Your house liability or asset?

[Reincarnated]

Even more general companies use MS excel spreadsheets. It is an application that refuses to die.

I'd argue excel is still sufficient for most users/applications that currently use it. Most rank and file office employees can't leverage more than a couple handfuls of formulas/functions anyways.

Specialized technical applications have their place for sure, but so do general use/simple applications.

 

[AureliusMaximus]

I'd argue excel is still sufficient for most users/applications that currently use it. Most rank and file office employees can't leverage more than a couple handfuls of formulas/functions anyways.

Specialized technical applications have their place for sure, but so do general use/simple applications.

If it fits your need; yeah then why not. If you really know how to code MS excel then you can do some pretty amazing things with it. But it has its limitations too.

 

[jaygreenb]

If it fits your need; yeah then why not. If you really know how to code MS excel then you can do some pretty amazing things with it. But it has its limitations too.

Back when I was in the corporate world during the 2000's in finance. You could make a legit career out of being highly skilled in excel. Not sure how much it is used now but I still use it when I need just keep track of things not that complex, usually more personal side. I'm sure there are better ways now but that is what I know and it's pretty easy

 

[BackInTheGame78]

If it fits your need; yeah then why not. If you really know how to code MS excel then you can do some pretty amazing things with it. But it has its limitations too.

The problem comes when they want you to do stuff that it isn't designed to do and don't understand why you are recommending not to use excel.

 

[AureliusMaximus]

The problem comes when they want you to do stuff that it isn't designed to do and don't understand why you are recommending not to use excel.

I'm aware of the issues of Excel too. But for small business owners and startups Excel does do the job. The trick is of course to being stuck with it as your business grows and being willing to then migrate to other more fitting alternatives when your business requires it.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

I'm aware of the issues of Excel too. But for small business owners and startups Excel does do the job. The trick is of course to being stuck with it as your business grows and being willing to then migrate to other more fitting alternatives when your business requires it.

When it's one of the biggest banks in the world it's a problem.

 

[BeExcellent]

Here’s how I see it.

First a free & clear house is an asset. Period. But what do you do with that asset? Obviously you have to live somewhere and a paid for place has value in that you have equity, which can be borrowed against (the easiest type loan to get bar none in US is a loan against equity on something you already own & occupy).

So what if the house is worth 1M? You are still paying utilities, property taxes, upkeep and insurance (if you are smart) on that house. What if you stripped out the equity to purchase investment income properties where the tenants now are buying you income properties AND paying back your equity note? You are in a way your own piggy bank in that case.

I think living in a free and clear house is a terrible investment strategy. It ties too much money up when that money (equity) could be out earning more money. Yes you’ve got to have a place to live. But why sit on equity that could be working for you as well as providing a place to live?

I also think that in markets where the costs to buy are really high (requiring a huge down payment) that it is better to purchase less expensive income properties that can create income as a higher priority. My son will purchase a duplex when he can, for example. Live in one side, rent out the other. Tying up hundreds of thousands of dollars in a residence is foolish to my way of thinking.

But I am a contrarian on this, certainly.

 

[BillyPilgrim]

Here’s how I see it.

First a free & clear house is an asset. Period. But what do you do with that asset? Obviously you have to live somewhere and a paid for place has value in that you have equity, which can be borrowed against (the easiest type loan to get bar none in US is a loan against equity on something you already own & occupy).

So what if the house is worth 1M? You are still paying utilities, property taxes, upkeep and insurance (if you are smart) on that house. What if you stripped out the equity to purchase investment income properties where the tenants now are buying you income properties AND paying back your equity note? You are in a way your own piggy bank in that case.

I think living in a free and clear house is a terrible investment strategy. It ties too much money up when that money (equity) could be out earning more money. Yes you’ve got to have a place to live. But why sit on equity that could be working for you as well as providing a place to live?

I also think that in markets where the costs to buy are really high (requiring a huge down payment) that it is better to purchase less expensive income properties that can create income as a higher priority. My son will purchase a duplex when he can, for example. Live in one side, rent out the other. Tying up hundreds of thousands of dollars in a residence is foolish to my way of thinking.

But I am a contrarian on this, certainly.

Thank you BE, this thread is not about spreadsheets for phuck's sake..

When the person with "excel" in their name is ignoring the "excel" talk, maybe it's out of place lmao.

 

[BeExcellent]

Thank you BE, this thread is not about spreadsheets for phuck's sake..

When the person with "excel" in their name is ignoring the "excel" talk, maybe it's out of place lmao.

This gets to the Biblical story of the 10 talents. Read it. The two servants who took the money entrusted to them, invested it wisely and earned returns were praised by the master. The servant who buried the money entrusted to him (under the auspices of protecting it) was scorned.

Sitting on equity is akin to burying the money. You get no return on what you do not invest, and you cannot bank on appreciation either.

I have a friend who stripped the equity out of his house, 100K worth (which he felt comfortable with). He put it to work in the markets and has had a sizable gain, meanwhile the housing market has softened so his equity decreased. But since he already took action and pulled some out? He gets the use of the equity at the higher value point.

You must have discipline in this of course. If you strip equity and spend the money rather than investing it to earn a return, well then you are worse off.

That would be like the servant who buried the money going and spending it foolishly instead. That is worse….but people do it.

 

[RickTheToad]

One: I wrote it in a hurry while I was on work....
and two: does it fricking matter on PUA forum?
At least I was kind enough to even bother to answer the OP´s thread question.

Yes, it should. Proper spelling and grammar is an important life skill; even in a chatGPT world.