Just had CPA appointment discussing new tax law, taxes and more taxes. He's been an CPA since 1975. This is the biggest tax overhaul in his career. Our discussion moved to renting. He said more and more of his Retired clients are renting. I get the pros, no property taxes, easy relocation, maintenance free, set monthly payments. Could rent a stand alone home rather than apartment. I'm thinking about it. Anyone renting?
Revisit Rent vs Own Home
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Dtail
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Rented a SFH our first year, but are buying next month.
Landlord said we could stay as long as we want, then 1 year later wants to sell the place.
Didn't want to get caught again, plus rents are increasing quite a bit in this area. Also didn't want moving costs every couple of years potentially; not DIY in this area. lol
Teacher Terry
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Rents for our house is 2k/month versus a few hundred to own. Property taxes 70/month.
COcheesehead
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Life lesson. Mine, maybe not everyone else’s.
Rented when I was young and eventually bought and sold about 7 or 8 homes in my life so far. Eventually reached the stage of wanting to move to a LCOL. So we sold our home in anticipation of building our retirement house in the new town. We wanted to roll the equity into the new house, pay cash and not have to liquidate other assets and pay taxes.
So into a rental house for 12 months.
Here’s the lesson part. Your neighbors are transient. They know you are too. Your neighbor relationships twindle or don’t exist at all. You just are living in a dwelling, not a neighborhood. Your desire to take care of, decorate, clean, enhance the property completely disappear. The house is a place to eat and sleep. It’s not a home. You find ways to not be there. Your neighbors don’t care as much either...and it shows in small ways.
We can’t wait to own again and go back to living the way we are used to.
Again, my life lesson. Others may have different experiences.
Rented when I was young and eventually bought and sold about 7 or 8 homes in my life so far. Eventually reached the stage of wanting to move to a LCOL. So we sold our home in anticipation of building our retirement house in the new town. We wanted to roll the equity into the new house, pay cash and not have to liquidate other assets and pay taxes.
So into a rental house for 12 months.
Here’s the lesson part. Your neighbors are transient. They know you are too. Your neighbor relationships twindle or don’t exist at all. You just are living in a dwelling, not a neighborhood. Your desire to take care of, decorate, clean, enhance the property completely disappear. The house is a place to eat and sleep. It’s not a home. You find ways to not be there. Your neighbors don’t care as much either...and it shows in small ways.
We can’t wait to own again and go back to living the way we are used to.
Again, my life lesson. Others may have different experiences.
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RobbieB
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I was kicked out (literally evicted) from a townhouse the owner decided to sell. Rented a unit in a triplex that the cheap landlord refused to keep in good repair.
If you want to rent I recommend an apartment complex.
If you want to rent I recommend an apartment complex.
I've done them both before and didn't see much of a difference except buying always cost more compared to what I was able to rent.
The rest is quite frankly what I think they call "values signalling"
Owning vs renting doesn't affect any of that. You can rent an apartment and actually still want to keep it clean. I don't think you;d trash a place because you were't owning it. And the rest of that Ward and June neighborhood business , well. For one, we don't all need that. Minding one''s own business and vice versa seems like an ideal neighborhood to me. And second, it is not necessary in order to be a good neighbor. Painting? decorating? What's that got to with anything? You cannot say there are no differences between upscale places and slummy places. That speaks to the people (and, yes, how much money they have) and not whether they have the "freedom" of painting the bedroom. I always just looked at the cold hard finances of it and not whether or not I would be happy dying there.
In fact for the next year or two I am deliberating this very thing. One one hand I am actually considering an age restricted apartment complex. But at 62... I just don't feel "old enough." But after this winter I don't know how many more I can go through. On the other hand in any kind of apartment I would not be able to play guitar. So... maybe it looks like renting a house. I'd be off the hook for all the "overhang" of owning but paying a bunch more. But seeing the rents of apartments I'd even begin to consider, house rents aren't much higher in this area.
The rest is quite frankly what I think they call "values signalling"
Owning vs renting doesn't affect any of that. You can rent an apartment and actually still want to keep it clean. I don't think you;d trash a place because you were't owning it. And the rest of that Ward and June neighborhood business , well. For one, we don't all need that. Minding one''s own business and vice versa seems like an ideal neighborhood to me. And second, it is not necessary in order to be a good neighbor. Painting? decorating? What's that got to with anything? You cannot say there are no differences between upscale places and slummy places. That speaks to the people (and, yes, how much money they have) and not whether they have the "freedom" of painting the bedroom. I always just looked at the cold hard finances of it and not whether or not I would be happy dying there.
