Indeed-PMC-as you said-home ownership dose have ready access to equity-as in seconds-refi's etc--if one has a mortgage the principal portion of that payment is similiar to building up a saxings account unless of course the property is in a downward slide of devaluation?
apt Vs homowner regarding utilities--i was kind of thinking along the lines that wtr/garbage are free to renter's (in this local) and if one-as a home owner-were to maintain a swim pool coupled with (speculative) incresed utilities for a larger square foot dwelling such as a home and then adding in the property taxes of home ownership--one may have an improved quality of life in apt living (older guys-me-tend to seek out an improved quality of life...lol).
of course the apt rent is a throw away unless one can deduct the rent as a home business expense or offset it in some manner? but in general-as you implied-one would be throwing away ~12k/yr plus some apt insurance monies in return for a nice 2bd apt w/swim pool/other amenities etc?
PMC-one of the primary things that concerns me in these times-is that LE protection at the neighborhood street level has evaporated as municipalities (Not blaming the officers as they are also frustrated by this) are laying off officers in record numbers which in turn results in many neighborhoods middleclass-uppermiddleclass-upperclass and all those-in between-turning in more opportunities for auto thefts-home invasions and or raucus playgrounds for rowdy teens/thier friends-their cars-motorcycles and other play toys etc.
i mean a combat vet can't even do what comes most natural to him by wading in on/facing up to perpetrators--knowing that he will be singled out by LE-if for no other reason than LE's fear for their own safety (which is understandable)-not to mention the leeches/scammers who are more than willing to open a civil case against the homeowner for abusive behavior to their angelic teen/drug dealers/users...lol.
i don't know what got into me with this looong post PMC-
frustration i guess-as i perpetually try to distance myself from primal instincts...lol. (some statistics out there-indicate that the in 1975-75% of all returning US Vietnam combat vets-were incarcerated in the USA.
best to you
cavdude
As far as second refis etc, its a terrible way to come up with liquid capitol. Well I guess thats depending on circumstances. There are several banks out there doing 10-100,000MM $ loans with 100,000 collateral at 1.8-2.2%... Plop that in an Australian or Turkish CD at 6-11%...
Refinancing can be a decent option assuming you have prime credit, I see some options here and there at under 4%.
I think dealuation of properties is coming to an end, the DOW is at a little over 13,000 today, was a tad over 14K if I remember right before the collapse. We are ALMOST there! Inching along slowly but this next two years will be critical towards re-growth of another complete collapse in my opinion.
Water/garbage definately not free where I am at, I've had several different properties its been anywhere from 25$ for just me in an apartment to $200 a month (townhome complex with a large outdoor garden thing that was watered non stop + pool). Also in regards to larger square footage, this is speculative. It just depends on what you want. If you want a basic apartment sure the square footage will be smaller... But if you want something large 10,000 sq foot lofts are always available. AC bills on those are NOT cheap haha.
Also in regards to 12K, it really depends on where you live in the country... amentieis/sq footage you want... Spending 100-200K a year on rent isn't unheard of in some areas.
Deducting rent is a risky thing, I recently signed a lease on a property in LA (last week actually! woohoo moving soon!)... Its zoned as a live/work property. Deducting rent is a sure way to get audited. Now lets say you are an artist and use 75% of your 2,000 sq foot studio for a gallery/painting then the tax man will absolutely be ok with it when he sees that... but if you make a few phone calls here and there/have a normal office at the place and get audited... be prepared to get into trouble. Thats common place.
In regard to LE there are actually a ton of studies that show having a heavier police presence actually does NOT deter crime believe it or not! Believe me I was shocked too when I saw these. Community policing has very little to do with actual crime rates. If the opportunity is present people will take it regardless of police presence.
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