Quora Answer: Is Your House an Asset or a Liability?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “Is your house an asset or a liability?” 

If your house is worth more than its associated liabilities, such as the mortgage and any lien, then it is an asset.  If your house is worth less, than it is a liability.  If your house is worth less what you paid for, it is still an asset, but a depreciated one. 

Despite what Robert Toru Kiyosaki claimed in his “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” series, your house is not a liability simply because you do not earn from it.  He is conflating revenue from inherent value.  Not every asset is meant to generate revenue.