How Houses Eat Money
How hot is the real-estate market? Try reading my mail.
A few years ago, I could offer warnings on the actual costs of homeownership and I would hear hardly a peep. But lately, when I offer similar comments, I am inundated with blistering emails that belittle my intelligence with language unfit for publication.
Along the way, some readers -- based on what, I don't know -- have accused me of being a sore loser smoldering in a Manhattan rental. In fact, for the past 13 years, I have owned the same home in Middlesex County, N.J. And if I were delusional, I would claim I have tripled my money.
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But instead, I crunch numbers. My discovery: Despite owning a house in an extremely buoyant real-estate market, I have -- by one measure -- made almost no money. And I don't think I am unusual.
No Improvement
I bought my house in late 1992 for $165,000. Today, it might fetch $500,000, giving me roughly a 200% gain. By contrast, over the same stretch, U.S. homes are up an average 101.7%, according to home-finance corporation Freddie Mac.
Time to celebrate? Maybe not. I have an unfortunate tendency to keep good records, so it is relatively easy for me to calculate how much I have spent over the past 13 years on home improvements, property taxes and mortgage interest. And believe me, it isn't pretty.
For starters, one reason my home has increased so much in value is because I have spent a ridiculous amount of money fixing it up. The house I bought in 1992 was fairly rundown, and I have ended up revamping the kitchen, adding a bathroom, putting in air conditioning, enclosing the porch, putting on a new roof, replacing the boiler, finishing the attic and goodness knows what else.
Tote up the cost of all these projects, both large and small, and the tab comes to some $130,000. It's an embarrassingly large number, and I wince whenever I think about it. Add that $130,000 to my home's $165,000 purchase price and my cost is up to $295,000.
I could kid myself that this $130,000 is an investment. And while it is true that these home improvements have boosted my home's value, there is no way I will recoup the full cost when I go to sell. My "new kitchen" is now nine years old and it is showing its age. Nobody in his or her right mind is going to pay me full price for a second-hand kitchen.
In retrospect, I would probably have been better off purchasing a house that had already been fixed up, thus buying somebody else's improvements at a steep discount. The problem, of course, is finding a seller who has the same taste. Shag carpeting? I don't think so.
Losing Interest
Home improvements may have been my largest ongoing cost, but mortgage interest and property taxes aren't far behind. Indeed, if you are feeling a little too cheery, spend some time leafing through Schedule A of your old federal tax returns, where you detail your itemized deductions.
I did just that, adding up how much I have paid in property taxes and mortgage interest since 1992. Once again, the numbers are disturbingly large. Over the past 13 years, I have coughed up $63,000 in property taxes and $108,000 in mortgage interest.
To be sure, these sums are tax-deductible. But the tax deduction is a little overrated. Fact is, if I hadn't itemized, I could still have taken the standard deduction. It's only the extra deduction over and above the standard deduction that represents a true tax benefit.
With that in mind, I went back and found out my standard deduction for each year since 1992. I then subtracted that sum from the total value of my mortgage interest and property taxes.
Assuming that the sum above my standard deduction was deductible at a 28% tax rate, I figure I got some $24,000 in federal-tax benefits from my mortgage interest and property taxes -- which means the after-tax cost of these two items was $147,000.
Combine that with my $165,000 purchase price and the $130,000 in home improvements, and I am up to $442,000 -- not much below my home's $500,000 current value. The picture would be even uglier if I counted my initial closing costs, routine maintenance expenses and annual homeowner's insurance, to say nothing of the innumerable hours of my own time that I have sunk into the place. And while I have no intention of selling, that day will come. Imagine I sold today, paying a 5% real-estate commission. After enriching the brokers involved, I would net $475,000, perilously close to my total cost.
Retirement Home
Ever heard people say their home is the best investment they ever made? There are two possibilities: Either they have never done the math and they are totally out to lunch -- or they are making a very astute observation.
Homes can indeed be a great investment. You may not make any money on the appreciation, once you figure in all the expenses of homeownership. But while you are struggling to pay the property taxes and keep water out of the basement, something wonderful happens: You get to live in the place without paying rent.
True, you might have to make mortgage payments, and many folks think of that monthly check as comparable to paying rent. Unlike rent, however, your mortgage payments will come to an end.
Still think the big gain from homeownership comes from price appreciation? Consider this: People usually don't retire simply because their house has gone up in value. But you often hear of folks quitting the work force just after making their last mortgage payment. Suddenly, their monthly costs go way down -- and they can now afford to retire, thanks to the delights of rent-free living.
