my big issue is that it ties you to somewhere, if i want to leave where i am i can just give my landlord the appropriate notice and leave, if i owned where i live i then have to find someone to buy my house before i can leave, which could take weeks or even months
the problem with your "build more homes to crash the price 80%" is its a great idea for those who dont have houses already, but for those that do it means enormous losses on their original investments, now do you think the people making the decisions on those sorts of things rent or own? something tells me they own and wouldnt be too keen on losing 80% of their investment
thats also why it does work in japan, unlike here property is not an investment its something to live/work in for as long as it lasts, as such prices only go one way, down, over the course of 20-30 years the value of most japanese houses falls to zero and they are knocked down and rebuilt
This is also a benefit depending on your perspective. It makes you more a part of the community because your long term best interests align. It's easier to keep long term friends when seeing each other doesn't become an inconvenience. I know some retired people that have lived in my (gentrifying) area most of their lives but are now struggling to keep up with ever increasing rents, to them being tied somewhere by owning property would be a godsend.
the problem with your "build more homes to crash the price 80%" is its a great idea for those who dont have houses already, but for those that do it means enormous losses on their original investments
Most home owners treat their property as a home first and an investment second, if at all. Even if it's used as an investment it will usually be invested in their next home. Getting rid of property speculators would be great though.
thats also why it does work in japan
Japan seems to have some issues (Hikikomori) that may be exasperated by this lack of permanence. Paying ever increasing rent and/or moving when I'm retired instead of $0 to live out my days in peace doesn't sound appealing.
its all personal preference at the end of the day, i can honestly say ive never been part of a "community" hell its rare ive even known my next door neighbours names nor do i have a desire to. as for long term friend ive known most of mine for upwards of 2 decades, we havent lost touch so far and i dont see it happening in future
i also have no plans to retire, if i stop working ill become incredibly bored incredibly fast, im sure its a goal for those with partners etc or things theyve held off doing but not me, if ive wanted to do something i generally do it there and then and my emotional and social issues mean that i have no interest in having a family or partner, i have my hobbies and my work which is pretty much all i need
while not to the extremes of japans hikikomori we have a significant number of people in their 20s and 30s still living with their parents here, but these arent jobless shut-ins theyre just regular people, the reasons for it are many, some simply cant afford to live alone and why rent a room in a shared house with a bunch of strangers when you can rent one with people you know? i suspect another reason is that single accommodation like one bed flats etc is not that common here so if you do rent alone youre likely renting a 2 bed house, which can feel rather dull and empty if youre living alone
im also aware that i have a serious lack of responsibility, were i to own a place id have access to significant lines of credit and id end up doing something stupid and get it repossessed.
"if i want to leave where i am i can just give my landlord the appropriate notice and leave, if i owned where i live i then have to find someone to buy my house before i can leave, which could take weeks or even months"
"Giving the appropriate notice" generally means months, I would think. Not usually less than a month. Renting a decent apartment where I live generally means agreeing to a lease. My landlord demanded two months notice even if I was moving at the end of my lease, and the penalty for moving out at any other time would be draconian.
Conversely, people can and do move before selling their house, even though I'm sure it's a hassle and expensive to do so.
im in the UK, as a general rule you need to give a months notice to move out of anywhere, there may be places with longer but ive never personally encountered them, as you say people do move before selling but you need a pretty solid cash buffer or damn good credit to do it
and thats just fine granted you have a big fat pool of cash that will allow you to both pay your mortgage and the rent on where you live in the mean time but most of us workaday joes cant really afford two properties
FWIW I think most people who buy homes end up paying way too much, resulting in the sort of situation you're describing, whereby the mortgage becomes an anchor.