In fact for the next year or two I am deliberating this very thing. One one hand I am actually considering an age restricted apartment complex. But at 62... I just don't feel "old enough." But after this winter I don't know how many more I can go through. On the other hand in any kind of apartment I would not be able to play guitar. So... maybe it looks like renting a house. I'd be off the hook for all the "overhang" of owning but paying a bunch more. But seeing the rents of apartments I'd even begin to consider, house rents aren't much higher in this area.
^^^^Nailed it.
So much for "pride of ownership"! Trashing one's own property the way a mere renter would. Well, I never!
That's my general recommendation too, but I like to consider noise potential too. A house sets you apart and that alone can ameliorate noise problems by raising the threshold that needs to be met
DW and I have been together 21 years next month. We have rented half the time and owned half the time almost exactly. You can probably guess which of us prefers which arrangement. We have only ever rented or owned SFH.
Currently renting a large house on 2.1 acres from a friend. It is perched in a green belt on the edge of a medium size city that is often voted the best place to live in Canada. The property is worth approximately 2.5MM The rent is a pittance compared to that. We would never, ever pay that much for a residence. However, we are enjoying it immensely and it will be a good place to ride out the last 3 - 4 years of my employment.
There are pros/cons on both sides of the argument. I find you do get more zealots on the ownership side of the argument. Do what makes more sense for your circumstances at the time, keeping in mind intelligent rules of affordability no matter which side you end up on.
Currently renting a large house on 2.1 acres from a friend. It is perched in a green belt on the edge of a medium size city that is often voted the best place to live in Canada. The property is worth approximately 2.5MM The rent is a pittance compared to that. We would never, ever pay that much for a residence. However, we are enjoying it immensely and it will be a good place to ride out the last 3 - 4 years of my employment.
There are pros/cons on both sides of the argument. I find you do get more zealots on the ownership side of the argument. Do what makes more sense for your circumstances at the time, keeping in mind intelligent rules of affordability no matter which side you end up on.
travelover
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Depends on your priorities and attitude. I rented for the first 10 years on my own but always wanted a place of my own. Then I bought two houses that I lived in sequentially over a period of 35 years, which I greatly enjoyed. When I sold the last house, I rented in a complex for 6 months and then a house for a year while I looked to purchase. I found renting to be miserable. You really can't change anything nor would you want to put your own money into it given the temporary nature of the arrangement. At the complex, I had people who were probably flipping burgers a week ago dictating to me what I could and could not do and threatening "fines" for noncompliance. The house was better, as I had an owner landlord, but the neighbors were kind of lower class and they knew we were not staying long, so there was no real bond like I had when I owned.
So, in summary. It depends.
So, in summary. It depends.
COcheesehead
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So I guess I am a “value signaler” had to google that one (roll eyes) and a zealot. 
I think the poster actually meant virtue signaling.
I think the poster actually meant virtue signaling.
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travelover
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Yup, me, too.So I guess I am a “value signaler” had to google that one (roll eyes) and a zealot.
So I guess I am a “value signaler” had to google that one (roll eyes) and a zealot.
That's why I put it in quotes. More like what someone else said about there's more zealots on the buy" side than the "rent" side
COcheesehead
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W2R
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I don't know for sure, but I suppose almost everybody has both rented and owned a home by the time they start thinking of retiring. Those who have done both, know which they prefer and why.
I strongly prefer owning my own home. But if I preferred renting, I'd do that instead. I guess my point is that I love being able to live the way I want in retirement.
I strongly prefer owning my own home. But if I preferred renting, I'd do that instead. I guess my point is that I love being able to live the way I want in retirement.
Oz investor
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renting might appeal to those planning to travel a lot ( and rent some lockup storage when you are away from your home base )
i prefer owning but that ( so far ) wasn't the correct choice for me , i bought acreage but now need to be close to a major hospital .. so basically 'couch-surf ' ( for another 3 or more years ) , but my crystal ball was broken when i bought the property ( in 1975 , who knew )
now i have the spare time , i can't spend it where i would like to be
but would renting and having the cash ( property value ) invested in the markets been better .. not really .. the perceived property value + the current investments would endanger my pension ( and precious health-care card )
( imo ) very much a personal choice ( and a very hard one to get right if looking ahead 30 years or so )
i prefer owning but that ( so far ) wasn't the correct choice for me , i bought acreage but now need to be close to a major hospital .. so basically 'couch-surf ' ( for another 3 or more years ) , but my crystal ball was broken when i bought the property ( in 1975 , who knew )
now i have the spare time , i can't spend it where i would like to be
but would renting and having the cash ( property value ) invested in the markets been better .. not really .. the perceived property value + the current investments would endanger my pension ( and precious health-care card )
( imo ) very much a personal choice ( and a very hard one to get right if looking ahead 30 years or so )
Spanky
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My preference is owning since we tend to stay in one place for a long time, say 7 years or more.
