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Old 08-26-2019, 03:31 PM   #45
MAXUM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FlyingScot View Post
Hmmm...completely accurate yet completely misleading all at once. Your lake house or land is not an investment, it is a luxury good. Taxes on that luxury good are not a penalty or investment expense, they are the cost of performing services that benefit you and other residents. That some people make money on lake houses (using whatever definition you'd like) is terrific, but not the definition of success here.
I wasn't referring to a lake house this is my primary residence also in NH, which is an average house in an average town who's tax rate hovers in the low to mid 20's per thousand. I didn't realize a house is a luxury item.

In 20 years of ownership I have paid out ~133% of the purchase price in taxes on a assessed gain of 100%. It gets even worse if I factor in other holding costs, but for the purposes of this discussion I'll stick to just taxes.

Speaking of luxurious lake houses... my island camp has actually turned out to be a better ROI running just slightly ahead of the taxes paid to assessed value increase since I have owned it.

The problem I see is that nobody actually pays attention to all the costs associated with property ownership only look at the purchase versus sell price. Acquisition costs, holding costs such as taxes, mortgage, upkeep, renovations etc... are never part of the equation. It's not a money maker if the aforementioned is running multiples of what gain is realized. Right now for every dollar that I make on my house will cost me $1.95 when all is said and done BEFORE any real-estate transaction fees and commissions. In other words it's a huge net loss in the long run.
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