cassiopeia
That is why movielover has to make sure he will be able to hold on to the property until he breaks even considering inflation, the taxes he paid and the extra expenses he had for maintenance.
I think we all agree here that that might take a few years, but that is where the tax break comes in, to help him ride the storm. I’m from Argentina and I know what economic meltdowns look like. Not a pretty sight, but if you stick to your guns you can come out more or less OK. We bought a tiny apt. in a nice part of Buenos Aires for 39,000 in 1990, when we got married. At the peak of our bubble, people told me it was worth over 100,000 which I didn’t believe, but some people were paying those prices. Then in 2001 came the big crash, and I wouldn’t have been able to sell the place for 35,000. Fast forward five years and it’s back at around 80,000. The carrying expenses have not been so huge because we own it outright and the value is below the minimum for paying property taxes. There’s just the HOD, and we were able to rent it out from time to time. So there’s the story, you have to be able to hold on to things, which is much more that those overstretched homeowners in this country will be able to do, unfortunately.