Mr. Tightwad
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Renting is fine for certain situations but owning is why I'm wealthy.
If you have to pull an extra 20k out of an IRA each year to pay rent you will pay more in taxes. If you have sufficient funds in an aftertax account that would work. I prefer owning my own home but that may change as we get in our 80's.
Huston55
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
OP-
Of course, you have to weigh your own factors and make your decision based on them. Everyone’s needs and situation are different.
DW & I have lived together in ~16 places (and a few more individually due to school & work). We’ve lived in almost every type of place; SFH, townhouse, condo/flat, apartment; urban, suburban, rural. We owned in about a third of those locations and rented in the remaining two thirds (we moved a lot for work). We made $$$ on the houses we owned. We liked the vast majority of the places we lived, rented or bought; mostly, I think, because we were very careful about choosing where to live. Based on our experience, what I can say with a high degree of certainty is:
- Home ownership is not a good “investment”; in fact, I’m not sure it should be considered an investment
- The cost to own is higher than renting, most of the time
- Home owners are not inherently more responsible, nicer or even more house-proud than renters
- The depth (and length) of our friendships with neighbors has not been determined by whether we owned or rented but, by ourselves and whether we were good neighbors and friends
- Choosing your desired environment carefully (regardless of whether you rent or own) is the most important decision; get that right and good things will follow.
I highly recommend JLCollins posts on this subject; lots of wisdom there.
Best of luck.
Of course, you have to weigh your own factors and make your decision based on them. Everyone’s needs and situation are different.
DW & I have lived together in ~16 places (and a few more individually due to school & work). We’ve lived in almost every type of place; SFH, townhouse, condo/flat, apartment; urban, suburban, rural. We owned in about a third of those locations and rented in the remaining two thirds (we moved a lot for work). We made $$$ on the houses we owned. We liked the vast majority of the places we lived, rented or bought; mostly, I think, because we were very careful about choosing where to live. Based on our experience, what I can say with a high degree of certainty is:
- Home ownership is not a good “investment”; in fact, I’m not sure it should be considered an investment
- The cost to own is higher than renting, most of the time
- Home owners are not inherently more responsible, nicer or even more house-proud than renters
- The depth (and length) of our friendships with neighbors has not been determined by whether we owned or rented but, by ourselves and whether we were good neighbors and friends
- Choosing your desired environment carefully (regardless of whether you rent or own) is the most important decision; get that right and good things will follow.
I highly recommend JLCollins posts on this subject; lots of wisdom there.
Best of luck.
Not to be an instigator here but .... Hallelujah, I finally heard somebody else admit to this! I, others who post on the subject here, have had some of the most deplorable, noisy, anti-social, filthy, and even outright dangerous neighbors right there in well-heeled big-paycheck Ozzie and Harriet Land suburbia. In apartments: No, I never really did know anybody. Nobody knew anybody for the most part. Suits me. Some were noisy. But at least A) I or they moved on after a spell and we all of a sudden got a better neighborhood. and B) It was way cheaper than owning so at least I saved money
Oz investor
Full time employment: Posting here.
LOL
could have been Ozzie and Sharon ( Osbourne )
some neighbours will be fine and others not ( whether they rent or own ) even in rural areas
could have been Ozzie and Sharon ( Osbourne )
some neighbours will be fine and others not ( whether they rent or own ) even in rural areas
brett
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We rented four for years after downsizing and retiring. It was a financial decision. Higher end condo apt. Overlooking a golf course.
We enjoyed it. And it turned out to be a better financial decision that we expected because we were conservative on the after tax investment returns on the capital that otherwise would have been tied up in a poor housing market.
Our take...it is financial and lifestyle. There is no one size fits all financial answer.
We enjoyed it. And it turned out to be a better financial decision that we expected because we were conservative on the after tax investment returns on the capital that otherwise would have been tied up in a poor housing market.
Our take...it is financial and lifestyle. There is no one size fits all financial answer.
