>Hi,
>At 36, I am a widow of two years. I am trying to sell my house.
>My older brothers differ in opinions.
>One believes I should remain in my house as income is good
>business.
>Yet the older one is concerned with the high taxes in
>Massachusetts and suggested I should sell and rent.
>
>Being frugal is exactly what I am looking for.
>Thank you.
>Claire
>
>
>
If you prefer a smaller home with reduced upkeep, renting an apartment
can be a cost saver. Also, depending on the complex, it may be easier
to meet / socialize in a large apartment complex, assuming that's desirable.
If you like having / tending your own land & do not want to down size,
moving may be costly mistake.
Renting the same / similarly sized home will most always be a costly trade.
Long term it is hard to beat real estate for investment.
If you can afford the house you are in, why would you want
to sell it? Renters pay taxes too, it's just part of the rent.
> Being frugal is exactly what I am looking for.
> Thank you.
A good house is an appreciating asset, and a lease is a worthless
piece of paper when the term is up. Without knowing more than
you should reveal on the internet (like your income, expenses,
size of house, # of kids, etc) it's hard to say much more.
Obviously if the house is costing more than you can afford to
pay it's time to sell it, but if not, then you'd have to sit
down and figure out the financial positives and negatives
for yourself.
Bill Ranck
Blacksburg, Va.
Historically, equities have been a much better financial investment
than housing.
>A good house is an appreciating asset
Well, maybe, depending on location and a bunch of other factors...
--
We do what we must, and call it by the best names.
...Ralph Waldo Emerson
Only when you analyse the prices dishonestly and ignore the ones that went bust like Enron.
Equities do have a better return than average housing,
but not as good as the best housing returns.
And there is a real sense in which a mortgage is a forced form of saving
that most cant manage at the same rate with equities too, just because
they dont get to stop paying off the mortgage without significant penaltys.
>> A good house is an appreciating asset
> Well, maybe, depending on location and a bunch of other factors...
No maybe about it, they do generally appreciate and its not hard
to choose a location and house that will appreciate over time.
You didn't tell us why you wish to sell.
Whereas the mortgage payment on a house will pretty much stay the same.
(fixed rate of course)
So you can start out at the same date; one person renting, another person
buying a house.
At first the rent is say 1/2 of what the other persons mortgage payment
is...
Add 20 years in time...
Now the rent can be twice what the other person is still paying for their
mortgage payment!
You can of course sell your house and buy a less expensive house. Or buy a
house in an area with lower taxes.
If you work for a large company, you may be able to transfer to an area with
a lower cost of living, lower taxes, lower housing costs. For example on the
west coast there are plenty of rural areas which have houses for less than
$100,000.
"Claire" wrote in message
> Hi,
> At 36, I am a widow of two years. I am trying to sell my house.
> My older brothers differ in opinions.
> One believes I should remain in my house as income is good
> business.
> Yet the older one is concerned with the high taxes in
> Massachusetts and suggested I should sell and rent.
>
> Being frugal is exactly what I am looking for.
> Thank you.
> Claire
>
I understand completely. Friend of mine whose husband died very
unexpectedly sold and moved as soon as she could. She vowed that
whatever she could get from the sale would not all be spent on the new
digs. She found a new little ranch in an area with a lower cost of
living and has never regretted the move. She ruled out renting, though
- thought it was just a waste of money and wanted a place which had
had no previous occupants.
You are young and can get a fresh start, hard as it may be. Good luck
to you in building a new life.