Do you own or rent your home?

Marion

Sun, Mar 18 2007, 9:53 am

I think it was mentioned, but in Israel it is accepted that you pay Arnona (municipal) tax, even if you're renting and the property is not in your name. You also pay "common fees" for the maintenance of the building, so even if you don't own you have these expenses. Our arnona for double the space comes out for two months to what we used to pay in Jerusalem for one month.

shanie5

Sun, Mar 18 2007, 10:46 am

happyone wrote:

Anyone that have a mortgage ever figure out how much they're paying a year in mortgage interests??

I just looked at my end of year total on interest payment and was in shock! shock

So yes, we do own over half of our home - the bank owns the rest, and in addition to our monthly mortgage payments which are "going into my own house", I just realized how many thousands go down the tube in interest payments.
Basically a house is great only once your mortgage is paid up.
Big problem is, the real estate is at its peak at least in the tri state area. Houses in Boro Park are 700k and above for what squash calls glorified bungalows. Even if you have 200k as a down payment you're left with a 500,000 mtg. which is beyond insane. In that case, I would rather rent than pay a mortgage for the rest of my life.

you can pay off your house years earlier if you pay one extra mortgage payment per year with a note in it saying to put it towards the principal of the mortgage. that will lower your 'loan' and lower the interest and w/ a 30 yr mortgage, you can be paid off in 25 yrs.

mimsy7420

Sun, Mar 18 2007, 11:36 am

happyone wrote:

Anyone that have a mortgage ever figure out how much they're paying a year in mortgage interests??

I just looked at my end of year total on interest payment and was in shock! shock

Yes, but you also have something called equity.
A lot of money does go to interest, but at least something is going towards the principle, whereas with renting you throwing every last penny into the nowhere.

MommyLuv

Sun, Mar 18 2007, 12:25 pm

BH we were able to buy a small starter home, 3 bedrooms, 1.5 bath, 1700 square feet, and paid less than the price of a tiny 1 bedroom condo in Brooklyn. It was the best decision we made. Exclamation

HealthCoach

Sun, Mar 18 2007, 10:30 pm

We were waiting a few years (>5) to buy a house, but prices kept going up and up, and we were trying to save. Finally prices have stabilized, and even dropped a bit. We were supposed to start looking in January. I guess our priorities have shifted from all those years of not looking. We don't have as much time as we used to, and not much has been done for our house search yet.

southernbubby

Sun, Mar 18 2007, 10:37 pm

In our neighborhood, some Jews bought up some apartment buildings and turned them into condos. They are selling very cheaply and do not have all of the usual problems of home ownership. For example, when it snows, the condo admin clears the walks and takes care of the lawn and the weeds. There is a lovely courtyard for children to play in and there is going to be a shul on premises. It isn't a ton of space so large families would have to learn how to make the most of a little bit of space. It is very close to the day schools, shuls and the kosher store.