We need a new vocabulary for home "ownership".

I remember back when I was growing up when somebody would say that they just "bought" a house or that they are now a "homeowner", my relatives (I ferget which ones) would say something like, "Oh? You've paid off your mortgage, huh?" And, of course, the person would say, "No, I just closed on a house." "Well, then, you don't own the house unless you've paid off your mortgage. The bank owns it ... and you."

I think we need to revisit vocabulary such as this. When you sign a contract, an agreement, to pay the bank X amount of money over however-many years, that's all you've done. You have some newly-assigned rights but many, many more responsibilities. You don't have any inherent right to profit if you, in turn, sell your house. Also, as my relatives used to say, when somebody says, "My house is worth [XX] dollars." they would say, "Your house is only worth what somebody else thinks it's worth or will pay for it." Just like everything else in life, supply-and-demand and negotiation means everything.

I get very frustrated with the current housing dynamics where the government keeps saying that they want to "prop up" or "put a floor" on the housing market. That doesn't mean anything. Houses are only worth what someone else will pay for them. Unless the government is going to force buyers to pay certain prices for houses, these price supports mean nothing.