Homebuying as a financial investment, help.

Homebuying as a financial investment, help.

Member since 2010 · 1 post · 0 votes

Hello. So I've been crunching some numbers as I am about to purchase my first home. I've made a spreadsheet that enables me to see the amortization for any values you'd like to change in your home loan, loan ammt, % down, rate, and term. I then also list the expected value increase of the home over the life of the loan, say 3%/year as an estimate.

Now my question is when calculating the expected profit my numbers seem to indicate that putting lower down will give you more profit over time than putting more down, that is if the rate is the same. This seems counter intuitive however I know my amortization table is correct, so I'm left to think either my profit calcs are incorrect or this is in fact the case.

Here's my profit calculation:

Profit= Home Value-(Principle remaining+Down payment+selling costs)

So when I put in 100% down the profit is initially negative due to cost of selling, then increases as though you're earning 3% on a savings account. When I put 0% down the profit over the life of the loan is substantially greater. This again is all at a rate of 4.25%, I know generally the higher down the less the rate but I'm thinking of a FHA loan and I'm wondering the benefits of a larger down payment.

Can anyone shed some light on why this might be? I wish I could upload my spreadsheet so other can check my calcs. Thanks for the input!

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  • Rental Property Investor · Mercer Island, WA · Member since 2008 · 22k+ posts · 14k+ votes
    16y

    That formula is not your profit. The profit would be:

    gross profit=selling price - purchase price - purchase costs - selling costs - interest paid - maintenance - capital improvements - taxes - insurance

    That may be subject to taxes. Down payment does not directly affect your profit, but a larger down will result in lower interest and so will increase your profit.

    There may be other costs, too. HOA fees, for example. Special assessments from the HOA or some taxing agency.

    Now you may be thinking about cash in hand after a sale, which is:

    cash= sales price - selling costs - loan payoff.

    But that's certainly not your profit. Profit on a primary residence is almost certainly negative. Even at 4.5% and a 20% down payment you're paying 3.6% of the purchase price in interest alone in the first year. That gets better over time. But not for a long time. Add in the other expenses, and you need to get something like 6% annual appreciation to be break even. Then subtract the two sets of closing costs. And we haven't even discussed inflation.

  • J ScottPro Member
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    Investor · Sarasota, FL · Member since 2008 · 18k+ posts · 17k+ votes
    16y

    As Jon pointed out, your only potential for profit comes from appreciation, as that's the only place where you could possibly make any money (ie, no rental income, etc). If appreciation generates enough to cover comissions, costs, fees, interest, etc, you may see a profit when you sell. Otherwise, you won't.

    Getting a loan will incur interest expense and other fees and will necessarily detract from profit. So, to maximize profit on the house, pay 100% cash.

    That said if you take the money you would save by getting a loan and can earn more than the 4-5% you'll be paying in interest, it may be worth it to get the loan. Remember, a dollar in your pocket today is worth more than that same dollar tomorrow.

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