Home Appliances

[Sirharles]

So it appears my dishwasher is broken.  Won't drain.  I've checked all the hoses and there appears to be no clog.  Have no idea what the problem is.  Other than it's 20yrs old.  Sometimes owning a house really sucks.

[nacho]

I've always felt that owning would be undesirable.  It's always one thing after another...and it's up to you to pay for and fix it.  Renting may be crazy and annoying but, damn, if the dishwasher goes a new one is free and just a phone call away.  Pop!  In it goes. 

All that said -- does your dishwasher have one of those little grates at the bottom?  There's always fun stuff in there.  And check the elevation of the hose to the sink.  Sometimes it can stop draining if that hose has fallen.

[Sirharles]

I've done all that, and the Handyman/Father is coming over tonight to help me take a look at it. 

There are times where I think, "Man I wish I rented" but then I look at the $50K in equity I've built up (yes taking into account our current housing market) and the fact that I can write off every penny of interest on my taxes.

[nacho]

I write off stolen alcohol on my taxes.

[RottingCorpse]

Dishwashers aren't my forte, so I have no clue what could be wrong.

[Nubbins]

Yeah, if I had a choice I'd rather be dumping money into a mortgage than flushing it down the toilet by renting... but I guess there are pros and cons to both. 

[Sirharles]

Oh the pros definetly outweight the cons of owning.  It's just times like this when things break that you hate it.  Over the past seven years I've had to replace the whole HVAC system, the washer and dryer, hotwater heater, fridge and now probably this.  Oh yeah and replaced the roof.  But when you look at the tax savings and equity build up I came out way ahead.

[Tatertots]

My apartment ($850 a month):

Pros:
* Close to campus

Cons:
* Everything else. Shitty interior, shitty exterior. Also, it's always 10° hotter inside than outside which means on a day like today, it will reach 105°, easy, by late afternoon.

[Cassander]

ok, so i'm finally going to admit my ignorance and just ask.  what the fuck is equity and what the hell do you do with it?  to my knowledge, it just allows you to say "i'm this safe and reliable" and take out more loans, right?  or is there more to it than that?

ps, don't know about your dishwasher, but you know, family dishwashing time is a great way to connect at the end of the day.  and it saves energy!

[Sirharles]

ok, so i'm finally going to admit my ignorance and just ask.  what the fuck is equity and what the hell do you do with it?  to my knowledge, it just allows you to say "i'm this safe and reliable" and take out more loans, right?  or is there more to it than that?

Equity is, in it's basic form, the value of your investment.  Say 7 years ago when I bought my house it cost me $100K.  Now if I were to sell it, the market value is $200K.  So in 7 years I've made roughly $100K by just owning the house.  Now I take my $100K I've made plus the original loan of $100K and buy a $200K new house but only take out a mortgage for the original $100K.  Now I'm living in a house that is twice the worth of my original but only paying mortgage on half of it's value.  Does that make sense?  It's way late for me, and I'm dreading work tomorrow so I may not be making sense. (Equity equals value minus amount owed on loan, $200k - $100K = $100K equity)

[nacho]

ok, so i'm finally going to admit my ignorance and just ask.  what the fuck is equity and what the hell do you do with it?  to my knowledge, it just allows you to say "i'm this safe and reliable" and take out more loans, right?  or is there more to it than that?

Equity is, in it's basic form, the value of your investment.  Say 7 years ago when I bought my house it cost me $100K.  Now if I were to sell it, the market value is $200K.  So in 7 years I've made roughly $100K by just owning the house.  Now I take my $100K I've made plus the original loan of $100K and buy a $200K new house but only take out a mortgage for the original $100K.  Now I'm living in a house that is twice the worth of my original but only paying mortgage on half of it's value.  Does that make sense?  It's way late for me, and I'm dreading work tomorrow so I may not be making sense. (Equity equals value minus amount owed on loan, $200k - $100K = $100K equity)

Wow.  I'll have to read that again when it isn't 4:30am, I think.

So equity isn't really "making money," right?  Because you have to use it to buy a house, don't you?  You can't actually buy cheaper and get 100k cash without being penalized, can you?  It's all part of the "you have to keep upgrading because it's 1955 and that's what we do" mentality, right?

[Sirharles]

So equity isn't really "making money," right?  Because you have to use it to buy a house, don't you?  You can't actually buy cheaper and get 100k cash without being penalized, can you?  It's all part of the "you have to keep upgrading because it's 1955 and that's what we do" mentality, right?

No, equity is making money.  Yes you can pull out the 100k without any problems.  That's because it's 100k.  The problem gets into higher numbers..I forgot the cut off amount.. but then you have to pay capital gains tax unless you reinvest it into a house or something.

Another way to look at it is, say I bought a 200k house lived there for 10 yrs and now it's worth 300K.  I sell it, but decide I don't need such a big house.  The kids are gone, wife has left me, just need a room for me and Nacho.  So I sell it, get 300K, pay back the mortgage (for ease of math let's say I still owe 150K) and buy a 100k house for cash while still pocketing 50k for hookers and beer.  That's the beauty of equity.

[nacho]

Well, that sounds much better.

Also glad that I'm a crucial element of your end of life plan. 

[Sirharles]

I see you and me like Duval and Caine in the beginning of Second Hand Lions.  Just living in a run down house taking pot shots at salesmen.

[Nubbins]

I always thought of equity as things like finishing your basement or building a new deck.