Christopher Elliott – Question Conventional Wisdom When Buying a House

<p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherelliott/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Christopher Elliott</strong></a> is an award-winning consumer advocate, multimedia journalist, and customer service expert. He is known for his practical advice and creative solutions to customer-service problems.</p><p>He’s the author of<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Scammed-Better-Service-Schemes-Swindles/dp/1118108000" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals</a> and<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Worlds-Smartest-Traveler-Money-Hassle/dp/1426212739" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> How to Be the World’s Smartest Traveler (and Save Time, Money, and Hassle)</a>.</p><p>Christopher is a nationally syndicated columnist through King Features Syndicate, which distributes his work to publications from the Seattle Times to the Miami Herald.</p><p>He writes a weekly column for The Washington Post and USA Today and is the founder of<a href="https://www.elliott.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Elliott Advocacy</a>, a consumer advocacy organization.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p class="ql-align-center"><strong>“If you are not going to be in one place for more than five years, do not buy a house, just rent.”</strong></p><p class="ql-align-center">Christopher Elliott</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h2><strong>Worst investment ever</strong></h2><p>Christopher bought his first house in 2001 after resisting the homeowner bug for so long. But he found a great place in the Florida Keys, and he loved being there. And at $175,000, the price was just right. This was before the big housing boom.</p><p>A few weeks after moving into the new house, Christopher’s partner got pregnant as luck would have it. Now the two-bedroom home was not going to cut it for long.</p><h3><strong>Selling in a booming market</strong></h3><p>By the time Christopher’s son was a year and a half, they started getting very serious about selling.