𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒕

In Mid 2019, me and my husband were one among the pool of families looking to buy their first home and feeling lucky. We were of the general impression that having a house to call our home would not only give us a good return in future when we resell it but also a sense of ownership and freedom to do anything to our house.

Fast forward September 2019, we moved into our first home. We were in so much rush that we didn't really do much research or price negotiation. For us, only conditions we had were, close to school, small enough to manage, close to public amenities and safe for a family to live. 

Once we moved in, we started noticing issues with many things around the house. As a result, additional expenses we had never anticipated. We were aware of city fees and water bills in addition to mortgage. However, little did we know, that buying a house means we were buying into many additional non-stop things to do and change. We can easily say that is one's own choice but it is not that simple. 

Once we have a big backyard, we have to keep maintaining that. To maintain the backyard whole summer, hiring a grass mower is not a sustainable answer. So we had to buy a grass mowing machine, trimming and edging machines. Likewise, if we don't use a big surrounding for gardening, no point in having our own house, then start gardening and a bit of googling in gardening, you come up with a list of things to buy. Garden tools, soil, seeds, etc. 

Then there is a yard without anything for our kids, think of making it kids friendly, to encourage children to go out and have technology off time, where you spend a huge sum. It has become endless “to do list” and “to buy list”. Not to forget, all your weekends are now lost to doing something around our house. There is no more free time to go see your friends for BBQ or drinks.

This time, in my online business ( www.tashidem.com ) community book club suggested we read Rich Dad, Poor Dad. This book's whole argument is surrounding asset and liability. How to make money. How not to work for money but make money work for you. How to identify assets- money making activities from liabilities, money expenses. The author Robert T. Kiyosaki points out that house is the liability which 99% people won't agree with and consider it as an asset. 

For me, with my fresh first hand experience, I immediately agreed wished I read this book before we bought our first home? 

I casually surveyed my friends on facebook about what they think and many of them reckon until the mortgage is cleared, house as a liability and after that as an asset. This is also debatable as the price of a house  is not always guaranteed to increase. Additionally, if you are like me, an Immigrant, it can put you in bad shape if you want to leave the country for a short duration if the property is not in a popular renting location. 

House not only eats a major part of your income but also makes you worry about Real Estate market unnecessarily. 

Disclaimer: This is not in any way to discourage you from buying a house. It’s my own opinion and wish I knew it from before. I looked into advantages and disadvantages of buying a house and most differences I found was, about convenience and freedom vs rent and mortgage etc but never in additional hidden cost and worries. And ofcourse, those were all written by Real Estate owners, who want us to buy houses and keep business running.