this post was submitted on 10 Sep 2025
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This might be duh for some people, but if you're like me and considering a mortgage; at today's rates in the US at around 5-6%, over 30yr mortgage you will pay about same in interest as you will for your house price.

Your $500k house will cost you around $1M total over thirty years.

I was surprised.

https://m.mortgagecalculator.org/?q=A1Nzy-8KX

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Oh absolutely, and I bought a house for largely that reason. I also DIY most of my repairs, so according to my math, I should come out ahead vs renting, and enjoy more space and more freedom to do what I please on that property (no HOA, so very few rules on what I can do). But a lot of people end up spending more on a house vs renting because:

  • they buy more house than they need
  • they fill up unused space w/ stuff (RV that gets used maybe once a year, beds in unused rooms, etc)
  • they hire out repairs to experts (call plumber for every clog, have a lawn service, etc)
  • constantly upgrade things, and again, hire out the help to do it (often getting a HELOC or something to fund it)

My area has low property taxes, relatively low house insurance, and my dad taught me how to do a lot of basic things around the house (i.e. I repair my car in my garage, I do basic electrical work like swapping plugs and switches, have fixed my appliances a few times, etc).

There are absolutely ways to profit off owning property, but there are also a lot of ways to piss that away. That's why I use national averages for things like this, not my own experience.