timemoveson
Recycles dryer sheets
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2014
- Messages
- 153
With due respect, I would point out that:The annual costs of ownership of our winter home in Florida is $12,000, capital improvements aside. This is what friends pay to rent a similar home for three months in the winter. Zillow claims our home appreciated over 20% in the last thirty days. I can board an airline with my computer bag alone because every thing I need is already there. Count me as a happy second home owner.
- you can't leave the capital improvement costs and hassles "aside" in thinking about the numbers;
- your property may or may not appreciate in value and Florida quite obviously has had it's turn on both sides of that coin;
- your capital is tied up in that property and consuming your wealth that could be deployed elsewhere.
I have fairly extensive personal and investment real estate experience now, and currently own two expensive fully paid for personal use properties which we enjoy a lot. We have perhaps profited above inflation due to our location in and near a major world capital city after all costs have been properly considered. However, we have also concluded that overall, over time, returns on personal use real estate basically track to the long term inflation rate. This means you have to really want it, and that is perfectly ok if you can afford it long term; it is not, IMO, an economic advantage to own over renting. It really is a wash when all costs and missed opportunities are considered properly.