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We are renters in this stage of our life. I would love to buy a house, but since he is military and we could move wherever and I want to go to school in a different part of the state soon..it just seems better for us to rent till our lives match putting down roots and buying a home..
I have friends in rent controlled apartments who have been told by financial advisors that they should stay put because they couldn't live anywhere else as cheaply! Each person's situation is unique, and I'm glad you are happy where you are.
Right now my job is such that I definitely will not be living in the same city 3 years from now. ...So at that point it just doesn't make sense for me to buy, since I can't make the long-term commitment to a home, and who knows what the housing market will do over periods of less than 3 years. It's volatile enough already! Still, I would really love to own a place for myself. I'm so jealous of all of my friends who are buying houses and settling down.
I think renting for life is a lot more common in some countries than others. Here in Aust I think it's quite similar to the States - buying a house is something almost everyone aspires to do at some point and we all seem to feel much more secure and "adult" once we've done it. Apparently in Europe it's much less common - people rent forever and don't think anything of it, buying a house just isn't considered in the same light. Very interesting! The main thing is being happy with your choices!
I just commented on one of the other posts with a similar idea--FI and I rent by choice, and will continue to rent for the forseeable future. I don't have any desire to purchase a home and don't really get the "oh my goodness, I want my OWN home" feeling.
We rent. I'd love to own a home one day, but it just isn't feasible for us right now.
I've had friends and family members look at my rent and say "but you could make a mortgage payment for that much- what a waste!" Well, sure, but if I buy a house I can't leave after 12 months because I've found a better place, or one of us as a new job, or whatever. We're both in school, and have no idea where we'll live when we're finished and have "real" jobs- and then there's a chance we'd have to sell a house. It just doesn't make sense for us right now. I think every situation is different, and some people are better off renting while others are better off buying.
I've been getting a lot of "so are you buying a house?" along with an assumption that we will move to the suburbs. We like the city and our rent is cheap!
It's just the two of us and our dog so I don't feel like we need a house. I like being able to call my landlord to fix things and having someone else maintain the outside of the building and shovel snow. I also like the freedom of being able to move in the future without worrying about selling a home.
we are renting by choice and plan to continue for at least another 2 years (probably longer). we both make decent salaries and could afford a house...we just dont want to! austin is expensive for housing unless you live in the suburbs or buy a really run down house and we don't want to do either of those things--we are city dwellers. we love our apartment (its actually a condo), and plan on staying in it for as long as we can. neither of us want to do home maintenance, and we are enjoying taking lots of vacations with our extra money right now :)
people constantly ask us when we're going to buy a house. i know they think we're crazy, but it works for us and we're very happy with our decision. we've discussed maybe buying a house after we have our first kid and they are starting to walk or something..
Everytime our toilet gets backed up and I just call the landlord to deal with it, I am so glad that we rent!
More seriously, renting is a far better financial choice in our city, unless we were planning on staying in the same apartment for about ten years. And since we live in a one-bedroom, and plan on having kids eventually, that's unlikely.
we rent! we live in NYC and its pretty normal here to rent = and the market here is a bit upside down in that you can normally live in a nicer, bigger place by renting than buying (in terms of monthly payment). I love not having to deal with all the maintenance issues, not having condo/co-op fees, etc. When we move into the burbs we will buy, but not until then!
Yes! We rent, it's honestly not an "investment" like so many people believe to buy a home. Also, that's not where we are right now. FI is attending law school in August, and I may go back also. We aren't in a place to "settle down".
We rent by choice. All my friends upstate are buying houses but things are wayyyy different in the city. I live in 450 square feet and my apartment would probably sell for about $400K. The downpayment required for apartments is HUGE, and then you have to pay co-op/maintenance fees, mortgage, etc.
We might buy within the next 5 years or so, but it will likely be an apartment, not a house.
Yes because we know we can't afford it right now mostly, but also because FI is looking for a job and we don't know where that will be just yet. It'll be a while before we buy a house. I can see us renting for atleast the next 4-5 years.
Yay, fun that there are a few ladies on here with the same mentality as me! Obviously power to the people who want to buy a house, but when your in the minority it's nice to know you are not alone!
