• Guntrigger@feddit.ch
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    11 months ago

    Is this true in the US? Its definitely not been true anywhere I’ve lived in Europe. A mortgage has always been cheaper for a larger property, it’s just gathering the initial deposit to buy that’s the hard bit.

    • Mamertine@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      gathering the initial deposit

      In the USA, you no longer need a large deposit. Many lenders will go all low as 3% down. You pay extra fees each month when you are under 20% down though. Since most people can’t afford the 20% down, they’re stuck paying more each month.

      Yes, generally in the USA you pay less to own than to rent if you put the 20% down. The other cost of ownership (maintenance and repairs). If you add those in, owning us still usually a bit cheaper. Renting, however, stabilizes the monthly cost.

      • Guntrigger@feddit.ch
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        11 months ago

        Interesting, I didn’t know about the low deposit requirements. I haven’t really seen it below 10% over here, but it might well be possible.

        It also depends if you’re in cities or not I guess. My first house was in a small city and the rent wasn’t bad there, it was just desirable to buy if possible. The next two cities I lived were capitals and rent is out of control there. Though house prices are too in those situations, so buying a place is usually cheaper but unattainable.

    • Trainguyrom@reddthat.com
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      11 months ago

      Not true from my experience. When I bought my house rents for similar houses were about $1.2k/mo and my mortgage is ~700/mo (which after taxes and insurance came out to ~$800/mo) but the other $400/mo can be easily eaten by maintenance costs depending on the year.

      But what I haven’t seen pointed out yet is that the mortgage will stay the same for 30 years, property taxes & insurnace won’t grow much, but rents will continue to climb. It’s been almost 3 years and houses similar to mine are now renting for $1500/mo or more but I now pay ~$900/mo for my house due a small tax increase last year that narrowly got passed (and was noted when it was proposed to be the first property tax increase in quite a few years)

      • Guntrigger@feddit.ch
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        11 months ago

        That’s true, I didn’t really think about maintenence costs adding on. Ideally that stuff should add value back to the house so you don’t “lose” it like rent, but that all depends on the housing market forever rising to infinity.

        • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          but that all depends on the housing market forever rising to infinity.

          It always does. Always. As long as babies are being made, it always will.

          Every decade or two there’s a crash, but it doesn’t go down that much when there is, and then when it recovers from the crash it goes right back up to what it was doing before.

    • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      A mortgage has always been cheaper for a larger property, it’s just gathering the initial deposit to buy that’s the hard bit.

      What you commented is true in the US as well, unless you live in a very very poor neighborhood and rent.