Buying a house has a heavy upfront and exit cost, but the cost of home ownership increases slower than the cost of renting. Therefore one of the most important things to remember is time spent owning. After getting past the break even point your excess value from homeownership will rise exponentially.

In 2026 homeownership to rent value is pretty bad. For the median house it would take 14 years of homeownership to breakeven on renting the equivalent and investing the difference. Of course most people wouldn’t invest the difference perfectly so it would take less than 14 years realistically.

To clarify in nominal numbers homeownership would still be a positive investment in around 8 years, but it would take 14 had you been investing the difference perfectly into the market.

Ideally you buy a house super young and die in that house which would skip the exit cost of homeownership completely. If you did that you would be projected to come out ahead in the 7 figures range.

I’m 23 just bought an older home built in 1955 about 2 weeks ago. it was “remodeled” and after closing I’m noticing so many things that are bothering me like walls being out of plum by an 1”, cracks on walls after heavy rain and etc. and now I’m wondering if overpaid for this home and what if it doesn’t sell for more than what I bought it when I decide to sell In 5 or 6 or so years. I was super excited to get into this home but after living in it for a week I’m feeling heavy buyers remorse and feeling as I should have took my time to pick out a better home and etc. doesn’t anyone feel the same way? Any advice will help. Thanks

I am a first time home buyer looking at buying a property from someone who is not a US citizen and has since moved overseas.

If 20% of the home sale price is put into escrow what risks do I face?

Original here https://www.reddit.com/r/FirstTimeHomeBuyers/s/geLwZwqkXB

Lender is playing hardball, we owe them a little extra at closing for the “October payment” at closing, and our first payment is due 1 Nov. They have now doubled down that mortgage payments are not made in arrears.

As of closing, they owe us ~$700, they’re saying we owe them ~$350. If we made the 1 November payment we’d be effectively be paying October’s payment twice. They owe us $700 because they charged a VA funding fee they shouldn’t have, it was originally a ~$900 fee. In the second round of closing disclosures they said they owed us like $200, and that version was given clear to close (after we signed the original) and the title company already released a check to us.

What sort of recourse do we have if they don’t fix it? I know obviously if we don’t pay 1 November payment they will likely be very angry about that. Is it likely they will audit themselves eventually and realized they messed up? (Personally I don’t trust that)

ALSO GET THIS, I just noticed this. The title company altered numbers on the “cash to close” document after I signed it where were a little bit short on the cash to close. Surely that’s not legal? 😭

Closed on our house (1951, 1622 sq ft) on September 25. We bought kind of sight unseen from afar—it was a Goldilocks house, a known neighborhood that’s great, the realtor did multiple long walk-throughs, my parents visited, multiple tradesmen we trust did inspections and estimates, etc., etc.—and are preparing to move in a couple weeks

My partner (46M, not a FTHB, a contractor!) wasn’t really in a headspace to give input at the time, but we have since seen it, spent some time cleaning and prepping it for the move, and I think are very happy with it HOWEVER! Every time something comes up, he angrily questions, “Why didn’t this show up on the inspection?!”

• The bathroom floor we knew had water damage at some point, because it caused damage to the crawl space that was fixed by the seller, is weak and will need to be repaired/reinforced: “Why didn’t this show up on the inspection?”
• The only carpet in the house—that we intend to remove anyway—was poorly installed and lifts when you vacuum: “Why didn’t this show up on the inspection?”
• The HVAC tube in the attic seems to be disconnected, which we only found out when he went up there: “Why didn’t this show up in the inspection?”

I don’t know what to do about this! Like…some of it is frustrating, yes! And no one likes to be told they have to replace a floor the week they move in. But there is nothing we can do now, right?

Have any of you had this happen after closing? What is the most productive way to respond?

It seems like the rates have gone up but the prices are dropping for “sales”. I’m questioning if when the rates go back down (if they do) will the prices of the homes go back up?
Also, trying to consider what is reasonable to save each month for unexpected expenses?
Seems like HOA fees are more expensive in townhomes and cheaper in single family homes. I’m hearing that townhome HOAs go up annually. And property taxes go up annually as well. So the fixed rate is really just a fixed principle and interest, not all the other expenses.

I want to buy a home. But I’m single and I don’t even know if it’s worth it. Townhomes are more affordable but HOA goes up. Single family homes HOA is more steady, but property taxes go up.

Where should I be financially to be ready to buy a home? How much should I be able to save each month realistically?

Lenders are telling me I qualify for more than I want to pay. This is soooooo stressful and I’m ready to just throw in the towel and rent forever.

Any advice is appreciated 💗

One of the decisions that “made” us buy was when we had kids and pets, rentals started becoming both inconvenient and small. Toddlers cry and make a mess; dogs chew up things and cats scratch the carpet.

When I was single, I’d never thought of buying since what’d I do with space? I’d always rent a small apartment or studio in downtown/ midtown of whatever city (and really liked living in a city) that was enough for my needs.

I feel the whole talk about what makes for a better financial decision goes out the window when you have a full family. School systems, space for kids to play (even if not always a yard), and just a bit more time at home that I could spend fixing things (and not have the ability to while away playing video games or dating) meant the decision was no longer just simple math. And even the math looks very different. You start looking at SFH or at least condos and they’re far more pricey than small apartments which are a dime a dozen everywhere you look.

I wonder whether all these posts about how renting is cheaper and investing the rest in the market is actually applicable for families.

My wife and I are looking to purchase our first home in the northern NJ (HCOL) area to be between our jobs. Our gross is about 500k/year so we can definitely afford more than average, but even in this market is seems like the houses towards the top of our budget are fixer uppers. Maybe I just have an unrealistic expectation of the housing market.

In any case we have thought about buying a cheaper house to renovate though are hesitant as we don’t know anybody in the industry or even where to start along with hearing all the horror stories about shady contractors and accruing costs.

We do see a lot of remodels/quick flips in the area that all have similar aesthetics so I’m assuming it’s a similar company/group that is doing them. However I’ve always been warned about these due to poor craftsmanship/work quality. Has anybody ever purchased one of these and can share their experience?

For context I am 27yrs old currently and pregnant.
I’ve been working my job for a year and a half now and with my hourly wage and tips (put on my check statement)I make roughly 45k a year gross. I’m looking for houses in the 145-160k range. I don’t have any debts that I need to pay off and I don’t have a car payment or any massive bills coming out.
However I don’t deposit my cash tips. They’re accounted for on my pay statements but if you look at my bank statements it just shows my hourly deposits and my spending. My rent is also paid in cash.
It’s extremely possible to get approved for a $20k DP and closing costs assistance program in my area based on my REQs. But because of the line of work I’m in I can’t get federal loans, only conventional but I’m unsure what they need statement wise. I don’t have much in cash savings only about 2k… but I want to get a home to raise my son in because the place I’m in now is falling apart.

I just don’t wanna start applying for things if I’m in over my head.