Real Estate is a bad investment. Don't buy a house!

by MinisterAmos 12 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  VM44

  That Awake! article also gives the reason for inflation.

  What Prompts Inflation?

  In an article entitled "Inflation and Deflation," written for World Book Encyclopedia, professor of economics Kenneth E. Boulding explains that, when people have money to spend, "they turn to shops and stores, looking for things to buy that they have always wanted." If industry is not producing enough of these desired items (as during a time of war), "the prices of goods are bound to rise as people bid against each other for the small supply that is available." Thus it is that inflation springs from the desire of people to accumulate material things excessively. And many of these things are luxury items that have little or no practical value.

  The conclusion that the Awake! writer makes about the cause of inflation is NOT implied by the given selected quotations. That this writer is already writing from a biased and preconceived viewpoint is obviously shown by the oversimplified (and wrong) conclusion about inflation made in the paragraph.

  --VM44
• 

  SixofNine

  This is overly simplistic, but I think fairly realistic:

  The average sale price of a home in October of 1975 was $43,900.00. Average sale prices for homes between 1975 and 2005 have gone up an average rate per year of 6.43%. Let's assume that a person made a down payment of 25% on 43,900 for an initial investment of $10,975.00

  After 30 years (in 2005), that $10,975.00 investment in a home would be worth $300,595.22. Not too shabby for a place to lay your head until Jehovah destroys the people whose house you really want to live in
• 

  VM44

  Look at the subheading under which the Awake! writer's comment about real estate was made.

  A Balanced View of Material Things

  ...

  "Real estate, too, seems to offer little in the way of security. Property owners suffer from heavy taxation, high maintenance costs, vandalism and inability of tenants to pay their rents."

  Whenever the Watchtower or Awake! uses the phrase, "A Balanced View" it means they are going to start listing all of the negative aspects they can think of about the subject they are discussing.

  As SixOfNine's example shows, over the last 30 years since 1975, when the article was published, the value of real estate has skyrocketed!

  This comment about real estate was NOT providing a BALANCED view, but rather has to be one of the top examples of the BAD ADVICE that the Awake! have ever given over the years!

  --VM44