Who owns property and does it matter

[JBmurc]

I see owning my own property as much like having cash in the bank the banks certainly see the property as a store of value (cash) an will lend against it for any investment I myself have 150,000 invested in the sharemarket from the bank using my property as cover
A well built property should at least keepm with up with infaltion...3%-5% growth per ann etc but best of all it keeps a roof over your head without paying rent

[steve fleming]

My decision to rent is both financial (I prefer to live in areas where owning doesn't stake up - my weekly rent is considerably less than what the weekly cost of buying would be) and non-financial. I like the relative freedom of renting - it is relatively easy for me to up and move somewhere else (and have done so). I also like to live a lifestyle free of the burden of significant mortgage repayment costs or tieing up my equity into a single investment.

Depends on your stage of life as well.

When I was single and doing lots of travelling, owning property was a bit of a hassle.

Now that i am married and with a kid on the way, living in our own home gives us a lot more security and control over our destiny, relative to renting.

[minimoke]

.... I would have thought that all things being roughly equal, that someone would have pointed out that it is clearly beneficial, taxwise, that if you owned property, that you should rent it out, and then rent oneself.
This way one gets all the tax benefits of owning a rental property, eg depreciation, interest costs, home office, car, etc etc, and one can live in an upmarket property that one could never afford if one took into account things like rates, interest, and maybe...

Not necessarily. If we look at the cost of interst for example you can only claim this as a taxable expence if you have secured a mortgage with the intent of deriving an income from that debt. If you have borrowed to buy your own home and then rent your home out you can't claim the interest as part of your rental tax return.

[minimoke]

I see owning my own property as much like having cash in the bank the banks certainly see the property as a store of value (cash) an will lend against it for any investment I myself have 150,000 invested in the sharemarket from the bank using my property as cover

And thats a really good reason to get into property. See how much you can borrow using your $150,000 in shares from the bank - it won't be nearly as much as having $150,000 worth of eqity in a property.

[JBmurc]

And thats a really good reason to get into property. See how much you can borrow using your $150,000 in shares from the bank - it won't be nearly as much as having $150,000 worth of eqity in a property.

Yeah that is as long as you invest in a good freehold property units-apartment etc I wouldn't touch got to own the land aswell IMHO has been the main driver of property value overall here down south

[Casa del Energia]

Well, that's one way to start a heated debate - start a thread on property ownership.
Excellent stuff, McDunk. Made my life a little more interesting.

Thank you.

[The GrandMaster]

Depends on your stage of life as well.

When I was single and doing lots of travelling, owning property was a bit of a hassle.

Now that i am married and with a kid on the way, living in our own home gives us a lot more security and control over our destiny, relative to renting.

And I guess this is the point. Home ownership is all about an emotional decision and nothing about a financial one.

Except of course for those who put themselves into a large amount of debt to force a type of savings discipline on them. Though I have always found this argument a little bizarre, that the best course of action for those who lack financial control is to put what will be a lifetime of savings into the single investment.