Comment by cramsession | Hacker News Reader

Comment by cramsession | Hacker News Reader

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> People obsess over granite countertops, open floor plans, stainless steel appliances, and walk in closets. These might make you happy but they don’t make you rich.

Money is a means to an end, and being happy is a fine end. I only live once and if I can be happy, well then I've pretty much won. Also you're not going to "get rich" by renting, if (and it's a huge if) you can somehow make renting work in your financial favor compared to buying, it's going to be a tiny bit better. You're not going to 10X your income renting.

He also completely discounts the cost of moving constantly (aka "flexibility"), movers, deposits, furnishings... it's not cheap. Yeah you can move yourself (add in the cost of vehicle to make that happen) but it's going to take time, and time is money.

This is not a well thought out article.

That’s absolutely not true. In NYC, I can get rich by investing the difference between a mortgage and my rent, and there’s literally no period over which it makes financial sense to buy. People still buy if coursed but it’s not because it makes them rich (at least in this market with this interest rate).

> I can get rich by investing the difference between a mortgage and my rent

After just a few years into ownership, mortgage becomes cheaper than renting so it is the homeowner who will have extra cash to invest for the rest of their life, not the renter.

Not in New York.

Rents in New York are notoriously high.

Yes and they’re still much lower than buying an equivalent place. I’ve looked. Almost twice as much for a mortgage of a similar space for what I rent right now after putting 20% down. Only reason it makes sense to buy is if you really plan to keep the place for decades.

> Yes and they’re still much lower than buying an equivalent place.

Of course renting will be cheaper than buying an equivalent place. Most of the time in most places that's the case.

My point was this is true in the year of purchase and for a few years later. Over time (and you'll need to live somewhere your whole life) it will become cheaper. And then a lot cheaper. Rent will only ever go up.

To each their own: https://www.militaryonesource.mil/moving-pcs/housing/renting...

That's because real estate is notoriously high.

Also, if you're buying in NYC you WILL get recurring and increasing monthly costs.

That $800/month HOA? Yeah, it's not gonna be $800 in 5 years.

Buying is not the same everywhere.

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