I will say this though. Once this housing bubble hits bottom (and I’m in no position to tell you when that will be) then I anticipate houses going back to what they always were: an investment that can add greatly to quality of life and adds greatly to equity but not necessarily as a way to make money. I read somewhere (can’t find the article now) that before the housing bubble in the end of the last century, houses really didn’t appreciate in value(beyond inflation and such, etc.), but never lost money either. Safe as houses and such.

I would love to own my own place–the idea of always having to ask someone else whether or not i can put up a shelf in my own bedroom or rely on someone else to replace an old stove is just really really annoying. I don’t know if will ever make any economic sense, but I’m so tired of dealing with terrible landlords.

I know you weren’t actually not understanding what maintenance fees are, so I hope this doesn’t read as patronizing or anything (conveying tone through text is hard!), but I do still think the comparison to property taxes is a much closer one. It’s also kind of like having a one-stop lawn service, roof service, and service for every part of your home that isn’t within your individual walls, and I will tell you, as a single family home owner, that those parts can be mighty expensive and it’s nice to have them taken care of separately (assuming your condo association doesn’t just blow your cash without keeping up the facilities, heh).

Everyone I know who has looked into ownership (in New York City) has found that the monthly maintainence fee on any apartment they can afford is HUGE. Sometimes double or triple their potential mortgage payments. So even if they were able to get the tax break, the cost of ownership is just too insanely high overall.

This means it doesn’t make sense for most people to buy if they don’t like to settle down or if they want to live in a city with a crazy housing market. (Or, for that matter, if they hate thinking about home repairs, have unstable incomes, or don’t care about having a space they can modify as they’d like.) But buying was an incredible deal for my family, and now that we’ve paid off the mortgage early the financial peace of mind we have is amazing.

the thought of moving out into the real world of Toronto stresses me outtttttttt. why can’t things just be affordable?!

Also, can someone in a condo explain to me how maintenance fees aren’t rent?

I tell myself that inflation will be my friend as a homeowner. Of course, I bought right at the start of an insanely low-inflation patch. Sigh.