Do you rent or have you bought your own house?
We’re renters. For a long time it was because we could only afford our very small rent payment every month. Then it was because the bank refused to give us a mortgage on the apartment we wanted to buy. Now it’s because I don’t want to overextend our budget every month; at the moment we pay a rent we can afford and have a bit of money to set aside every month as well. Sure, it’s a little less stable then being owners of our own home, but we’re also not slaves to the real estate market.
Why have you made the decision you made as to owning or renting your home?
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{ 16 comments }
We bought our home over 6 years ago before the real estate crash. This is our second home and we had both of them built. We’ve never felt like “slaves to the real estate market.” To do that you’ll need to buy more home than you can afford and not be prepared to weather the ups and downs. Our home costs less than rent, my husband has lost his job twice in the last 3 years, but we’ve been smart and planned well!
I think the main point in buying a home (or anything for that matter) is to not buy more than you can afford. Start small and you can always work your way up as your situation improves!
.-= MomsManyProjects´s last blog ..Meal Plan-Week of April 25th =-.
Well, we kind of had that decision made FOR us. That being said, renting is SO much better than owning. The price is lower, the maintenance problems belong to someone else, and the commitment is low. I heart renting!
We actually rent and own. We have a house across the country. When we decided to move closer to my family (and for a much better job offer) we had a buyer for our house. Once we moved, the day of closing, the buyer never showed up to sign the papers. With my husband’s new job, we could afford the mortgage, and we did get renters so we are only out about $100 a month. But we don’t want to buy another house until that one is sold, unless the house is extremely affordable (which won’t happen in the area we live in!) So we rent an apartment. It works out really well, but we really miss living in our own home!
.-= Christina´s last blog ..My New Addiction: Mommy Necklaces (Special discount code!) =-.
I bought my first home right after the real estate market bombed. It’s modestly sized but still larger than an apartment, in good shape, and because it was so undervalued my mortgage payment is actually less than rent was.
.-= viggie´s last blog ..Breakfast Pastries =-.
We have rented all of our 44 years of marriage. Two reasons: a) we never had 20% of anything for a down payment! b) our employment situation is always temporary and we always move to a new area code. Paying for a home while trying to sell it and also paying rent in the new location is beyond my imagination.
I would love to own my own little house so I could fix it up anyway I want and not continue to invest in improving a rental. However, home ownership and all the other expenses besides mortgage that go along with it add up pretty quick. I’m glad there are landlords who are able and willing to . . . be landlords!
We bought our home almost four years ago, just before the market tanked in our area. It was a bad decision in the sense that we really don’t like the neighborhood (we bought new construction – so it’s hard to gauge the neighborhood when it’s only half full!) and would move in a heartbeat if we could only sell the house! On the flip side, we would have never moved to this part of town had we not bought this house and we’ve made some wonderful friends by doing so! So it’s a good thing too. Sometimes I wish we wouldn’t have jumped in so quickly to purchase our house, but it is what it is.
.-= Alison@This Wasn’t In The Plan´s last blog ..Because It Was On Sale =-.
We bought our house about 4 years ago. We were a little rushed because the house we were renting was being sold out from under us and we ended up in a house that we’re not especially happy with. With all the maintenance and “improvements” we’re putting into the house, I would have preferred to rent and not had to deal with the upkeep, but now that our stuff has spread out and expanded to fill the space and the garage has been turned into a woodshop for my husband, we’ll never be able to go back to an apartment.
.-= Rete´s last blog ..How I learned to Knit and Crochet =-.
We bought our 1st home in December. With the tax credit, we didn’t have to pay out of pocket for upfront expenses and our mortgage on our 3 br house with a large yard is less than a 1 or 2 bedroom apt down the street would be. Plus, our home was so well taken care of by the previous owners that our electricity bill here is lower than in our old one br apartment! It just depends on the situation.
We rent. Mainly because we’re in debt, but also Seattle housing prices were insane.
Now that we’re down in Phoenix, it’s a lot more likely that we could afford a house. Time will tell, but it’s definitely something I’d like to start saving up for.
.-= Abigail´s last blog ..How are you motivated? =-.
Rent. 39 year old couple. No real plans for buying for the next few years at least. Our jobs situation has been too unstable to consider buying, and seems like it will be so for the foreseeable future. While renting we’ve saved well and accrue a (curently meager) interest on that savings (2-4%).
One big issue with me with buying is that once you buy, you are locked into a location. If you have bad neighbors or you have to leave for some reason, you often can’t for a year or more (at least not without taking a major loss), whereas with an apartment, you often can within the remainder of the lease, or, if “tenant at will”, within 30-60 days.
We are currently renting. We were looking for a home for a brief moment, but now I am so glad we did not purchase one. We are both so busy and I know that the upkeep required for a home would not work well for us now. I do hate that we don’t live in a place where we could paint the walls and make our apartment more personalized.
.-= Ashley´s last blog ..Using Credit Cards Wisely =-.
We bought a home in 2004. The real estate market started going down in 2007. So we are annoyed at having an upside down mortgage; however we did get a home and location that will suit us for a long time. So, it’s not a crisis situation.
The reason I wanted to stop renting and buy a house was to have a paid-off home by retirement. My father-in-law had a paid-off house and that made a huge difference in his monthly finances as compared to other seniors who were renting (and having annual increases in their lease).
.-= Monroe on a Budget´s last blog ..I did not take “college prep leave” (folo to CNN report) =-.
We bought our house last year, a foreclosure, that we paid cash for. We could have took a mortgage and bought a larger and nicer house, but not having a mortgage has allowed us to add an additional $20,000 to our savings last year.
I own my home for two reasons:
1. It was a smart investment… Even with taxes and insurance, my monthly costs are lower than rent. Plus, I’ve already gained equity in my home. In the end, I’ll most likely make money when I move.
2. I enjoy improving my home… Now my hobby actually pays for itself as my home value increases. I can honestly say that there’s never a dull moment!
.-= Kasey at Thrifty Little Blog´s last blog ..Kitchen Frown =-.
24 year old couple. We rent, and probably will for years to come. I´d like to buy ap place and build a very small house. Probably more like a cottage really 🙂
.-= Simon´s last blog ..Make sure to like the trade before you get all the tools =-.
I’m 24 and rent. It’s mainly out of necessity.. I’m moving around a lot and don’t have the resources to buy. One day maybe I’ll settle down. But I won’t buy a house until I can really afford to do so.