Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California > Los Angeles
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 11-22-2011, 11:11 PM
 
270 posts, read 838,480 times
Reputation: 136

Advertisements

In a thread on here about affordability I read an interesting suggestion. Someone mentioned that if you decide not to buy a house, then LA suddenly becomes easy to afford again.


An interesting perspective that I've never thought about. I'm a pretty good saver so I could definitely put some of that saved money elsewhere. But the concept of never buying a house still feels a bit foreign to me; itis one of those things I always assumed would be a milestone in my life.


Has anyone opted to go this route and NEVER buy a house?

How has it turned out so far? What do/don't you like about it?

Thanks
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 11-22-2011, 11:15 PM
 
16,431 posts, read 22,198,807 times
Reputation: 9623
House ownership has become a liability these days. There are many reasons to avoid that trap. Buy only if you are sure you're going to stay in one spot for the rest of your life.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-22-2011, 11:28 PM
 
Location: Boulder Creek, CA
9,197 posts, read 16,843,125 times
Reputation: 6373
Beyond inheritance or winning the lottery, yes.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-22-2011, 11:52 PM
 
Location: RSM
5,113 posts, read 19,764,799 times
Reputation: 1927
The only problem with not buying a house is that with a fixed loan your housing cost becomes static. Rent inflation over a 30 year period is ridiculous compared to that fixed cost. Now, that doesn't make LA any more affordable, but if you're here for 10 years you're likely to see your rent go up a good amount while that mortgage would have stayed the same. Food for thought
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-23-2011, 12:05 AM
 
16,431 posts, read 22,198,807 times
Reputation: 9623
Quote:
Originally Posted by bhcompy View Post
you're likely to see your rent go up a good amount while that mortgage would have stayed the same. Food for thought
True in many instances. Prop taxes and insurance can fiddle with that though. We bought a house in Texas in '79 with low taxes and insurance, but 21 years later when we finally sold it, the tax and ins were more than the mortgage. They say that tax increases are just passed on to the rentor, but we had to rent our house for quite a bit less than the payments just to keep tenants in it for many years. I would would be much better off financially today if I had never bought that house. You may fare better.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-23-2011, 01:07 AM
 
Location: The OC
1,215 posts, read 2,959,974 times
Reputation: 477
I never want to get married or have kids. I am in my thirties already and made up my mind. Don't need a man and don't like or ever want kids; I am a loner and like being alone. I'm a very, very small person ( barely 5 ft tall), why do I need or want a big ass house? Why would I need a house all to myself? So I can get lost in it? More room for an intruder to hide? What on earth would I need space for?

An apartment is fine with me. I don't care to build equity because I don't care to leave it behind to anyone. I live and then I die. What do I care if I "build equity" or "own" a house? It makes no difference to me if I "own" a place or if I "rent". I live the just the same and owning isn't going to make me happier or feel any different about my residence. "Owning" is just not something that is important to me. A lot of space isn't really important either; if I had space I would never use it. I am not the type of person to hang out in the backyard. All I need is my computer.

I am lazy and don't want to maintain anything. Living in an apartment you don't have to worry about that. Never understood why owning a house is important to people. I guess that's more for "family" people who want to have a house for their "family" and "kids". I'm not into that... I see no need to own a house.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-23-2011, 01:12 AM
 
16,431 posts, read 22,198,807 times
Reputation: 9623
Quote:
Originally Posted by jackie100 View Post
An apartment is fine with me.
Sounds like that's right for you, as long as you don't mind sharing walls with other people.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-23-2011, 01:14 AM
 
Location: The OC
1,215 posts, read 2,959,974 times
Reputation: 477
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bideshi View Post
Sounds like that's right for you, as long as you don't mind sharing walls with other people.
It's fine by me. I am not one of those people who have "pride in home ownership". A lot of things that are important to most people, aren't that important to me.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-23-2011, 08:33 AM
 
1,714 posts, read 3,852,365 times
Reputation: 1146
My wife and I have a child, so a house makes perfect sense for us.

A house means a rent/mortgage-free life for our child and our child's future family (if they choose to live there).

It also means a stable shelter--knowing the house is ours, and we won't get kicked out for whatever stupid reason.

The return in investment may not be totally awesome in our lifetime, but it's still better than renting for the rest of our life and get nothing in return at the end.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-23-2011, 08:42 AM
 
Location: SCW, AZ
8,323 posts, read 13,453,824 times
Reputation: 7995
Quote:
Originally Posted by jackie100 View Post
I never want to get married or have kids. I am in my thirties already and made up my mind. Don't need a man and don't like or ever want kids; I am a loner and like being alone. I'm a very, very small person ( barely 5 ft tall), why do I need or want a big ass house? Why would I need a house all to myself? So I can get lost in it? More room for an intruder to hide? What on earth would I need space for?
There is a certain size and type of house for everyone:


Kidding of course! I do agree with you though. Especially about no needing a man or wanting kids. Really, in this expensive and crowded day and age, who needs kids? If you are dying for one, go grab one from an orphanage who needs a family.

I am totally fine with apartment living but the only thing that gets to me is the noisy neighbors and no matter what area or apartment complex I have lived in, there is always one that annoys/bothers you in that regard. Never fails!


Quote:
I am lazy and don't want to maintain anything. Living in an apartment you don't have to worry about that. Never understood why owning a house is important to people. I guess that's more for "family" people who want to have a house for their "family" and "kids". I'm not into that... I see no need to own a house.
Upkeep of an apartment is utterly a pain as it is why need to increase the scale, right?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bideshi View Post
Sounds like that's right for you, as long as you don't mind sharing walls with other people.
Not sharing the walls I mind sharing but it is the "we are having sex so we gonna pump up the volume on TV/stereo like crazy so you won't know it" type inconsiderate idiots. Sucks being a light sleeper like me. I can hear a ninja's fart a mile away.

If I ever own a house with no inheritance or lottery help, it is likely to be in a different state.
Heck the property tax my friend is paying on his 2-brm townhouse they have in Irvine equals my yearly rent almost! And they still share walls/garage!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California > Los Angeles
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top