Poll-Do You Rent or Own Your Major Residence?

[HFWR]

"Now I've got a home that's mine alone, that me and the finance company own..."

Apologies to Jerry Reed

[Lakedog]

Own my current home but plan to sell in the near future and rent (for a while at least) since I want to relocate -- might check out a few different locations so renting is the way to go.

[calmloki]

Lessee. paid cash for an old trailer to live in when I got out of high school and started college. Sold that and bought a fixer after doing the Navy thing, working for a bit, and going through college. Sold that after 20-odd years and buying and totally re-doing the house next door. Bought the current second home for cash about ten years after moving into our primary home. Have been a tenant of little old apartments maybe 5 years, had a Navy rack for about four, shared someone's house several times for a year or so each. Expect to buy several more places to live in before I kick it.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by calmloki Expect to buy several more places to live in before I kick it.

All at the same time? How does one commute between so many places and maintain them?

Or are you putting in improvements before flipping them?

[obgyn65]

I own my home.

[Beryl]

Own my house outright. Got rid of the mortgage last year in preparation for FIRE 2 months ago. It is a terrific feeling.

[W2R]

I am such a homebody, that I *LOVE* owning my own home. It gives me the sense of permanence that I need and value so much. Selling a home that you own can be harder than giving notice at a rental, but I would still rather own.

[Purron]

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

[Brat]

Own a co-op apartment in a building that requires cash payment for shares. Our housing cost since selling our large home and moving here dropped significantly. There is no heaven on earth but we are very content with our decision.

[Sue J]

We own our home. Bought it in 1983 and it's been paid for for a few years. It needs updating but we love it and plan to stay. Taxes are low and we can downsize by just not using the 2nd floor (2 BR and a full bath) as we have 2 bedrooms and a full bathroom on the first floor.

When I see so many houses around here for sale for 6-9 months I can see the advantage of renting. I feel for these people who are just stuck and need to move but can't sell.

[Zoocat]

I sold my townhome last spring and have been renting a condo since then. I am having trouble finding anything NOT to like about renting, especially because prices have been falling for the past two years. Still, I am keeping my eye on the RE market in case some especially attractive property comes on the market.

[Purron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sue J We own our home. Bought it in 1983 and it's been paid for for a few years. It needs updating but we love it and plan to stay. Taxes are low and we can downsize by just not using the 2nd floor (2 BR and a full bath) as we have 2 bedrooms and a full bathroom on the first floor. When I see so many houses around here for sale for 6-9 months I can see the advantage of renting. I feel for these people who are just stuck and need to move but can't sell.

Love it, paid off and low taxes? Enjoy the home you love Sue J!

YouTube - Crosby, Still, Nash & Young - Our House

[calmloki]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound All at the same time? How does one commute between so many places and maintain them? Or are you putting in improvements before flipping them?

Buying places is kinda what we do - and this such a great time to be buying. I'd rather have a commodity like a house than cash or stock or gold or oil that are inflating in price because the dollar's value is falling. If we can buy a place for less than it costs to build it I see a pretty solid investment. That's the rationalization anyway - the reality is we like buying places - I have less angst buying a house than buying a new $89.97 doodad from Walmart that I know is a waste of money.

We haven't bought a flipper yet, but it could happen, and I'm sure we'll buy different places for us to live in, but maybe going back to a single home. Problem is there are so many neat house styles and locations to live in.

[WhoDaresWins]

I own my home. It is a spec house I bought in 2004 after selling a much larger, more expensive place, paid off the mortgage on the old place, bought this for cash and banked the rest. I am only 2 miles from my office, and as this was new construction, it has not required much in the way of maintenance so far. Utilities and taxes went down when I moved, and I am glad to be saving on gas, travel time and wear and tear on my car, too.
I also own a second home in FL (occupied by a cousin).

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by calmloki If we can buy a place for less than it costs to build it I see a pretty solid investment.

That's what I felt when I encouraged my daughter to buy her first home, a small town home. There's no way one can build a new home, and in such a nice location, for what she paid.

There was no way she could refuse, besides the fact that her dad footed the bill for the down payment.

Quote:

We haven't bought a flipper yet, but it could happen, and I'm sure we'll buy different places for us to live in, but maybe going back to a single home. Problem is there are so many neat house styles and locations to live in.

I have bought only 3 houses in my life. In fact I still live in 2. That last one, it took us several months to set things up to turn it into a home. At this point, I do not see myself moving and settling in another home. Of course unless it is like my daughter's little town home; we could move in with just the content of my minivan.

[boont]

I have a house in San Francisco and another one in the wine country, about two and a half hours north of the City. I also have some other residential properties in Sacramento.

I enjoy the contrasts of city and country life. When I want to change the scenery I move to the other house. It is quite refreshing and renews the spirit.

I do not like living in someone else's property.

[Brat]

Humm, daughter was just talking about a dinner at the French Laundry. Tough life!

[Nords]

We own about 60% of our major residence, depending on how psychotic the market happens to be that month...

[knucklehead 61]

i own all but $776,000.00 of our principal home. it is tough to pay off your mortgage in silicon valley! we plan to sell this place & put the 400k in equity into more stocks / mutual funds & move back into one of our rentals. (we only owe $291,600 on that rental)

[Rambler]

We own our home in the US. We have a rented apartment in Tokyo. We do not consider Tokyo our home...just temporary, for the last 12 years.

R