I'm thinking about buying a house - should I do it?

[jprad]

Quote from 426653478:

I think it sounds reasonable to put most of it as down payment, and save some of it in case you lose your source of income for some time or something unwanted happens

I agree, all bets are off if hyperinflation hits.

But, short of that, the threat of losing your job during an extended period of inflation is exactly why you should not put more money then you have to into a single family home.

Anyone who's got the cash to spare should really be thinking beyond simply not letting it lose value to high inflation, you need to generate cash flow with it.

That kind of inflation, coupled with owning a few rentals should, once all the depreciation and other deductibles are considered, will have you net positive in less time than you think.

 

[377OHMS]

Quote from Always_Hedge:

There are two reasons why I think buying this year is a good idea: first the 8K grant and second, I have $110 cash saved up and don't want half of it to evaporate due to inflation or falling dollar (or other craziness).

Those aren't the right reasons to buy a house.

Buy a house only if you need one. Then only buy a house you like or one that at least has one or two features that you like.

Those rules hold in good or bad housing markets, imo.

Nice job on saving 110k. Maybe you could put 80-90k down and hold 20-30k back if that leaves you with a doable payment. Twenty grand in the bank helps take a little stress off, its worth it.

 

[bwolinsky]

Quote from ChkitOut:

why would you put 110 down with such low rates?

Thats just plain stupid.

I'd rather put 10 down and put 100K in GOOG on a pull back. Get in at around 335ish.

But yeah, if you're ready to buy a house by all means do it!

This was the correct response. Down payments are stupid. Cheap debt.