Anyone here prefer to rent vs owning a house?

[Mr Lefty]

I fuck'n hate renting... but just not ready to buy yet... I had planned on buy'n when I got to Mississippi... but I just can't afford it and my hobbies... and with me only being there 4 years guarenteed... well that was the kicker.

[FJRChick]

I love renting. I've owned homes for 9 years and hate yardwork and squirrel attacks. I'm renting from an individual and we have a great relationship. I pay my rent, if there is a problem I talk with her and coordinate getting it fixed and I pay for repairs and she reimburses me.
I couldn't afford to buy where I live right now and it's definitely a winning a situation.
I've only been renting for 10 months though.

[cuttle]

My mortgage payment is cheaper (incl tax, insurance) than we would pay to rent a place like we have.

Plus, I doubt we would find anything decent with the amount of critters we have.

[Cutty72]

it would be damn near impossible to rent what I have. and i'm sure the $$$ would be the same.

[rogue]

Originally Posted by FJRChick

I love renting. I've owned homes for 9 years and hate yardwork and squirrel attacks. I'm renting from an individual and we have a great relationship. I pay my rent, if there is a problem I talk with her and coordinate getting it fixed and I pay for repairs and she reimburses me.
I couldn't afford to buy where I live right now and it's definitely a winning a situation.
I've only been renting for 10 months though.

I'm pretty much the same way. When I was married to the second hubby, we owned our own place which also had an acre of land. The land came in handy for riding our dirt bikes, but other than that, we both hated having that much land to keep up. Not to mention the cost of upkeep on a place we owned, even new. Nothing's perfect.

I thought I'd enjoy having a place to call my own...and for a while I did. Now that I'm single, I prefer renting and doubt I'll ever own another homestead. Even though it seems to be a good investment, I've seen it cause nothing but problems later, whether it be because it's a money pit, or it has to be sold, usually upon death of a family member. I've seen families damn near tear apart over the selling of a house after someone dies and it's just not worth it to me. Once your dead, it becomes a family issue and I'd rather not be the cause of any possible rift in what little family I have left. Besides, if I own, I can't roam the US like I want to after my kids are out of school (a little over 4 years and counting! ). Kinda like having a relationship. I can't do what I want to do and be tied down at the same time.

[tached1000rr]

I've been a homeowner since 1995, I doubt that I'd actually sell my house but I'm just not completely "convinced" like I used to be that everyone needs to own a house or that it's the best way to go. Put it this way:


When I'm 80 years old in that nursing home with my depends on, I want to reflect on the memories I created with family and friends traveling, hanging out, doing things together versus looking back to see that I/we never were able to do all the things we really wanted because financially the house sucked up a good part of the finances and to add insult to injury in old age we either had to get rid of the house or lost it due to medical bills and such. I know so many older folks that fell into the latter category, worked, retired, bought that big motorhome to travel and follow the nascar circuit or something and bam that tumor is discovered and in no time GONE....

[Flexin]

Originally Posted by Cutty72

Bought my house a little over a year ago.
I plan on staying in this area for awhile, so it was all good. Also, I like having a big yard and the space and freedom to do what I want when I want
(also helps I live in a small town) I could get none of those freedoms while renting. And it seems to get a decent place I'm spending almost as much (sometimes more) on rent than I do on my morgtage.

As for the roof/paint/siding etc, it's a research thing. My house had new shingles 3 yrs before purchase. I put new siding on when I bought it. All I have to do is replace windows and I'll be set. 30 yr warranty on shingles and lifetime on siding.

Yard work is the only real addition, but I enjoy doing that kind of stuff, so no biggy for me.
So, instead of tossing away my money every month for a place to live, I'm making an investment. Sure, right now with the economy, I probably couldn't get my money back out of it (yet) but worse case I'm no worse off than if I had been renting.

I agree with this. And as far as the yard work goes that can be done with hired help as well. There is an old guy that lives down the road from me and his yard is done by a landscape company. I see him out there doing the odd thing. He must be in his 90's.

James

[Flexin]

Originally Posted by Particle Man

we rent so we'll have enough saved up in case something happens.

That depends on the cost of rental units and housing in the area. When I bought my house my sister lived with Lisa and I for about 4 or 5 years. When she moved out she was paying about $300 more then us for rent in a two bedroom apartment.

And I had equity in my house for when something happened.
(after the savings were gone)

James

[tached1000rr]

It's funny how little equity many homeowners have due to 2nd mortgages, multiple refinances, lines of credit etc.... I've managed to stay away from those.

[VatorMan]

I own because at the end of my time in MD-I'll be able to buy or build the house I want to retire in down south. I just hate the thought of throwing money away renting and seeing no results.