{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"536: Should You Own a Home?","description":"Homeownership has been baked into the American Dream for nearly a century. Politicians, parents, and banks all tell you the same thing: \u201cBuy a house as soon as you can. It\u2019s your biggest asset.\u201d But as a real estate guy who actually understands how wealth is created\u2026 I\u2019m not convinced it makes sense for everyone\u2014especially early in your career. Let me explain. Say you finally start making some real money\u2014maybe you\u2019re a doctor fresh out of residency. The cultural script kicks in immediately: Buy a house. Build equity. Feel responsible. But here\u2019s the part most people forget: your primary home is not an asset. As Robert Kiyosaki puts it, if something takes money out of your pocket, it\u2019s not an asset\u2014it\u2019s a liability. According to Bankrate and the Census Bureau, U.S. homeowners spend around $17,000 per year just to maintain and operate their homes\u2014and that\u2019s before you make a single mortgage payment.  That\u2019s property taxes, insurance, utilities, landscaping, repair bills, HOA fees\u2026 the list goes on. If your house is worth $1.5M, even the bare-minimum 1% annual maintenance rule hits you with $15,000 a year just to keep the place from deteriorating. Add insurance, taxes, utilities, and everything else, and you\u2019re looking at $30,000\u2013$40,000 per year in unavoidable, non-negotiable carrying costs. And that still doesn\u2019t cover the roof that fails, the appliances that die, or the curveballs Mother Nature throws at you. None of that feels like an \u201casset\u201d to me. Now, to be fair, people don\u2019t usually buy homes as investments. They buy them for stability, a place to raise kids, a sense of being \u201csettled.\u201d It\u2019s emotional. It\u2019s psychological. And it\u2019s real. But if you\u2019re young\u2014and especially if you haven\u2019t hit your first million\u2014it\u2019s worth asking yourself a tough question: Is buying a home right now the best financial move\u2026 or just the most familiar one? Because historically, U.S. home prices appreciate around 4.3% a year (Case-Shiller). Meanwhile, the S&P 500 averages closer to 10%. And if you're in real estate investing? A solid multifamily value-add deal often targets 16\u201320% IRR\u2014plus tax advantages your primary home will never give you. So if you\u2019re just getting started, it might make sense to delay that home purchase. Invest first. Build your passive income. Let your assets\u2014not your salary\u2014pay for your lifestyle.  Then when you do buy a home, you\u2019ll be doing it from a position of strength, not strain. The irony is this: waiting often gets you to the dream home faster because your capital compounds instead of being trapped in drywall, windows, and a backyard you barely have time to enjoy. This Week on Wealth Formula Podcast, I interview expert Dr. Ken Johnson, who digs even deeper into this question\u2014and lays out why homeownership isn\u2019t the golden ticket people think it is, especially for high earners early in their wealth-building years. Links mentioned: Beracha and Johnson Housing Ranking Index: https:\/\/www.ares.org\/page\/beracha-johnson-housing-ranking-index Waller, Weeks and Johnson Rental Index: https:\/\/www.ares.org\/page\/waller-weeks-johnson-rental-index Price-to-Rent Ratio Report: https:\/\/therealestateinitiative.com\/price-to-rent-ratios\/ Top 100 Housing Markets - Inflation Adjusted: https:\/\/therealestateinitiative.com\/housing-top-100\/ Learn more about Dr. Ken Johnson: https:\/\/olemiss.edu\/profiles\/khjohns3 ","author_name":"Wealth Formula Podcast","author_url":"http:\/\/www.wealthformula.com\/","html":"