Buying a house
“…From 1890 through 1990, the return on residential real estate was just about zero.”
–Robert Shiller, Yale professor
Book excerpt: How real estate really works
This is an excerpt from my book, I Will Teach You To Be Rich.
Book Excerpt: How real estate really works
Chart from myfico.com in May 2009
A few articles on real estate that will make you smarter than 99% of people
- This page quickly destroys common myths of homeownership, such as the benefits of tax deductions and the idea that you’re throwing money away on rent.
- In the Long Run, Sleep at Home and Invest in the Stock Market. The seminal article on why we cognitively underestimate Phantom Costs like insurance, inflation, maintenance fees, and taxes. Note the haunting story at the end.
- My friend was about to buy a million-dollar house with no research. This is too common among my friends. When you buy a house, you need to be an expert on real estate.
- You have an extra $100/month. Should you pre-pay your mortgage or invest? The answer may surprise you.
- Why your home is not the investment you think it is. Good overview of common misconceptions about real estate as an investment.
- Be the expert: What’s wrong with this real-estate comment? See a common mistake where people think they got a great return via real estate, but they really didn’t. The comments are gold, too.
Guilt and real estate
Isn’t it ironic that we feel guilty about our daily latte, yet we don’t focus on our credit? If we did, we’d see that the difference between someone with excellent credit and poor credit, when buying a house, is over $10,000 per year. How many lattes is that worth?
Further reading
- I also keep a constantly updated list of real-estate bookmarks at delicious.com/ramitsethi/real-estate.
