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.
I would have no problem renting my residence forever. I'm not an indoor person, so if I'm in the house I'm either sleeping, cooking, watching TV, or reading a book. I don't have to own a place to do that; and if I don't own the place I don't have to worry about having maintenance and upkeep cutting into my fun time.
On the other hand, my major hobbies are riding horses, working on cars, and playing music. No room for a horse or a '67 Nova in an apartment, and my neighbors would frown on me pickin' out Foggy Mountain Breakdown on the banjo at 3 am. So at some point I'd like to own a place; not necessarily to live there full time, but just to have a place to go that's mine to do with as I please. Just a few acres with pasture for the horses and maybe a stocked pond, plus a nice shop where I can tinker on my vehicles or get a bunch of guys together for a jam session. I wouldn't even need a house, I could sleep in the RV when I wanted to stay out there.
I guess there are two things at the moment that are "uncertain" for us, which make it seem like home ownership isn't what we want or would ever be able to afford. One is our debt. With my GF not working a job that makes any kind of money for so long, we were just making minimum payments. She's been at her job 3 months and we've already made great progress. I'm hoping to have all revolving and car debt paid off in 10 months and be left with the student loans only. The debt isn't a financial burden to us, as we can make the payments and I made rational decisions about it, but it does bring in a level of uncertainty (job loss etc). The second thing is the kids. From the minute we get pregnant, we are about 6 years out from our child entering school, so that gives us a lot of time to figure it out. My GF lived in one place her whole life, while I hadn't lived in one place more than 4-5 years. I feel that if we bought a home, we would be stuck to that place. Plus we live in Orlando, which is a rather transient city. The city is changing every day and I don't know if that will eventually be a good thing for jobs or if everything will backfire. And we're not sure we want to stay here long-term.
I think I've been on FB too much. Seems like everyone has or is buying a house that is in my age group. I do feel that we have time and I am no one to fall to outside pressures, so it's nice to get some ideas from you guys. With my GF being out of work for so long, we've been kind of living month to month not really making any long-term plans, but now that she is working, I'm thinking more long-term when it comes to our financial situation, and this has always been on my mind.
I am honestly not asking whether renting or buying is better, but more trying to get thoughts on the idea of never owning property. I see people my age, younger and older putting everything into trying to get a house and we just don't have any of that passion. Would this be a giant financial mistake? Thoughts?
OK, I'm an old guy and you didn't ask me, but what I have seen in my life will be even more common in yours: you're probably going to have to relocate several times in your life to keep a job. Buying only makes sense when you're sure you're staying put.
OK, I'm an old guy and you didn't ask me, but what I have seen in my life will be even more common in yours: you're probably going to have to relocate several times in your life to keep a job. Buying only makes sense when you're sure you're staying put.
This is my worry #1. This is why my original idea was to purchase a home we could possibly rent out when we're 15 years out from retirement and then move there after retiring. Or just save cash to purchase a home outright when we hit retirement.
I am currently a renter looking to buy and although we have our 20% ready the biggest determent to buying is the current low interest rates. In my eyes what the fed has done with the artificially low interest rates is encourage speculation into housing to increase asset prices. Once the easy money is gone as QE winds down and investors leave the market (large scale not just your average housing investor) I just don't see it ending well for housing prices.
Yes, the banks are sitting on 7 million + foreclosures too. Wait until those hit the market.
I would rent. We rented for 10 years, had 2 kids in that time, then we bought a house, had that for 2 years, went back to renting (relocation) and we bought a condo last year... would have kept renting if we didn't have someone in the family footing most of the downpayment (early inheritance). In our case it was a financial no-brainer (an identical condo to ours just sold for $45k more than ours did last year...whoa!). It sounds like you guys are just getting a good footing and I would nurture that for as long as you can tolerate it. Especially if you are going to buy a house and not a condo, you'll have to pay for EVERYTHING. Roof, floor, appliances, yard stuff, pipes, furnaces, A/C, fixtures.. if you guys are planning on being parents soon then also think about how much time you want to give to that baby instead of the house. I'm really glad we were renters during the early years. In an ideal world we would have already had an established house when the babies came, but you know how life is... good luck to you
For me, a house is crucial if I need something bigger than 2 bedrooms... an apartment gets cramped pretty quick. I have also found that a lot of apartments are not in good/great school districts so it's tough to get your kid to a great district through renting.
Those are just my thoughts. We are both 31 also... we have yet to buy a house, we are renters for the next year.
I guess there are two things at the moment that are "uncertain" for us, which make it seem like home ownership isn't what we want or would ever be able to afford. One is our debt. With my GF not working a job that makes any kind of money for so long, we were just making minimum payments. She's been at her job 3 months and we've already made great progress. I'm hoping to have all revolving and car debt paid off in 10 months and be left with the student loans only. The debt isn't a financial burden to us, as we can make the payments and I made rational decisions about it, but it does bring in a level of uncertainty (job loss etc). The second thing is the kids. From the minute we get pregnant, we are about 6 years out from our child entering school, so that gives us a lot of time to figure it out. My GF lived in one place her whole life, while I hadn't lived in one place more than 4-5 years. I feel that if we bought a home, we would be stuck to that place. Plus we live in Orlando, which is a rather transient city. The city is changing every day and I don't know if that will eventually be a good thing for jobs or if everything will backfire. And we're not sure we want to stay here long-term.
I think I've been on FB too much. Seems like everyone has or is buying a house that is in my age group. I do feel that we have time and I am no one to fall to outside pressures, so it's nice to get some ideas from you guys. With my GF being out of work for so long, we've been kind of living month to month not really making any long-term plans, but now that she is working, I'm thinking more long-term when it comes to our financial situation, and this has always been on my mind.
If you dont have great financial footing, as it seems you don't at the moment, I would be hesitant to commit to a house.
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.
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.
good luck to you
