Poll:Rent vs Own

[panacea]

We "own" with about 8 years left on the mortgage. Maturity in line with our retirement date. We'll probably move shortly after the loan is paid off anyway though. Can't imagine renting but that's mostly because we like our space I think. We currently have 1/2 acre in a subdivision but my neighbors are still too close... thinking of downsizing the house and upsizing the land... maybe 1-3 acres.

[pullmyfinger]

I own a home that was built in 1950 in a nice suburb of Seattle. Lots of building going on around me with prices starting in the 900's. Paying off the house 17 years ago when I turned 30 really allowed me to start saving in a big way.

DH and I think it would be fun to live in an apartment in downtown Bellevue or maybe Fremont, but it would be so much more expensive than how we live now. With no mortgage, property taxes of about $4k annually and not very expensive utilities, it is much cheaper for us to stay put.

[OrcasIslandBound]

There are plenty of houses for sale in Poway, CA where you don't have to pay $12k a year in property taxes. On the order of half that. They are $500 - $600k. Sounds too pricey? You have to realize that these same houses will rent for $2.7k per month. That is the starting rate for your first year. This rate will double every 10 years or so. So, renting becomes a losing proposition if you intend to stay a really long time.

I rented out my house in Poway when I first bought it in 1982 for $650 a month because at that time I couldn't afford to live in my own house. Later, in 1988 I rented it out for a year for $1050 a month when I went to get a masters degree. Today, this same 46 year old house will rent for between $2.5 & $2.8k/month. You can see the trend and do the math.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

[emerytura]

We own side by side duplex, on 1 acre land in NJ. We purchased this house 10 years ago. Six years ago we downsized, sold over 3000sq. ft. house and moved in to one side of the duplex. We did extensive renovation inside and outside on this home as we plan to keep this as our primary residence.
House is paid off. We live on one side, and rent another side. We have the same tenants for the past of 10 years. Each side is 1000sq. ft. We love our big yard and gardens. Our taxes are little over $8000 per year. We collect $18600 per year rent. We keep our rent little lower for the area, because we like our tenants. It works for us.

[utrecht]

Quote:

Originally Posted by OrcasIslandBound There are plenty of houses for sale in Poway, CA where you don't have to pay $12k a year in property taxes. On the order of half that. They are $500 - $600k. Sounds too pricey? You have to realize that these same houses will rent for $2.7k per month. That is the starting rate for your first year. This rate will double every 10 years or so. So, renting becomes a losing proposition if you intend to stay a really long time. I rented out my house in Poway when I first bought it in 1982 for $650 a month because at that time I couldn't afford to live in my own house. Later, in 1988 I rented it out for a year for $1050 a month when I went to get a masters degree. Today, this same 46 year old house will rent for between $2.5 & $2.8k/month. You can see the trend and do the math. Sent from my Nexus 4 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

The whole point of renting is because you dont want to stay in the same place a really long time. Renting costs more long term but gives you much more flexibility.

[CaliforniaMan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bclover ? Why? serious question. what do you mean "living too close to the edge"? If something catastrophic happens, what will owning do?? I owned my home in NJ, lol. My property taxes were still 1000 a month so if I was living close to the edge and lost my job, I would still have been SOL. I do hear your sentiment often, and always try to understand. I'm retiring early next year (hopefully), I'll still have a mortgage, I don't feel any less secure, I guess than if it was paid off. Just curious

I am thinking a lot about my mom. After my father died unexpectedly in his 50s, she was left alone, with two kids and no savings, tried to go to work, after being a housewife and homemaker while we were kids, but collapsed due to a medical condition and couldn't continue. She was left with a really small amount from VA and SS for her being disabled and having dependent kids, My sister was still in high school, I was in community college. There was no savings, but when they bought the house, they had purchased mortgage insurance, so when my dad died, the house was paid off. In our state, property taxes are reduced (I don't remember the exact laws now) for those in certain situations and being a home owner she was eligible for various home improvement grants that came up. She got her windows replaced for no cost for example.

Later I applied for and got a scholarship and worked for part of my way to finish my college, my sister worked and went to school and soon got married. I think of what our life would have been life on that meager income without owning our home. We were still able to be middle class, still live in the same area with our friends and neighbors. We didn't have a lot extra to spend, but it was enough and we never had to worry about being homeless. It was a tough period, but not as tough as if we had to pay rent, or were at the mercy of landlords.

My parents, working class, were never able, for whatever reason, to save anything. My father was so generous that if he had anything extra he would give it to someone less fortunate. He never sold anything he didn't need he would give it away to someone.

Of course other situations could be much different, probably most of those on this forum who have saved and have sufficient assets. But this was my thinking with the "living too close to the edge" comment. It was the difference between maintaining a middle class existence, with kids still able to to to college, and maybe something much darker.