Owning a home is one of the most popular goals out there. Everyone wants to own their own home. They want to buy this home, and they want it to be theirs. They don’t want to rent a house or anything of that sort. Instead, they want to own it completely.
If you look at all of the advertising and media that is out there, you’ll see this desire reflected over and over. Buying a house isn’t just a popular goal; it’s considered a rite-of-passage, as well as a necessary step in entering adulthood and growing up.
For most people, buying a house is just one of those accepted ideas that they don’t think about. It doesn’t come across as something that needs to be thought about or considered, because everyone does it, and it is such a well-accepted idea in our culture.
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Here’s the thing, though, buying a house is great and all, but there are quite a few reasons not to buy a house. Especially when you consider the world that we live in, the fragile housing market, and the general practicality and feasibility of buying a house.
Many people would be better off not buying a house. You might be one of those people. In this guide, we’re going to look at some of the main reasons why you shouldn’t buy a house, and then at the end of the guide, we’re going to propose an obvious, but important, alternative to buying a house.
Why Shouldn’t I Buy A House?
The most obvious reason not to buy a house is that houses are expensive. Chances are, you’ve gone online, you’ve walked around the neighborhood, and you have a pretty good idea of what the average house is going for. And, you know that those houses are not selling at an inexpensive price, they’re selling at a very high price and buying that house, you are going to have to do a couple of things.
Naturally, you’re going to need to make a down payment. Usually, this down payment is quite large but nowhere near as large as the actual cost of the house. Instead, this down payment is but a fraction of what the house is selling for, but the down payment lets you get your foot in the door.
Then, you’re going to need to take out a mortgage. Mortgages can be wise choices if you know that the home you are buying is going to be the home you will stay in for a very long period. And, we’ll get into this a little later. But, at the same time, mortgages can be very dangerous, because if you fail to pay back that mortgage following the schedule that has been laid out for you, that creates even more debt, than the debt you owe from the mortgage that you took out. And, when this debt compounds, it becomes somewhat inescapable. Along with that, since many homeowners also have student loan debt, when you add up these two sources of debt, it can become a huge burden that isn’t worth undertaking, at that time.
When someone buys a house, they buy that house with the intention of “settling down”. More often than not, this is the case. However, more and more people are choosing not to “settle down”, because the job market is so fragmented, that it can be very difficult to find stable and secure work, in any one place. Most homeowners only own their homes for a couple of short years, and this is because job scarcity is a very real thing, and with all of the changes taking place within the job market, it’s not particularly uncommon for a wife and husband to lose their jobs, and need to pack up somewhere else, to go where there are opportunities.
To put it simply, opportunities are a bit more scarce in today’s job market, and “settling down” simply isn’t as viable as it once was. If you are young, it’s far better to wait a while before you buy a house, then it is to buy one now, because the process of “settling down” might take some time, and it’s better to have the financial freedom to do that, then it is to be weighed down by an excessive amount of debt.
One of the last reasons that need to be brought up is the fact that when you buy a house, you aren’t just buying a house. You are buying all of the faults, flaws, and defects that that particular home has. Home maintenance is an inevitable part of owning a home, and so is home repair, both of which are heavily intertwined.
If you are already having difficulties buying the home, and maintaining those mortgage payments, then the home maintenance aspect is simply another burden that can drag you deeper into debt, making your life a lot more difficult than it needs to be.
What Is The Alternative?
Ultimately, the greatest alternative to buying a house is renting a house. Many people look down on renting a house since it is considered “low-class” by some. But, renting a house has many benefits.
First off, it’s a lot cheaper. You don’t own the home, but you are paying significantly less than you would if you had bought that home, and you have access to the house, and the benefits that the house provides.
Second, when you rent a house, the maintenance of that house isn’t your responsibility. Instead, it is up to the landlord to maintain that house and to ensure that it is in proper condition. This greatly lessens the responsibilities that you have and ensures that if an accident does happen – assuming you aren’t at fault for that accident – you won’t be the one paying to fix it, which can take some of the stress and tension off.
Conclusion
Buying a house can be a great decision, but it can also be a very bad decision. By considering the reasons that we have brought up, and where you are at in life, you will be able to choose whether or not buying a house is the right choice for you.
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