I think it's worth seperating out homes being overpriced from the basic idea of renting vs buying. The UK has a completely broken housing market which makes the life of almost everyone who doesn't already own outright or have a devalued mortgage difficult no matter what they do.
this exactly, the system is utterly knackered, not only that but it feels like its constantly on the edge of a collapse so the few poor buggers who do manage to beat the system and buy something now may very well end up neck deep in negative equity if/when the bubble finally pops, im not sure thats a risk id want hanging over my head
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my big issue is that it ties you to somewhere, if i want to leave where i am i can just give my landlord the appropriate notice and leave, if i owned where i live i then have to find someone to buy my house before i can leave, which could take weeks or even months
the problem with your "build more homes to crash the price 80%" is its a great idea for those who dont have houses already, but for those that do it means enormous losses on their original investments, now do you think the people making the decisions on those sorts of things rent or own? something tells me they own and wouldnt be too keen on losing 80% of their investment
thats also why it does work in japan, unlike here property is not an investment its something to live/work in for as long as it lasts, as such prices only go one way, down, over the course of 20-30 years the value of most japanese houses falls to zero and they are knocked down and rebuilt
This is also a benefit depending on your perspective. It makes you more a part of the community because your long term best interests align. It's easier to keep long term friends when seeing each other doesn't become an inconvenience. I know some retired people that have lived in my (gentrifying) area most of their lives but are now struggling to keep up with ever increasing rents, to them being tied somewhere by owning property would be a godsend.
Most home owners treat their property as a home first and an investment second, if at all. Even if it's used as an investment it will usually be invested in their next home. Getting rid of property speculators would be great though.
Japan seems to have some issues (Hikikomori) that may be exasperated by this lack of permanence. Paying ever increasing rent and/or moving when I'm retired instead of $0 to live out my days in peace doesn't sound appealing.
its all personal preference at the end of the day, i can honestly say ive never been part of a "community" hell its rare ive even known my next door neighbours names nor do i have a desire to. as for long term friend ive known most of mine for upwards of 2 decades, we havent lost touch so far and i dont see it happening in future
i also have no plans to retire, if i stop working ill become incredibly bored incredibly fast, im sure its a goal for those with partners etc or things theyve held off doing but not me, if ive wanted to do something i generally do it there and then and my emotional and social issues mean that i have no interest in having a family or partner, i have my hobbies and my work which is pretty much all i need
while not to the extremes of japans hikikomori we have a significant number of people in their 20s and 30s still living with their parents here, but these arent jobless shut-ins theyre just regular people, the reasons for it are many, some simply cant afford to live alone and why rent a room in a shared house with a bunch of strangers when you can rent one with people you know? i suspect another reason is that single accommodation like one bed flats etc is not that common here so if you do rent alone youre likely renting a 2 bed house, which can feel rather dull and empty if youre living alone
im also aware that i have a serious lack of responsibility, were i to own a place id have access to significant lines of credit and id end up doing something stupid and get it repossessed.
"if i want to leave where i am i can just give my landlord the appropriate notice and leave, if i owned where i live i then have to find someone to buy my house before i can leave, which could take weeks or even months"
"Giving the appropriate notice" generally means months, I would think. Not usually less than a month. Renting a decent apartment where I live generally means agreeing to a lease. My landlord demanded two months notice even if I was moving at the end of my lease, and the penalty for moving out at any other time would be draconian.
Conversely, people can and do move before selling their house, even though I'm sure it's a hassle and expensive to do so.
im in the UK, as a general rule you need to give a months notice to move out of anywhere, there may be places with longer but ive never personally encountered them, as you say people do move before selling but you need a pretty solid cash buffer or damn good credit to do it
How so? If you're comparing with renting, nothing stops you from like, giving an agent the keys and wandering off.
You don't need to unlock the value unless you plan to buy another place immediately.
and thats just fine granted you have a big fat pool of cash that will allow you to both pay your mortgage and the rent on where you live in the mean time but most of us workaday joes cant really afford two properties
FWIW I think most people who buy homes end up paying way too much, resulting in the sort of situation you're describing, whereby the mortgage becomes an anchor.
I think it's worth seperating out homes being overpriced from the basic idea of renting vs buying. The UK has a completely broken housing market which makes the life of almost everyone who doesn't already own outright or have a devalued mortgage difficult no matter what they do.
this exactly, the system is utterly knackered, not only that but it feels like its constantly on the edge of a collapse so the few poor buggers who do manage to beat the system and buy something now may very well end up neck deep in negative equity if/when the bubble finally pops, im not sure thats a risk id want hanging over my head