The Homeowner Dream VS The Crypto Dream

The White Picket Fence & The American Dream

No matter where in the world you choose to look, you will find the majority of the population striving for the same goal! The ever popular ambition of home or property ownership, which many consider to be the point of arrival. Before we expound on this idea of investment we need to understand that not all property markets are aligned and that different dynamics are at play in different countries all over the world. For example, the American, Australian and New Zealand property markets are soaring in terms of ever increasing prices and supply shortage. This may sound good in theory but there are a number of challenges ahead that may topple this little empire of a market. On the other hand Crypto is known to be highly volatile but extremely profitable over the long-term. So which direction is the one with the best odds?

I am not going to trigger a debate or offer financial advice but rather offer my approach and what motivated it. One thing that everyone reading this needs to understand is how this property story usually unfolds for most market participants. The average person or couple spends 40 years of their life working, in which 20 years of that time is spent paying off a home mortgage. In 2018, many considered the opportunity of generating wealth within the Crypto market a thing of the past. Purchasing BTC at the lows of 2019 would imply a gain of at least 20X in a matter of 2 years.

This is what strengthened my approach of building wealth through Crypto and subsequent investments and then to possibly enter property ownership at a later stage. I don't consider property ownership an imperative investment as many do. As long as one holds investments that are as meaningful as property, or even more so, is way more important to me.

Remaining in this state of mind has proven to be very successful in my own strategy. Had I taken my income from profits as I earned them and used it to pay off a mortgage, I would still have a very far way to go in settling that mortgage. By utilizing Crypto as my main focus, I can now purchase a property cash if I so choose. Depending on where you are in the world, interest rates, though relatively low can still inflate the amount that you actually pay to purchase your property. Having the capital to purchase a property cash does not necessarily imply that one has to pay cash.

That capital can be invested, in order to utilize monthly interest as mortgage repayments. This strategy has been proven, in my case to be significantly quicker than the painful 20 year mortgage grind. It all comes down to what you are willing to sacrifice, as well as what is most important to you.

I Avoid The Joneses 

Keeping up with the Joneses is the most destructive path one can take in my opinion. Some may feel that by a certain age they need to own property, which is actually very deceptive in most instances. Unless you have paid off your mortgage, you actually don't even own the house, the bank does. This is why I would rather hold assets that I actually own, which allows me to to convert them into property, or any other asset for that matter. I can also earn yield on these assets, which can serve to pay off a mortgage. I generally avoid the path most taken, as the majority are consistently wrong. The wealthy work to convince the majority of an approach that benefits them.

Some may consider my approach risky, which they are free to do. However, the alternative is more risky in my opinion. Default on your mortgage and see what happens to your home. Compound that with ever increasing property taxes, monetary expansion and perhaps a degradation of municipal services. As mentioned earlier, this is subjective to where you are located in the world. You cannot default on what you own outright and you can further leverage your assets in order to facilitate a mortgage without putting your capital at significant risk. I say significant risk because all forms of investment incur some level of risk.

This is my approach and not financial advice. There are many ways to approach investments and my thinking is that as long as the investments are meaningful, they need not necessarily be in the form of property. Provided a property offers value to your life, portfolio and is well priced, it can still be an option. However, a secondary option in my case.

Such decisions should be made with the help of a financial planner, which I am not, so please do your own research and seek investment advice if you are looking to move into the property market. All the best!