Poll-Do You Rent or Own Your Major Residence?

[GregLee]

Since I am irrationally debt averse, I put off buying for a long time, and when I did buy, I made as large a down payment as I could. That left a 10 year mortgage, which made me uncomfortable for that decade, but now that's paid off, and I'm feeling much better. The house is old and in poor condition, but the location is great, and I expect to just stay here.

 

[Walt34]

We own outright, no mortgage. When I retired we sold the paid-for house and wrote a check for the new one in WV. There was enough left over to write two more checks, one for a new pickup truck to replace the 18-year-old truck, and one to replace DW's 14-year-old car.

I'm pretty sure I'll never again pay cash for a new house, a new pickup truck, and a new car all within six months.

 

[vicente solano]

She owns a flat and a country house. I own a flat. The three mortgages almost paid off.

 

[In-control]

We have been debt free, owning our house since 2007. We ran w/o debt for 1 yr before ER. We will be selling when the kids are done with college and most likely rent in the area we want before buying a condo.

It is very liberating being debt free. The $ that was paying down the debt went right into investments.

 

[Retch The Grate]

Single in Silicon Valley so I'm still renting. Prices continue to be way out of line with rents.

 

[Keim]

Funny how your eyes sometimes see things wrong. I read the comment below as "We will be selling the kids when done with college," and thought to myself "Why not before? Save a lot of money."

...will be selling when the kids are done with college...

 

[mh]

Own. DH and I have become too funky in our old age for landlords to put up with us.

YouTube - The Funky Fritters - Everything I do gonna be Funky from now on

 

[East Texas]

I put I own it, however, considering the property taxes in Texas, you might say I rent it.

Now see, that's the advantage of living on a ranch. My property taxes in San Antonio for my moderately assessed house and the small parcel of land on which it stood - within about 12' of my neighbor - was about $3,000 a year. We pay about $750 a year for the 100 acres and that includes the one acre homestead and several outbuilding.

Before any of you get upset about ag exemptions - be thankful for them. They keep the prices of commodities low. If I didn't have the exemption on the hay meadow, I'd have to charge the rancher who mows and bales it significantly more and that increase gets pushed all the way down to the consumer. It's not just my increase, if the rancher didn't have an ag exemption for the cattle, your cost to purchase that nice steak would increase in multiples more than my piddling little increase. It's the same with our timber - ag prices keep lumber costs low. I know it's easy to complain about the rising prices; they would be much higher without ag exemptions.

Why do you need 2 pairs of shoes? Black goes with anything.

I bought the black pair and got the brown pair half off. They're identical except for color. Brown goes much better with tan slacks. I've had these shoes for over 20 years. Every now and then they get half-soled and heeled. Now I only wear them to church and official family functions that require something other than jeans.

Now that I'm retired, I usually wear workbooks or Mucks. I do have two pair of jeans. I guess I'm stepping up the world - three pair of slacks and two pairs of jeans. The closet certainly is getting crowded.

 

[REWahoo]

We pay about $750 a year for the 100 acres and that includes the one acre homestead and several outbuilding.

Yep, property taxes are low for Texas tick and chigger ranchers...

Now that I'm retired, I usually wear workbooks or Mucks.

Guess you switch over to the Mucks when the pages wear out?

 

[Calgary_Girl]

We've been mortgage-free for almost 10 years. The past few months however, we've been thinking of building a slightly bigger house which would be our dream house and also give us more room for the kids.

We can afford to build the house outright but would have to use some money from our taxable portfolio. Our dilemma is 1) do we take out a mortgage for approximately $200K, or 2) do we cash in some of our taxable portfolio knowing that we'd pay capital gains and give up a higher dividend yield than what the new mortgage rate would be?

I'm leaning towards the former...decisions, decisions.

 

[chinaco]

We intend to downsize and simplify. Our house is more than we need (and want to keep up with).

 

[Meadbh]

We've been mortgage-free for almost 10 years. The past few months however, we've been thinking of building a slightly bigger house which would be our dream house and also give us more room for the kids.

