starting point) was when people started thinking of their houses as “investments.”
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Love this, some of the points made me chuckle. I'm sure this was intentional;)
Hey Charles, this is good stuff...I love the list...Enjoy the day.
Charles, I like this one! It really does take some funny stuff to make a house a home!
So true.
its the memories that truly make a home
Good or bad
Enjoy the day
Erika, chuckles are good :)
Ernie, thanks---glad you liked it
Pat, and that is the "Days of our lives" :)
Don, it really does take both and everything in between
Funny list - but lots of truth!! And definitely true that thinking of a house more as an ATM than a home did NOT lead to good things!
Hi Charles,
Thank you for the list and making me smile, oh and it is sunny in Seattle, hooray!
Nancy, no more ka-ching ka-ching
Sharon, you are welcome, but it is much worse than that----it is warm too!:)
We are renting right now. I wanted to buy last year but somehow being self employed makes that tough. I prefer to own as it provides a sense of stability.
#21 a place, from which, to blog.
Gene, I hear you. I also know people that rent for the security and the freedom of having their weekends:)
Alan, stupid me----how could I forget that one! Perhaps #6 on the first list covers that.
ooh... you're right... very close.
Hi Charles, great post. I think you might teach Alan Greenspan something on true economics with this theory. Very funny! Thanks for posting.
Just a place to put any extra money. Safe where I can't spend it on tools, etc.
Alan, I thought so
Dale, you think? :)
Jack, if the recent downturn has shown anything, it is that there is no "ultimately" safe place to put your money. Add illness, accident, divorce, and bankrupcy into the mix and that is a for sure.
Charles - Great list. Strangely, it was government interference that caused consumers to view houses as good investment vehicles--and for one brief shining moment they were. But your list shows the true value of homes; and that is never measured in dollars.
When my little girl was about 5, she said that she knew the difference between a house and a home. And then she came out with this line: "A house is just a building. A home has love in it."
An investment is just a commodity. A home is all the things you mentioned in this post.
You thought it through nicely, Charles. Lots of good thoughts are here.
Hi Charles, I think Craig's daughter summed it up. I would add that you can have the only key to your own place. Many moons ago when I was a renter, the Landlord had a key to the place too. jay
Charlie,
I have a number of different investments, stocks and houses and I like to be diversified. While my house, in itself, is not what I consider to be an investment, my rental properties have been very solid over the years and rents pay for my house and the rentals and also the total value, even in a depressed market, looks pretty decent on financial statements. I am not ready to count real estate out.
John, it seems so to me as well
Craig it would be interesting to know which comodities gain the most value over time.
Barbara, thanks
Jay, ah yes the key----too true
Steven, but this is only a "wannabe" depressed market :)
I like getting wasted...
Very kindly,
Croakster
This is a great list, thanks for the laugh and the reminder that a house is more importantly the place where we live our lives.
Buell - You nailed it, my friend. "Being able to fart at will." is where I will have to disagree, though. Ever since Jennifer moved in, that luxury has gone out the window ... literally, at times.
Michael, it happens
Croakster, indeed
Christa, thanks---glad you liked it
Jason, you will have to trust me on this----but in time you will get this luxury back ;)
Charles...your post made me reflect on when people starting abandoning the stock market and switching over to Real Estate for investment purposes. Now here's a thought....if we cannot trust the stock market or Real Estate for a quick buck, what next..........drug deals?
Thank you
Richie---way more lucrative----unless you get caught and then you have to balance it against all those years in jail----wait a minute though----you can still invest from there :)
Charles, good post. It is amazing how many customers are buying because they think they are getting a "steal" rather than buying what they want to live in as a Home.
Ha!! Great blog. Reading this made me laugh this morning
Ted thanks, sort of understandable with "investors" but I think if you are going to live in it one should look at a house more as a home.
Chris, thanks---always going for the laughs :)
Charles,
You are so right about a home. Your points are well taken and we appreciated your humor...Thanks for the laughts, have a great weekend.
