Anyone here prefer to rent vs owning a house?

[tached1000rr]

I've always thought it was better to be a homeowner, but I'm beginning to rethink things now. Let's see replace roof, heating unit, complete exterior paint, cutting of some major trees, the fun never ends.....

I've told my wife that now that our kids are almost there, that perhaps we will downsize in a few years or rent something and travel and enjoy life more, versus spending the weekends mowing, raking, painting etc....

[CrazyKell]

Personally I rent because I'm never in one place long enough to justify buying.

My life is somewhat hectic and I'm usually a few years here and a few years there....so there's not much point in buying.

That's just me though.

[OneSickPsycho]

Eventually I want to own a house, but I don't want to live in this area forever... I like the convenience of renting, but I would like to have a place I could make my own...

[Angee]

Been there, done that...owning, just like renting, has it's pros and cons. When I was married, we owned and it was one nightmare after another. Being the first home and young as we were, we didn't do enough research on the house and wound up with a money-pit.

Renting you can't do much in the way of painting, wallpapering and changing things to suit your own tastes. Granted, you aren't responsible for the upkeep and repairs, but then you have to wait for the andlord to get around to doing things that need done. We rent right now and that's fine with us, but eventually we'd like to own (researching LOTS first). With the current state of the economy right now, we'll be staying right where we are. I don't want to buy a house and be stuck with it if I decide I want to relocate...nothing is selling right now and it would really suck if I had a house to sell.

[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.

[Particle Man]

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

[tached1000rr]

Originally Posted by Particle Man

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

good point, I wish I could find the article, but I recently read a column by some financial expert citing the pros/cons of renting vs owning. It really made sense and hit home. If I rented it would definately be a house and you can find NICE homes around here for much cheaper than what I pay in mortage, I'm thinking I could rent and basically pay off all of my expense in short time while still having money in the bank. Then if I want another house I have virtually no debt. We are thinking if we can sell the house of course that another year or so would be a good time to relocate closer to my job.

[Mudpuppy]

right now is a perfect time to buy something if you have some cash.. don't expect a zero down deal.. and you can steal a great house for 1/3 of what it is really worth.. when the market goes back you can gain massive equity quick..

[DaveDD]

Originally Posted by tached1000rr

good point, I wish I could find the article, but I recently read a column by some financial expert citing the pros/cons of renting vs owning. It really made sense and hit home. If I rented it would definately be a house and you can find NICE homes around here for much cheaper than what I pay in mortage, I'm thinking I could rent and basically pay off all of my expense in short time while still having money in the bank. Then if I want another house I have virtually no debt. We are thinking if we can sell the house of course that another year or so would be a good time to relocate closer to my job.

We're actually moving up to NC in two weeks. There are a ton of amazing houses up there for rent. We're renting an awesome house for a little over $2K/month. There are pics in this thread....http://twowheelfix.com/showthread.ph...965#post135965

We're renting cause we don't even know if we'll like the area. Plus it is convenient. Maybe in a year or two we'll buy something. We'd really just like to not deal with the headaches, plus have a lot of time to learn the area and find out where we want to be. This will probably be the best chance to buy something in our lifetimes.

[Lamnidae]

Buy a house - only if you will be in the area for 5+ years,otherwise you're more than likely going to loose money.


Rent - at least it's not as expensive as a hotel room.... though I have seen some pretty cheap hotel rooms, but I wouldn't want to hang out there.....



We own our home. mortgage is less than a fairly nice apartment and we've got a pretty decent house.... Yeah, shit breaks, but that's part of being a home owner. It's yours..... So you can either fix or let it fucking sit there (i'd advise Fix, don't be trashy, mmmkay?). Plus you have the ability to make it YOURS! Do what you want to with it, change out light fixtures, repaint, take down a wall if that's what you want.... But, it's YOURS.....

Oh, quick tip, best way to increase the value of the home.... redo the kitchen, or redo the bathrooms. Surefire ways..... people pay for kitchens and bathrooms.