6 Major Worries of Average Homeowners That Don’t Impact the Wealthy

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Millions of Americans aspire to buy a home, but when they finally get the keys, many find themselves in a be-careful-what-you-wish-for situation.

For most, homeownership comes with heavy responsibility, costly upkeep, limited choices of neighborhoods and six-figure debt that will linger for decades.

But not the rich.

Here’s a look at the property-related worries that wealthy homeowners can buy their way out of.

Mortgage-Based Money Stress

Organizations and publications like Medium, House Numbers, Ennes Global Mortgages and the Financial Times have spent years reporting that while the rich can afford to buy their houses outright, they often borrow to buy like regular people — but they do it because they can earn investment returns that outpace their loan rates.

“Unlike the wealthy, one of the common worries ordinary people constantly battle with is how to manage their mortgage payments with their debts because, unlike the wealthy, their finances are actually limited,” said real estate investor Rinal Patel, founder of We Buy Philly Home. “This worry is why some ordinary people put off their homeownership dreams until later in the future, not just because rates aren’t favorable enough, but because adding a mortgage to their existing debts is too much trouble.”

Saving for the Inevitable Maintenance and Repairs

According to State Farm, most homeowners should budget 1% to 4% of the home’s value for annual maintenance and repairs. That’s $2,000 to $8,000 for even a modest $200,000 home, which is a tough sum to set aside for ordinary earners — especially considering those funds are supposed to be separate from your standard emergency savings.

“For the wealthy, repairs and renovations are mostly to reflect their personal tastes and preferences, but for ordinary people, it is more of a necessity,” Patel said. “The truth is, one major reason ordinary people delay repair and renovations is because they are worried the costs would dig a big hole in their pockets.”

Housing Market Volatility

Many people in the middle class have most of their wealth tied up in their home’s equity. A housing market downturn could tank their entire net worth. The rich, however, are diversified and they build their portfolios to withstand hits to their real estate holdings or any other individual asset class.

“For many ordinary people, their home is their most valuable asset. Hence, it holds a large percentage of their net worth and the financial security they have been laboring to build over the years. So, an unstable housing market makes them anxious,” Patel said.

Sketchy Neighbors

For homeowners of modest means, the greatest anxieties don’t always come from their homes. Sometimes, they come from the homes near their home and the people who live in them.

“One of the main concerns for non-wealthy homebuyers is the quality of their immediate neighbors and the neighborhood overall,” said Amir Fekrazad, associate professor of economics at Texas A&M-San Antonio and the founder and CEO of Maptimum.com, an online platform that uses AI-based analysis to help homebuyers find their ideal neighborhood.

“Wealthy homeowners can afford large estates, providing them with isolation from others, which makes loud or inconsiderate neighbors less of an issue. In contrast, middle-class homeowners often live close to their neighbors, sometimes even sharing walls, which makes their quality of life more vulnerable to the impact of a troublesome neighbor.”

A Sketchy Neighborhood

When you buy a home, you buy the whole neighborhood. If the only neighborhood you can afford lacks amenities and suffers from social ills, your home’s value could depreciate over time and the quality of your day-to-day life could suffer — unless you have the cash to buy your way around those problems.

“Wealthy areas are frequently gated or located in less densely populated parts of cities, offering residents protection from crime and disturbances in the surrounding areas,” Fekrazad said. “Middle-class homeowners may not have this luxury, so they must put more effort into finding a neighborhood that is compatible with their lifestyle and preferences.”

Underfunded, Underperforming Schools

Local property taxes fund America’s public schools. The less affluent often send their children to underperforming, understaffed and substandard schools, while kids born in wealthy areas with strong tax bases go to safe, modern, high-performing schools — and if that’s not good enough, there’s always the option of expensive tuition-based education.

“For families with children, the quality of public schools in the area is another significant concern,” Fekrazad said. “Ordinary homeowners are typically limited to the school district where their home is located, so school quality becomes a critical factor. In contrast, wealthy homeowners often have the means to send their children to private schools, making the local school district less of a concern.”

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