You Still Don’t Really Own Your House

Countering the Critics.

Photo by Zachary Kadolph on Unsplash

The feedback is in, and boy, it’s a mixed bag.

My article about the ponzi-scheme that is home ownership had some rabid criticism. But hey, let’s see if we can counter them here, one-by-one.

Comment 1: Hot Takes and Misrepresentations

Home Equity Loans Home equity loans sound dreamy, don’t they? Quick cash at low rates. Reality check: stringent LTV requirements make them near-impossible to secure, especially in Europe. Typically anywhere from 5 to 10% deposit on a home with a strict cap of being able to borrow at best 4x your pre-tax income. So let’s say you slog over your fiat job, crush your savings target, and put all that money down (pre stamp duty, mortgage fees, survey costs, renovations, furniture, conveyancing fees) into an illiquid asset with tied-up equity. Excellent work captain. You are now miles away from where you actually want to live and have literally nothing in your bank account to show for it. But hey, at least you have a roof over your head which you can truly claim to be yours (about 10% of it).

This is the mortgage deal in a nutshell:

Bank: I’ll give you a home

You: Yes, awesome. Here’s 10%.