1. Home Equity Loans: Deluded to think home equity loans are easily accessible. In reality, stringent LTV requirements make them near-impossible to secure, especially in Europe. An illiquid asset with tied-up equity doesn’t work in your favor.
2. Tax Write-offs: Mortgage interest and property tax deductions are a myth in many places. In Europe, eye-watering stamp duty and yearly house taxes erase any so-called “savings,” eroding your profits.
3. Wealth Building: Property appreciation barely outpaces inflation after accounting for maintenance and capital gains tax. Inflation is a constant vector eroding your returns. It’s a highly illiquid asset, contrary to explosive investments needed for real wealth.
4. Stability and Predictability: Fixed-rate mortgages might offer steady payments, but stability doesn’t equal a good investment. Steady growth isn’t enough; you need high-growth assets to truly build wealth.
5. Forced Savings: Forced savings through mortgage payments locks money in an illiquid asset. Better investments offer higher returns with liquidity, unlike real estate tied up with unpredictable expenses.
6. Generational Wealth Building: Passing down property is overrated when high taxes and maintenance costs diminish its value. Generational wealth is better built with diverse, high-growth investments, not an illiquid asset.
7. Inflation Hedge: Financing real estate as an inflation hedge is flawed. The asset’s value is continuously eroded by inflation, maintenance, taxes, and other costs. It’s an illiquid and inefficient hedge compared to other financial instruments.

So not only do your critiques reek of an old-school, rigid mindset, they are factually incorrect. All well and good owning a huge villa in a hick town in the back arse if nowhere which you convert into your den and which doubles up as your savings account, let me know when you do decide to buy a place that’s actually desirable.