看房屋是如何“吃钱”的
2005年06月13日16:18
美国房地产市场到底有多热？看看我的电子邮箱就知道了。
几年前，如果我对持有房产的实际成本发出警告，人们几乎是毫无反应。但是最近，当我发出类似的警告时，我不断收到大量读者来信，言辞激烈地批评我的观点，用一些让人无法启齿语言贬低我的智力。
不知道出于怎样的理由，部分读者把我说成一个失败者，郁郁不得志地租住在曼哈顿。实际上，在过去13年中，我一直在新泽西州拥有一处房产，从没有搬过家。如果我想混淆视听，我可以说我的房子升值了两倍。
然而，经过认真分析，我发现，虽然我在一个房价大幅飙升的市场拥有一套住房，但从某一方面看，我几乎一分钱也没有赚到，而且我也并不认为这有什么不正常。
我是在1992年末以16.5万美元买下的这套住房。如今它可能价值50万美元，上涨了两倍有余。而根据住房贷款公司联邦住房贷款抵押公司(Federal Home Loan Mortage Corporation, Freddie Mac)的数据，同期全美住房平均涨幅为仅为101.7%。
是否该为此庆祝一番呢？可能还不行。我有一个“坏”毛病，喜欢认真记录日常开销，因此对我来说，计算过去13年在房屋维护、房产税和抵押贷款利息方面的支出并不困难。相信我，计算结果一点也不乐观。
首先，我的房子大幅升值的原因之一就是我花费了巨资对它进行装修维护。我在1992年买下这套房子的时候，它已经有些年久失修，我对厨房进行了改造，加了一间浴室，装上空调，围上门廊，换上新的屋顶，更换锅炉，装修阁楼......天知道我还做了什么别的改造。
这些大大小小的工程加起来总共花了我13万美元。这是一笔让我颇感难受的巨大数目，每每想起，也都不敢面对。16.5万美元的购房款、加上这13万美元，我的购房成本升至了29.5万美元。
我也可以自己骗自己，把这13万美元看作是投资。虽然这些改造工程的确提升了房屋的价值，但当我将房子售出时，这些成本是无论如何也收不回来的。我的“新厨房”如今也用了9年，正变得越来越旧，没有哪个思维正常的人会按当初的装修价格为这个二手厨房买单。
如果能回到从前，我可能会购买一套装修齐备的房子，只花很少的钱就能享受前人的装修成果。当然，问题是去哪儿找装修品位和自己一致的卖家呢。厚粗绒地毯？我可不喜欢。
房屋装修费用可能是我最大的一笔房屋维护成本，不过，我在抵押贷款利息和房产税上的支出也不少。实际上，如果觉得自己有点过于乐观了，你可以花上一些时间，查阅一下自己的纳税记录。
我就是这样做的。我把我从1992年以来支付的所有房产税和抵押贷款利息相加，得到的结果再次让我坐立不安。在过去的13年中，我总共缴纳了63,000美元的房产税、108,000美元的抵押贷款利息。
虽然这些都是可以免税的，但也不能对这部分免税额估计过高，事实上，如果我不使用分类减免税额，我仍可以享受标准的税收减免。只有在标准减免额之上获得的额外的税收减免才是你真正获得的税收利得。
因此，我重新计算了从1992年以来每年所获得的标准税收减免，然后将其从抵押贷款和房产税总额中减掉。
假设高于标准税收减免的部分按28%的税率减免，我计算得出我的抵押贷款利息和房产税共获得了24,000美元的联邦税项收益，这意味著这它们的税后成本是147,000美元。
加上房款16.5万美元、装修款13万美元，我在房屋上的总投入为44.2万美元，比目前其50万美元的价值少不了多少。如果我将最初的交易费用、日常房屋维护费用以及每年的房屋所有人保险都计算进来，情况可能会更糟，更不要提我为这套房子付出的大量时间精力了。虽然我现在还不打算将房子卖掉，但总有一天我会这样做的。设想一下，如果我今天把房子卖了，我还要缴纳5%的房地产佣金。在打发了交易商后，我还能拿回475,000美元，与我的总成本基本持平。
是否听人说过房屋是他们最好的投资？这其中有两种可能：他们或者从未认真进行过计算、完全不知道真实情况，或者有著十分敏锐的观察力。
房屋的确能成为一项获利颇巨的投资。一旦把因持有房产而产生的所有费用计算在内，你可能就无法从房屋升值中获取任何收益。不过，虽然你要拼命挣钱支付房产税、还要竭力拥护房屋，但你毕竟还可以住在一套无需支付房租的房子里。
当然，你可能还是要偿还抵押贷款，许多人认为每月支付的还款额相当于支付房租。但和房租不同，偿还抵押贷款总会有个尽头。
还认为作为房屋所有者的一大好处就是房价上扬吗？想想看，人们通常不会因为房屋升值了就打算退休。但你常常会听说有人在还完最后一笔抵押贷款后就辞职回家享受生活了，突然之间，他们每月的开销大幅减少，有免费的房子住，负担退休生活也就不是什么难事了。
