In neighborhoods all over the nation, "for sale" signs have been sitting around for years. Homes have gone unsold and prices are acelerating to the downside in an obvious "bear market". Can you sit there and still say that you are a "proud homeowner" with your house rapidly depreciating like a tech stock from 2000? Unlike the tech stocks of 2000, though, you cant just jump on Ameritrade to "cash out". It takes months or years to sell a house now and all that time you have to pay taxes, fees and watch the neighborhood kids vandalize your mailbox. The "for sale" signs seem to be part of the landscape of America and there is still that army of "proud homeowners"....
Depends on why you bought your house I guess. I got a house because I have three dogs and a great wife. 4 bedroom 2 bath 1800 sq ft with an awesome home gym, home office and a Florida Room, along with a big back yard..... Home hasn't gone down much if at all due to the timing of my buying it... But even if it went down to half of what I paid for it, I wouldn't care because I didn't buy the house as a speculation. It's mine forever and I have no intentions of ever selling it.... So yeah, I'm proud of my house..... But as far as many others go.....again, I think whether or not you're proud right now really depends on the reason you bought your home in the first place....
Being practical with a bit of common sense wins every time. A lot of people just don't get it, get hurt and expect a bail out from those that don't live recklessly. Responsible people accept the result of the decisions they make. Few people seem to ask themselves what if this or that happens if I do this or that. They never look at the worst case scenario. I would never be able to live with the anxiety caused by not having a plan for a potential disaster.
Spoken like a "proud" renter. Since when does pride have to equal price appreciation? A lot of people take pride in making their house a home, not just from the value of it going up. Pretty lame thread...
I built my first house and then I paid it off in six years. Since then, I traded houses twice more without any additional investment and the original payment (times 2) for this house is now in my bank account. The house, that I traded up to has twice the floor space of the original one plus an additional garage. Its worth 20 times more then what I paid for the first one, so I can't have any regrets about that. There is absolutely nothing special about what I did. It was simply the inflationary times and variations in the real estate market from state to state.
have a few real estate, live in my own apartment, all paid off. one of the best purchases, risen up with inflation. can't beat that.
Bought my house as a newlywed in 1991 for $156,000. Even with the recent decline in prices it is still valued at over $450,000. But since I own a home to live in and not as a poker chip, it doesn't matter to me what it's worth right now. I'm still way ahead and yes, a proud homeowner.