House prices > Rent = Price fall

[bogeyman]

Yes but that is hard to judge, even for smart people, which you are not.

You should charge for that kind of advice. Really, you should.

[PAH]

Suprisingly, given the background and experiences of some on here, one of the biggest pluses for rental over buying has been missed:

When renting you don't lose your home and half the value of it if you get divorced!

[HRH]

Strike two. But you probably have your good points too.

</personal insult>

wrong again, no good points I'm 100% cretin.

[BrilloPad]

The smart point of renting is to do so when house prices are already too high and buy when they are low.

Should one be taking a punt on house prices? Mind you, I wish I had done so 15 years ago - I should have just mortgaged myself to the hilt....

[BrilloPad]

Suprisingly, given the background and experiences of some on here, one of the biggest pluses for rental over buying has been missed:

When renting you don't lose your home and half the value of it if you get divorced!

all (if kids involved)

of course the ex gets half/all of whatever you have - presumably you mean spend the money instead?

[TimberWolf]

So by that you mean it is a zero sum game? First of all it isn't a zero sum game - economics are growing, and if they were not we'd still be in the stone ages where everyone would own (or rent) a cave and the arguements of this kind would have been settled with a few punches.

I don't mind fair competition anyway - that is nothing dishonourable in Intel creating new ways of doing calculations and abacus makers out of business. There is no dishonour in that so long as competition is fair and the best (overall) product wins.

What is wealth anyway? In some respects (e.g. land availablity and personal space/freedom) wealth decreases over time.

Okay, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to define wealth as the rate of utilisation of energy instead. For example the average westerner probably has the equivalent of 50 or so slaves at his beck and call (each of which would do say 100 watts of useful work). This wealth is increasing and also moving into less wealthy countries. For example it would take 2 slaves to power a TV (or Intel processor), 100 to power the central heating and 300 the car. One form of potential energy (e.g. oil) is converted into another (e.g. food) using machinery that also uses energy. Some of this potential wealth is finite and some less finite, being untapped. So whether it is a zero sum game or not and we are becoming more wealthy depends on which resources are being examined.

Land availability and oil reserves are decreasing for example, both of which are in finite supply and could lead to cuts in the number of slaves we own if we don’t seek alternatives before it is too late. Doomed etc. All Intel did is increase the rate at which we expend energy and give us more slaves of questionable benefit. An Intel priocessor doesn't buy you more land or get you more women for example, except if you use it to access the Internet.

[PAH]

all (if kids involved)

of course the ex gets half/all of whatever you have - presumably you mean spend the money instead?

Yep, enjoy it whilst you're young and fit enough. No point saving for a rainy day when that's all we ever have.

We can always fall-back on our pensions when we get too old to work.

[BrilloPad]

Yep, enjoy it whilst you're young and fit enough. No point saving for a rainy day when that's all we ever have.

We can always fall-back on our pensions when we get too old to work.

pensions or the welfare state?

what are the odds on us being able to claim either?

[PAH]

pensions or the welfare state?

what are the odds on us being able to claim either?

Probably non-existant.

At least we've global warming to look forward to. Sleeping on a park bench won't be nearly so bad when it's 80 degrees all year round.

[AtW]

What is wealth anyway?

It's something that is perceived or actually absolutely necessary that others don't have.