Renting VS Owning (Houston: apartments, leasing, insurance)

[Wysiwyg]

Originally Posted by BamaTex

With the exception of #5 and #9, renting a house would fix all of those points. And I'm sure most land lords wouldn't have a problem with the tenant slapping a different coat of paint on the wall. Assuming it's not hot pink or something. Even then, they'd probably just make you paint it again if you wanted your security deposit back.

thats true. moving/adding wall outlets, accent lighting, architectural detail, ceiling fans, audio/video wiring, projector, built in cabinets, shelving, water feature, hardscape, better carpet/flooring, better looking plants, wheelchair access, a deck, updated tiles, bathroom/kitchen fixtures etc you know little stuff that set things right, if thats all allowed and you can recoupe the money for the value added then renting would be great.
Obviously, generally renting is for folks who has lots of better things to do rather than build something to call their own. people who has every furniture floating around like its a only a short stay and living with someone elses tastes and one has to conform. we've all been there and there will be some who just cant hold their creativity in them or feel that theyre seen as better providers not putting his/her family in a rental. owning a home does reflect a sense of responsibility, another thing some people want to project. when you've been slacking, punking, hippying, bumming, partying, camping, treking or being a rockstar all your early life at some point you will have to happily take on grown up stuff. many of us now home owners want to prove we can be good at this grown up stuff too. that means spending money for different toys and gadgets.

[GeraldineGray]

I've done both and I am looking forward to renting again for a while before I buy my next house.
When you own a home, the costs are just so much higher what with repairs, maintenance, gardening, insurance, taxes etc. Sometimes houses run themselves but at other times they are just money pits - and that's before you even begin to do "stuff" to make it your own or to update it to keep up with the times.
I have decided to rent a little place in town and put the rest of my money in the bank; at the end of the year I might not have a property that *may* appreciate at the Houston rate of 3% but I will have saved a massive $20k from not paying the high utilities and costs of running a house or to commute into town and (I can promise you) this money will all be in the bank!
It takes discipline and a little compromising to do this which is perhaps why some people prefer to buy (they see real estate as a form of forced savings and equity) but I've been on both sides of the fence; I now own, I am going to rent, in a year or two I will be ready to own again but much smaller and in town. I've done the numbers and turned them inside out and applied a good dose of realism and I will be so much better off in a little two-bed apartment in River Oaks than a big house (with pool) in the 'burbs.

[futexan]

As a financial consultant,I can tell with certainty that nothing beats ownership of your residence.

A couple of high school or college sweethearts can go through 3 15-yr mortgages on brand new homes in their professional life & inherit to their children 3 homes ( admittedly old & in fair condition ).
Nevertheless,a home is a home & that is probably the best way to build wealth in your life.

[tstone]

After dealing with a landlord and property manager that decided to keep our fairly large deposit, make up fake & inflated damage charges upon moveout, breach clauses in the rental contract, violate their own privacy policies, trash our credit w/ fake mortgage accounts w/ fake acct numbers, and dodge the mailmen & cops, I can easily say that I'll never rent again. "In the end, the universe tends to unfold as it should," and it did -- one year / one lawsuit later, but I have no intention of playing lawyer and dealing with all of that red tape again.

Bank's slave >> Landlord's slave

[SkyeAnjel]

I feel leasing is just throwing your money away and should only be done if necessary or you are new to an area and want to learn the area. I am always suprised when owners who lease want tenants with good credit and my answer is always, if they had good credit, they would just buy...

[Jammie]

Originally Posted by SkyeAnjel

I feel leasing is just throwing your money away and should only be done if necessary or you are new to an area and want to learn the area. I am always suprised when owners who lease want tenants with good credit and my answer is always, if they had good credit, they would just buy...

Skye, I guess I don't see it that way. Of course, families like to have their own house so the children have a yard, etc. But often single people relocate often and older people just don't want the responsibility anymore.

It doesn't appear to be happening in Texas, but there are some states where people who are buying homes are literally throwing their money away. They have houses that are valued thousands of dollars less then their mortgage is. Sure, it's kind of a rare time, but some people are paying 5,000 and up for insurance. Add the thousands of dollars in taxes and it's really not worth it unless you have a LOT of extra money or a very high income. There's just nothing left for anything else and it may be worth it to some people, but not all of us.

