Quote from: Torque on May 01, 2018, 10:56:13 AM

Quote from: bitserve on May 01, 2018, 08:39:52 AM

Of course there is absolutely no investment that is 100% risk free, but real estate is "safe enough".

Real estate as an investment is ok if:

1. You own it outright, or are actively working to own it outright

2. It pays you back (e.g., renter or leaser income)

3. It has some appreciation

Otherwise, it definitely isn't an "asset" unless it meets those criteria. It is a liability. I cringe when I hear people talk about their home as an "asset", especially when it's not paid off and they have zero intention of ever selling it.

Mostly agree. But:

1- If you can get some tax deductions for deferring payments that compensates the interest it is ok too. Other than that, yep, just pay it fully outright if you can.

2- If you can earn some reasonable ROI from it it can be considered an investment, appreciation/deprecciation of the underlining asset should be taken into consideration too for the calculation of the ROI.

3- See point 2.

A home is an asset because it has the ROI of not having to spend in renting. I don't know about other countries, but here you can basically pay your home for what would otherwise be 20-25 years of renting. You would spend the same... but you would end up fully owning it instead of having nothing. I know in some countries (like US) job mobility is so extreme that you can't attach to fixed location for more than a few years.... YMMV

Also, real estate is some market where your research / bargain hunting skills can get your pretty good deals where you just hit a great ROI at the exact moment of purchase. It is not unheard being able to buy at half market price if you are good at it and spend enough time/research until the opportunity crosses your path -and have the funds available to take the opportunity right away-.

Oh, and you can always do a "reverse mortgage" when you are in your late years to fully milk the "home" asset.