We can afford to build the house outright but would have to use some money from our taxable portfolio. Our dilemma is 1) do we take out a mortgage for approximately $200K, or 2) do we cash in some of our taxable portfolio knowing that we'd pay capital gains and give up a higher dividend yield than what the new mortgage rate would be?

I'm leaning towards the former...decisions, decisions.

Take a HELOC for prime +1% or less. Pay it off on your schedule, i.e. as fast as possible.

 

[Calgary_Girl]

Take a HELOC for prime +1% or less. Pay it off on your schedule, i.e. as fast as possible.

Actually, that's one of our options. We've gotten a quote for Prime + 0.5%.

 

[eyeonFI]

Bought in 2000, paid off the mortgage in 2008, one month before my first son was born (I figured having kids was kind of like taking on a mortgage, so wanted to get the house paid off (and actually monthly daycare bill is MORE than my monthly mortgage payment was)).

 

[East Texas]

Yep, property taxes are low for Texas tick and chigger ranchers...

Right now it's grasshoppers, ticks, and rat snakes. I have never seen so many snakes as I have this month. At least we have rat snakes and very few rattlesnakes. You have rattlesnakes and very little anything else.

Question of the day for you country folks. How do you tell the difference between a venomous snake and a nonvenomous snake? It was the second thing our young grandchildren learned. The first thing was to never get close enough to a snake to tell which one it was....

Guess you switch over to the Mucks when the pages wear out?

Switch over when we're working in the boggy area near the lake or killing the gophers in the hay meadow. We need more rat snakes.....

 

[Purron]

YouTube - The Funky Fritters - Everything I do gonna be Funky from now on

Thanks mh. DH and I love this

 

[Rustic23]

I have no problem with true ag exemptions. However, there are far too many people that abuse them. Example, a neighbor has lots of land with trees on it. The highest and best use of this land is not forest, but subdivision. However, he gets an ag exemption and sets on the land. In Houston, there was a large track of land on one of the busiest street in the city. The owner kept several head of cattle on it and it qualified for the exemption. The property was bordered by shopping centers and apartments. As to raising prices, maybe, but then taxes should go down...... well considering politician maybe not.

 

[REWahoo]

Right now it's grasshoppers, ticks, and rat snakes. I have never seen so many snakes as I have this month. At least we have rat snakes and very few rattlesnakes. You have rattlesnakes and very little anything else.

The most snakes I've ever seen was while walking in a partially dried up creek bed in East Texas. Dozens of water moccasins in every remaining water hole feeding on the trapped fish. I still get the willies just thinking about it...

Speaking of rattlesnakes, over the weekend a local 8 year old Little League player was bitten by one in left field. (What part of the body is the left field you ask? It's near the yet... as in "He was shot some years ago and the bullet is in him yet". ) <rimshot>

 

[East Texas]

Speaking of rattlesnakes, over the weekend a local 8 year old Little League player was bitten by one in left field. (What part of the body is the left field you ask? It's near the yet... as in "He was shot some years ago and the bullet is in him yet". ) <rimshot>

You are a true Texican right down to the heels in your alligator boots!

We were chatting while picking up some fallen limbs last year. It was one of those mundane things you just hate to do and know it needs to get done. I picked up a small branch about 5' long and was ready to toss it on the trailer when out of the corner of my eye I saw a slight movement on the end of the branch. It had a copperhead wrapped around it. He was a bit too cold to do much except give me a dirty look. Since the pups weren't around, I let him go. Well, I let him go about 50' away from us in the woods. Now, friends, THAT's why you wear good gloves and boots out in the country.

 

[bbbamI]

Now, friends, THAT's why you wear good gloves and boots out in the country.

Add to that a roll of toilet paper in yer pocket.

 

[neihn]

We've owned two homes - one in the US and one in Vietnam - all paid off - We are looking forward to go back and ford between US and Vietnam when we both retire which will be 2016 or may be sooner.