11.14.08

Home Speculation

Posted in home life at 7:16 pm by Administrator

Today as in the past men and women have ventured into a challenging world.

When the battle is or has been won or held over we return home for rest, comfort and loved ones.

Hum, almost a twenty year old picture

Somehow we have made a house the focus of financial fortune rather than a home. Raising equity has become the goal rather than creating a place for “domestic affections”.

Dictionary.com offers some 26 definitions of “home”
Not one refers to investment or financial fortune

“home.” Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 14 Nov. 2008. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/home>.

Definitions start like this…

1. a house, apartment, or other shelter that is the usual residence of a person, family, or household.
2. the place in which one’s domestic affections are centered
3…

We need to put a little perspective on the “housing bubble burst” and a home. The essential function and value of a house still remains after the pop. A house can still be a home. If we bought a home that we could not afford, then shame on us for a poor financial decision. It was not the first poor decision we have made and I suspect it will not be the last. It may be the current biggest one. Mistakes hurt, we (oh and this is a big WE) own up to the loss, learn from it and move on. When mortgage terms were specified and papers signed, were we under duress? Was the bank under duress?

We need to adjust our time and home value perspective.
My parents bought their first home in 1967 for $16,000. It was a 3 bedroom 1 ½ bath home with an unfinished basement in a suburb of Salt Lake. Twenty-three years later they sold it for $70,000 with additions and improvements over time. My Grandparents bought their first home in the 1940’s for $1,200. A four room house with no basement. They sold it in the sixties for $13,000 with a basement and improvements. Now, in both cases they bought the house to be a home and for a place to raise a family knowing it would take some investment, not as an investment. When the home no longer fit their family or they needed a new start, they moved. The earned equity reflected at least a twenty-year investment.

If we bought a house to sell for large profits in a short time, on speculation, and we now find we have lost, is that not the risk in speculation. If we could not afford the terms and the bank and/or investors speculated on us and lost is that not the risk the in speculation.

If we bought a house to make a home is it not still of value? Has the terms changed? Will it not be a good place to raise or enjoy family regardless of current value? Does it provide shelter? Will it not be of increased financial value over time? Whether we keep our home or are buying a house [one that fits income, WE (builders, developers, bankers and homeowners) will learn or re-learn how] to create a home, it will still take an investment and it will still be worth it over time.

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