Why Buying A House May Be One of Your Biggest Mistakes
The concept seems as old as time; go to school, get a good job, save and buy a house. At this point you sit back watch it sky rocket in value before paying off the mortgage by the time you retire. Ah the British and indeed Western dream.
Coming from an African household that was steeped in a love of property, I also bought into this mantra wholeheartedly and the last few years my wife and I acquired our first house. As well as saving everything we had we also sold a one bedroom apartment we had purchased.
A house traditionally is seen as an investment and one that is likely to continue to creep upward in terms of price. In truth acquiring a house is an exercise in the heart overcoming the mind because for most people owning a house is the biggest cost on their books and here’s why:
1 — Maintenance Costs Can Be High
One thing I’ve quickly realised after buying a house is that the cost of ongoing maintenance is vastly understated. All the conversations around the costs of a house typically revolve around the monthly mortgage cost and seldom if ever did I hear of the costs of maintenance. Depending on the age and condition of the house these can vary from a few £100 to thousands. When I moved in we had over £2,000 worth of electrical work to be done to upgrade the wiring which then resulted in further work being…
