Agreed, this is a real problem, many Americans got caught up in the real estate boom and bust of the previous decade.
Just like we do in trading, no one ever catches the bottom, and no one ever gets to sell the top, but we do trade ranges, and for some of us we manage to eek out a profit.
Not quite like that in real estate, some times you either win over the long term, or get ruined in one of these real estate downturns. I try to remind anyone, you might own a home, but some days the home owns you, there is always taxes, insurance, and maintenance.
I watch my old home back on Lake George, lake front property, you should check it out sometime if you get the chance.
I sold this place for $ 235,000 back in 1987, and when you see the price now you would tell yourself I really sold it way too early. But you would be missing some of the story. One they finally tore down my old house, it was a cabin that I had rebuilt, in its place they constructed a very nice home, and a garage. So that was a very big expense. But if you looked at how that area was doing you were just trying to keep up with your neighbors. They were constructing beautiful mansions.
Now look at the taxes, only $ 14,200 a year, what a bargain, and you do not even get the road plowed in the winter, well you do, you will be just one of the last one's to receive this service. You get your water from the lake, and you have septic, and the place is only really used for six months of the year. These are summer homes for many.
This house has been as high as $ 1.5 Million, but even now the price is barely under 1 Million. The taxes alone would of run you almost $ 250,000 these past 25 years, now add the cost of a brand new home. Real Estate is just not the easy investment it was when people bought homes for $ 10-15,000 like my father did.
I was also one of the first to lose money in real estate, but it was back in 1989, when I got divorced, I moved my kids and me, and sold that home for a small loss.
Most Americans live for this American dream of home ownership, but just like in trading, there is no guarantee of a good entry, or a good exit.
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