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by futexan

A couple of high school or college sweethearts can go through 3 15-yr mortgages on brand new homes in their professional life & inherit to their children 3 homes ( admittedly old & in fair condition ).

This is, of course, assuming that these high school sweethearts have the liquidity and income to take on homeownership straight out of high school. In the real world, this doesn't happen all that often. People go to college and then get a high-paying job but then they're likely paying off debt in the form of student loans.

I'm renting right now. Renting an apartment. 16 months ago I was living in a single-family subdivision house in North Carolina. Yeah, I'm handling sharing walls and such all right. My neighbors are actually pretty good folks.

Your landlord has a key but they are restricted by law from just coming or going out in absence of any emergency and you're paid up. tstone was dealing with people who obviously didn't care about the law, but that's a risk you take just like a risk you'd take buying any real estate. Results and experiences vary everywhere. At my apartment complex I've talked with the maintenance guys and they are afraid of getting taken to court by people who have expensive stuff in their apartment who can just say something came up missing and one of them took it. Basically nobody comes in here without letting me know about it. And as far as anyone else coming in, well, owning your place doesn't make your door any harder to kick in.

I'm not against homeownership. I'm against the idea that buying a home is inherently going to make you rich. That idea made a lot of realtors and mortgage brokers rich, and put a lot of regular folks in the poorhouse with wrecked credit, and now they're renting because they have to. People who didn't put any money down or as little as possible to get a mortgage never had any equity. They were glorified renters, paying a premium for the luxuries of having your name on a deed and being on their own for maintenance. Somewhere, somebody probably told them this was the ticket to earning money, and they might have even bought into the myth that their cookie-cutter subdivision house out on the fringe somewhere was going to *double in value over the next 10 years!* After 10 years of inflation, paying property taxes and maintenance that's not saying a whole lot, and to realize even that value you still have to actually succeed in selling the house for twice what you paid for it. That's not exactly a slam dunk when newer and shinier stuff has been going up over that decade you were in a house that's now 10 years old. And that's too old for a lot of people, and too old for some of the thrown-together crap that your kids will be begging you not to will to them. I've lived in a couple houses that needed to be renovated with a bulldozer because there was no hope for economically fixing them.

Ideally I'd like to own a place when I'm ready to settle down somewhere and stay there for good. That place may or may not be in Houston. If it is, it might end up being somewhere you'd never think of living right now. Time's funny like that in this city.

[davidt1]

People go through stages in life where both renting and owning make sense. Most people will end up owning because that denotes accomplishment, status and the American dream achieved. There is nothing wrong with that, but a lot of people got hurt because they bought more than they could afford, thinking of their houses as investment that can double in value in a few years. I am not sure where the greed come from, but there are many sources -- unscrupulous real estate agents, greedy mortgage sale people and false late-night informecials all promising quick riches through real estate. If you are buying a house to live in, please do not think of it as an investment. I say this because houses (unless you are that rare successful house flipper) are poor investments choices. Buy a house to live in and buy only what you can afford.

[futexan]

We should view houses as capital,not as instruments of investment.
It is true that wooden houses lose their value fast.
Even then,they have an exchange value & that is the capital the homeowners enjoy.

[sunny57]

Interesting points...I agree with the idea that people view home ownership as an... accomplishment, status and the American dream achieved...well put.

As far as the buyers being victims in the mortgage mess...I don't buy it. What your moms told you still rings true... if it looks too good to be true than.... it's not! Sure some folks got stung, but the majority were part of the deal, they were hedging their odds and lost. The housing market is much like the stock market ...a time to buy, a time to sell and a time to choose not to participate. The short of it is ...it's an individuals choice...Sunny

Originally Posted by davidt1

People go through stages in life where both renting and owning make sense. Most people will end up owning because that denotes accomplishment, status and the American dream achieved. There is nothing wrong with that, but a lot of people got hurt because they bought more than they could afford, thinking of their houses as investment that can double in value in a few years. I am not sure where the greed come from, but there are many sources -- unscrupulous real estate agents, greedy mortgage sale people and false late-night informecials all promising quick riches through real estate. If you are buying a house to live in, please do not think of it as an investment. I say this because houses (unless you are that rare successful house flipper) are poor investments choices. Buy a house to live in and buy only what you can afford.