The 30 Year Mortgage Game

I'd rather you rent than ever get a 30 year mortgage.

Before you even begin searching for a property to purchase, you need to consider how you are going to get financing (if you're not paying in cash).

Understand the game of the 30 year mortgage: For first 14 years of 30 year loan, more than half of one's mortgage payment goes into the banks’ pocket as interest. It's not until year 15 that at least half of the mortgage payment goes into equity into the house.

Ask yourself the questions: Why are you buying a property in the first place? What market are you looking into and why that particular market? Do you have a skillset that is recession and AI proof that can sustain you for 30+ years?

My thinking is that we live in a completely different financial world today than the Boomer Generation did in the 60s and 70s.

For all of the changes happening to our society on a daily basis, the risk of being financially locked into a mortgage for 30+ years is absolutely not worth it.

Understand the Costs of Home Ownership

Many people end up being house poor because they failed to anticipate just how many things can go wrong after you get the title for a property.

Anything and everything will go wrong as you walk through those front doors.

The water heater will break. Your shiny new Samsung Washer & Dryer will no longer work. Your GE Fridge will no longer cool your food. Your plumbing may fail and sewage will ooze out of your toilet. A rainstorm, snowstorm, or heat wave will cause damage to your home one way or another. Pipes will burst, leaks will occur, and shoddy construction will reveal itself, as will the old age of many homes.

Companies will try anything and everything to get out of servicing your appliances, gadgets, and home even if those things are all under warranty.

It would be fantastic if you are handy and can fix everything that breaks down, but that's not being realistic in this day and age.

Looking for "new" build homes is also a huge mistake, given how shoddy, janky, and patched together most of these cookie-cutter homes are nowadays. Quality isn't the standard when it comes to Lennar, KB Homes, and the like. It's all about quantity and making sure these builds are rushed on the market as soon as possible.