Charles, As you say a home is more than an investment, It is a necessity to have a roof over your head, rental or owned. The memories that are in a house is what makes it a home. Great post:)
Ron & Alexandra, thanks---glad you had a good laugh. What's a weekend?
Dennis, as a builder this is one thing that always concerned me. What can I do to have the house have "history" even though it was new? You know, that distressed furniture look? Can't really be done---but was a useful exercise nonetheless.
Very funny, Charles. And cleaver as well.
charles as usual you hit the nail on the head and made me smile too. This post is a reminder for me to check in more often when time permits! Happy Friday:)
Ana
Charles, Love this post! I have been thinking recently . . .why is it that people can spend $50,000 on a vehicle and have it depreciate to nearly nothing in ten years and be o.k. with that? But if their $200,000 house goes down to $150,000, it is the end of the world! At least the house still has the chance of regaining its value and is still functioning for its intended purpose!
Bill, thanks
Ana, I always love it when you show up---glad to help you smile.
Valerie, these are great points you make as well----indeed perplexing. Thanks for subscribing by the way.
wry
fun
interesting
Charles:
Greatness right there! However around here half your freedoms would be stopped by the HOAs...
Vince thanks
Brent---for sure---gotta love them HOA's---someone should do a post on some of the strange rules some of them have:)
My wife works at the prosecutor's office and lots of the drug dealers, probably the least professional ones, end up in the slammer. They have even caught retiring school teachers with cars full of BC bud at the border. That is one way to get some free housing right after retirement I guess.
Nice post Charles! You are so right. Thanks for sharing and making us all think in a humorous way. As a fellow home inspector in North Texas, I am sure you are a credit to our profession. God Bless.
Steve----not my approach :)
David thanks
You're right about your list of reasons to buy a home. Everyone has their own reasons, it's just that most people don't realize them until much later.
I would say that it is still an investment... The interest (the part that you aren't recapturing after inflation and adjustments) is likely less than rent for the same property... over the long haul. When you get 15 years into a purchase, the payment for the house hasn't risen appreciably, but rents likely HAVE increased.
Eric, that is my experience as well.
Lane, I hear you but the reality for most homeowners is that they often refinance a gazillion times to get the equity to pay for any number of things from boats to doctors bills and divorce lawyers-----any of which can trash any equity and will result in higher mortage payments as well.
A house is a home, not an investment. I have a listing where the sellers lived there for over 10 years. They are upset that the current market value is below what they have paid for the house + put into it. I told them the lived there and were happy for over 10 years. It is not an investment but a place to live.
I enjoyed this post and I always say there is a house for everyone, that someone can make their own home!
Erica, I think this holds very true---especially over the long life of the home---not just the short time we may own it and make or loose a dime on it. Over the long haul the value as an "investment" supposedly stays flat. Like you said: "It is not an investment but a place to live."
Marilyn we all need to make wherever we are our "home," it is what nurtures us no matter what we may be doing with our lives.
I have yet to find a full-size home that I could afford on my celery.
Nutsy
Nutsy, you might actually be good IN celery soup
It took me until #6 before I went "....waaaaaait a minute" I haven't had my morning cup of tea yet and I'm moving slow. I intend to slip something like this into my buyer's packets to see if they actually read what I give them! Thanks for the morning chuckle.
Angela, you are welcome:)
Great post. I'm working on quite a few of those items right now.
Reuben, just be careful not to abuse #6 :)
A "home" changes with the occupants. My first house was for me, myself and I. It had a distinctively male aura. Then I met my wife and the feel changed dramatically! My second house was purchased as home for me, my wife and children. This place has a entirely different feel from house #1.
#21 A place to make music (or something that remotely sounds like it), draw, paint, sing and dance.
Jim, your #21 is excellent----huge oversight on my part :)
Charles, the serial refinancers don't mean that the underlying property isn't a good investment, it means they mismanaged it. Same goes for a person that churns stocks... It doesn't mean that stocks are a poor investment, just that the 'investor' is poor at managing the investment.