Elite

My aunt bought her house for $165,000 in 2001. Everybody congratulated her because she had finally achieved the American dream. Today, the house is estimated to be worth $390,000. Sounds like she won, right? Except her property taxes went up, insurance became more expensive, repairs kept piling up, and her retirement income never increased at the same speed. She’s sitting on a valuable property but doesn’t have the cash flow to comfortably maintain it. People talk about rising home values like every homeowner is getting richer. Sometimes the house appreciates faster than the person living inside it.