re: The 50-year mortgage is a good idea actually

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There is no magical connection between what you paid and what you may get in the future

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Im definitely no expert, and i certainly never put faith in anything ‘magical’- but it doesnt seem like a huge leap of logic to assume that what ive paid into SS over the last 30 years or so went towards SS checks for the elderly during that time.. and when im elderly, the workers paying into SS will help support me.. i realize there will probably be shortfalls , and i also get that you seem to be against anything that might be considered ‘welfare’ in any form (hopefully if youre consistent, that also includes corporate welfare/subsidies)- but just on general principle, is what I stated in re to my general expectation of who pays and who recieves, is that out of touch with reality, and if so then how ?

Best investment is to pay off debt.

Lots of strong opinions here, but effectively a 50-year mortgage is just a hedge on rent expense, which makes sense for a lot of people, including young families.

You trade paying traditional rent for paying principal and interest along with taxes and insurance.

Traditional rent:
- Subject to increases at landlord's discretion (con)
- Subject to non-renewal at landlord's discretion (con)
- No equity/exposure to real estate market (generally a con)
- No responsibility for repairs/maintenance (pro)
- Allows for easy relocation (pro)

50-year mortgage:
- Effectively locks in your base rent for life, even if you move, as long as you stay in a home of equal value; only delta is change in taxes/insurance (pro)
- Long-term stability (pro)
- Exposure to real estate market changes (generally a pro)
- Responsible for repairs/maintenance (con)
- Relocation is trickier, especially if market is at or below initial purchase price (con)

What people miss about 50-year mortgages is that even though the holder doesn't build equity via the principal very quickly (if at all), they are able to capture equity via appreciation. Additionally, they are able to stabilize housing costs to a degree in an inflationary environment. $3,000 per month today in P&I on a 50-year mortgage equates to $2,232 in today's dollars 10 years from now assuming 3% annual inflation.

“$500K mortgage for 50 years at 5% you'll pay $250K in interest and only pay down $30K in principle in the first 10 years. Banks would love this proposal and would make sense if you don't mind the risk of going bankrupt or can get other banks to bail you out, like Trump”

The 50-year mortgage is a way for the government to force people to keep working until a later age without directly extending the minimum age to collect on your social security. What percentage of the population, who already can't save for a $1k emergency, will be able to retire with a house note?

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nce your financial situation improves, you just refinance it with a 30-year, 20-year, or 15-year term.

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I suspect majority of the homeowners are doing so in ways to reduce their monthly obligations. In other words, in 5-10 years when they are refinancing, they are looking for a new 30-year mortgage so they can reduce that monthly note, not so they can pay it off faster.

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Best investment is to pay off debt.

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For vast majority of Americans, this is good advice. But I’m not paying off a 2.25% mortgage anytime soon.

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Know what’d be a better idea? Banning corporations, especially foreign investors, from owning single-family homes.

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This is the way...sort of.

Just limit it to something like 10 single family homes. That allows local real estate investors to still operate.

And you can't retroactively install this, a lot would be grandfathered in. But it would help long term. Government shouldn't be able to take property from American citizens and companies.

But foreign entities can get fricked. Force them to sell and if they get an offer at Fair Market Value they have to take it (can't set unhittable price points).

The fix to home affordability is focusing on the supply. 50 year mortgages will make prices go up. People who aren't in a financial position to buy a home will be doing so in droves, driving up prices enormously.

To focus on supply:

- Put caps on corporations buying single family homes. Really low, like 10.

- Don't allow any foreign entities or individuals to buy homes at all unless it's an individual with proper documentation like dual citizenship.

- Force a sale of these homes owned by foreign entities. If they are offered FMV or above, they have to accept it or it is seized. They can only rent to American citizens as it is up for sale and the rent is capped. Give them big motivation to get a sale done.

- Figure out how to get building supplies cost down, which have ballooned.

I probably wouldn’t figure a 20% down payment for someone financing a house for 50 years