According to the Japanese government, the “useful life” of a house is officially 22 years. This isn’t some non-cash accounting gimmick, houses (not the land) become completely worthless in Japan after 20 – 30 years. When a property changes hands, new owners demolish the existing structure and start from scratch. While this may seem odd to us, we need to recognize that in the U.S., commercial property is fully depreciated over 27.5 years. …
Month: October 2021
High quality outdoor space is well worth a premium, and having any outdoor space is always a positive. But paying a premium for marginal outdoor space is ill advised. Realistically, it’s only practical to use outdoor space about 10% of the year in our area, so we advise clients to buy property based on how they will live in it the other 90% of the time. …
While stubbornly high commission rates clearly harm consumers, in our view the real damage the oligopoly inflicts on consumers is in the actual pricing of real estate. It’s important to recognize that unlike the financial services industry, where it’s illegal to offer securities that are being grossly inflated, in the unregulated buyer beware world of real estate brokerage, this is the life blood of the industry. …
There is a myth in the marketplace that co-ops are more expensive than condominiums. Setting aside the obvious point that the co-op fee includes things like property taxes, co-op fees, in fact, offer a more realistic snapshot of the true cost of ownership. …