My reasons for renting are the same as many of you ladies mentioned. Firstly, in the city I live in you have to stay put for about 8 years before buying is a better deal than renting (that's speculative of course, but typical) and since there is no way I'll stay put that long it makes much more sense financially to rent. Plus I love the freedom that I can pick up and move on 30 days notice.
That said, I've been fortunate to have great renting experiences with good landlords.
And shout out to the ladies who are dedicated apartment/condo lovers. Can I tell you how much I love not having to take care of a yard or a lawn? I'm the type of person who is rarely home and the idea of having to spend time gardening or doing home improvement is not for me.
Again, as I said, if you want to buy a house - good for you! Just nice to know I'm not alone in my "unusual" preference. :) I certainly don't seem to have many friends who think the same way!
We are renting right now, with the intent to buy when we are ready. We have school debts to worry about after our schooling is over, plus some minor credit card debt (under 1000 for 2 cards combined) and we would like to save up for a down payment first. We are renters by choice, but fully intend to buy later on in life.
I actually took a college financial class once (it was GE but very informative) that talked about renting by choice. People think of housing as the best investment, but when you crunch the numbers and adjust for inflation, you can usually make more money by investing your money elsewhere!
That being said, there are pros and cons to renting and owning and everyone has to weigh their own priorities.
Sometimes I wish we could go back to spedning $600/month on an apartment versus $1300/month for a mortgage. We were "rich" when we had the apartment!! hahahaa but then again I appreciate having something that is only ours, a yard to relax in, a dog running around, and no "neighbors". There was a feeling I cannot explain when I drove into my driveway to MY home for the first 6 months! But, the cost of fixing things and putting money into things like windows, decking, lawn fertilizer, and flowers that I end up killing in 2 weeks, is no fun either!!!
@MrsJKH Wow, $600/month for an apartment in MA? What in the HELL have I been doing wrong??!
Hahaha I know - both our apartments (1 bedroom each, decent sizes too) were under $600!!! $575/month but not including anything but hot water but holy crap its cheap!!
I'm not sure you'd call it by choice (college students) but I enjoy renting. Neither of us is particularly handy, so it's wonderful being able to call our landlord (landlady?) when something breaks. Plus, I very much enjoy just paying electric, gas, and internet instead of heat, water, etc.
When we do eventually own, we'd still prefer a condo first. We're so used to small amounts of space and don't want to move out of the city. So in that respect I don't think ownership will be as different since it won't be a house with a lawn, etc to take care of.
Also, jealous of all these cheap rents you guys are throwing around - we pay $1275/month for our one bedroom apt.
We just bought our own home but it was because we knew we were staying put for a while and hubby needs space for all his toys/tools.
However, there are a lot of financial experts that really tell people that renting can be the better option. Its rare to "make money" by owning a home. Not only is a mortgage typically more expensive then rent, but you also have the responsibility for repairs and updating.
We rent by choice! When we're ready to leae the city (have kids, have a yard) we want to buy a house, so there's no point in buying an apartment in Manhattan right now.
Oh! And @lilyfaith - yeah your rent is less than HALF of our 1 br, so I'M jealous of YOU!
We've moved cities twice in the last few years, and currently are long-distance until I graduate law school, so renting is the way to go. I think eventually we'll buy but only if it makes financial sense and when we're definitely staying in one location for at least 5 years. Like a lot of you, we like the flexibility in renting though!
Yeah don't feel bad @Lilyfaith, my rent is a little higher than yours and I live in the same state as @MrsJKH2be! In order to feel better, I'm telling myself she must be out in Western MA--far away from the rest of civilization (read: Boston)
@Edina - Yes, we are out in Western MA so thats why we are sooo lucky - but I'd give my left arm to be closer to Boston!! I'm at least a 1/2 hour from a mall and everything closes early!!!
we rent!
we desperately need a larger place though, but with our city and the prices for housing - both rental AND buying, its hard to find somewhere affordable and still enjoy a city lifestyle. so we will stay in our cozy all inclusive apartment until a better deal comes along. (hence why we really want cash not gifts since we have no where to put them!)
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As would be expected, there are lots of people on these boards talking about buying homes. That got me to wondering - is there anyone else out there who is renting by choice?
My guy and I choose to rent not only because we enjoy the freedom but also because we believe that it's a better financial choice in the city we live in.
Anyone else out there proud to jump on the rental train?