I think that $6000 a year for an average Sunset home is probably fairly average. Some years are of course better, some worse. Roofs are expensive. Fences are relatively cheap. Moisture damage or fungus can be expensive. Water heaters are relatively cheap (at least compared to a roof.) So while I don’t have actual data, I do think that’s fairly accurate. And the closer you are to the beach - the worse it will be. (I live on Great Highway, and even though our house is fairly new, I can already see rust bleeding through the stucco in places, the finish on my gate bubbled and peeled off and we even chose aluminum for the gate because of the rust factor, and my mail flap is rusted almost in place.)

I guess you’re saying that you’d be spending money on maintaining your home anyway, and when paying rent, you’re not paying for maintenance. But a lot of maintenance increases the value of your property, so it goes back to investing in your investment (sounds redundant, but it is true.) And while maintenance isn’t deductible, taxes are.

And while you’re investing in your investment when you’re a homeowner, you’re investing in someone else’s investment when you’re a renter. And, you lose the opportunity to earn some return on the money shelled out every month.

But - renting does have it’s advantages. In this market, any place you buy won’t be as nice as the last place you rented. If all you can spend each month is $3K, your rented home will be much nicer than anything you can get with a mortgage payment that’s just $3K. And, you don’t need to worry about maintenance. When something breaks, the landlord comes to the rescue. And of course, in SF, there’s rent control, which protects you from increases in your housing costs. (I’ll reserve my opinion on that matter till another time - short version is that I’m not a fan and it’s not used for what it was intended - which is to be sure that people don’t get priced out of their homes.) So renting isn’t bad, and in fact, for some people it’s the best option.

And P.S. - Thanks for sharing the tax benefit of renting for the self-employed. I love it when I learn something new!

Historically - the best time to buy has always been “yesterday.” Back in the 1980’s when the market here was doing really bad and interest rates were ridiculously high, my parents had the opportunity to purchase a home in the Inner Sunset. They hesitated because rates were so high (though they could afford the payment at the time). By the time rates went down, prices went up and they could no longer afford a home. They both rented until they met their respective new spouses (they divorced years ago) and wouldn’t have become home owners if their spouses hadn’t owned homes when they met them.

I think people need to factor in the financial implications of owning a home. But, it’s much more than just a financial investment. And in my opinion (not everyone’s opinion, I know) buying a home is still a wiser choice for someone buying for the long-term that is throwing away money on rent that provides no opportunity for appreciation, and offers no tax benefits.

There’s a risk in most every investment (at least anything that isn’t FDIC insured). The stock market, for example, is volatile, yet people don’t raise an eyebrow at having a large stock portfolio. But a home, a tangible investment that provides all sorts of benefits aside from just the financial ones, is seen as risky. I don’t get it.

In short, I really believe in homeownership as an investment - and the longer the term of homeownership, the better.

It’s an interesting statistic to look out for. Thanks for pointing it out!

Sincerely,

The Foreclosure Doctor