[quote=UCGal][quote=bearishgurl]
Let’s narrow the 10-45 yr ownership time frame into 10-15 yrs. Let’s make it about ME (since sdr thinks I’m the ONLY boomer who wants to sell/retire in the next few years, lol). I did NOT pay too much 11+ years ago (I actually rec’d a lg credit in escrow also). Even if I wanted to sell NOW, I need to make a few repairs and improvements before doing so. Whether or not I spend this money, I KNOW I may NOT be able to recover my entire downpayment and my improvement $$ upon sale with closing costs added in. That’s not right! [/quote]
It’s neither right or wrong. It’s what the market says it is.
There was NEVER a guarantee you’d be able to pull your principal out of your home. You’re old enough to remember flat markets. You’ve lived in other places and traveled to other places where markets have been flatter.
People who buy homes expecting to make money on them are making assumptions. Some people make money, others don’t. It’s like the stock market – it’s all about timing. It’s not about right/wrong. It’s not about fair/unfair.
I sympathize with your situation. But to say it’s “not right” is to be in denial of how real estate works.
You’ve had shelter for years. Does that not count for anything? Consider what you would have paid in equivalent rent for that period and it might make you feel better.
Yeah – it sucks that you may not get as much money out of the sale as you’d like… but that’s the objective facts. Subjective desires don’t factor in.
In an ideal world I’d be rich, thin, and have well behaved kids. It’s not fair.[/quote]
Precisely right, UCGal.
Unfortunately, many people have been conditioned to think that “owning” a house means they will never have to pay for housing. Many people have been brainwashed by the REIC that you should be able to sell a house for everything you put into it, and then some. That’s just not realistic, and it’s even more unlikely as we move forward with an increasingly fragile job market and (IMHO) weaker economy. I think we’re in for a LONG period of weaker fundamentals and a stagnant or shrinking credit market which will reverse a lot of the trends (esp. rising asset prices) we’ve seen over the past ~50+ years.
