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Miss Crabcakes, I hope your dream of owning a house becomes a reality soon!
You seem eager to finally become a homeowner and one can see it from your posts.
That said, when it comes to your question, I don't think less of people who live in apartments bc many of them are way more expensive than houses, and they might be a better fit for people with different needs, that's all.
Also, there are many renters out there, for many reasons. Some just don't want to deal with the responsibilities of home ownership, some are living in any given place for work-related reasons that might be temporary, some might be still deciding where they want to live, etc.
What I think, though, is home ownership is only home ownership when people pay the last installment of their mortgage. The whole "yay, we are homeowners now!" when signing mortgage papers does not work for me.
I would much prefer a more modest house which can be paid more quickly than a nicer house that will only truly belong to me 20 or 30 years from now.
The truth is, while one is paying installments, the bank is the homeowner. So don't feel bad about renting bc the bottom line is, people paying mortgages ("homeowners") are somehow similar to renters. The circumstances are different - when the mortgage ends they will own the house - but the reality is, if the payments fail, and they cannot renegotiate, they have to leave the house just like someone who rents one and fails to pay rent.
Again, I hope your dream comes true. Don't worry about what others think, bc as far as I know no one is knocking on your door and offering to pay your bills, so live within your means and do things your way.
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I just get the impression that when people learn that I live in an apartment, they feel kinda bad for me. And sometimes I feel kinda bad for me.
Owning a house is a serious commitment and something I woudln't consider in order to please other people. Buy a home because it's something YOU want. My best advice is to check out the bank owned homes or forclosures and Short Sales in your area. You maybe able to pick up a nice home gor a far price.
My landlord doesn't care about either of those things.
Mine does.
We are only allowed 2 pets but really have 3 (no way, I'd give up one of my kitties) so we have to make sure the 2 are never in the window at the same time. Also, while our complex allowed German Sheperds when we moved in, they now do not and will not allow new tenants to have them.
This was only 1 of 2 apartment complexes we could find that will rent to a German Sheperd. After this, we have pretty much no other options.
Thankfully, we are allowed to paint the walls but we have to paint them back before we move.
"Success" is a very relative term. Compared to Bill Gates I'm a pathetic failure. Compared to most of the people I went to high school with, I'm like Bill Gates. It's all perspective.
Owning a home, mortgage or not, gives one a sense of stability as long as a steady income is available to keep paying the monthly bills and keep the wolf away from the door. When my first wife left, two years after we bought our first home, I paid out her equity and kept the house, thinking "Oh sh*t!, I have to pay the mortgage by myself! How can I do that?" I got another job, took in roommates, ate a lot of Ramen noodles and learned to get creative with mac-n-cheese. But I liked the feeling that when I came home, it was "mine". My ex had moved back into the high-rise we had once lived in - parking in an underground garage, taking an elevator to and from the 17th floor, using a shared laundry room, having to put up with neighbors who curry cooking permeated the entire floor, etc. I felt that in spite of my situation, I was in a better place. Over time, things got better. I refinanced, lost a roomate (down to one!) and ended up selling my $160K TH for $400K when the market peaked.
So now I'm in a half-mil SFH (worth $350 now due to the market) but have a mortgage payment lower than I could rent a 2 BDR apt for. It'll be paid off in 5 years. No matter what the paper worth is, it'll still be "mine".
There are two sides to the coin on renting vs. ownership. Pluses and minuses, pros and cons. Do what brings you the most peace of mind and don't worry about anyone else's sense of "success".
There's no shame in renting. And I see neighbors in SFHs that should be ashamed for the way they live.
What I can say is if one rents, rent a house and not an apartment. That way one can view what it actually takes to become a home-owner and what it envolves!
Also the only thing I hate, hate........ HATE being once a renter was moving!! I hate, hate, HATE moving!!
If you are a renter, try to pack light.
What I can say is if one rents, rent a house and not an apartment. That way one can view what it actually takes to become a home-owner and what it envolves!
I've considered this but my husband is uncomfortable with it because of all the foreclosures and worrying about the landlords being able to keep up on their payments.
Also, there aren't as many affordable homes in my ares to rent. I'm seeing rental costs starting at around $1400+ for a 3-bedroom house. We could own for cheaper.
I feel like these days there's less of a stigma than there was. I rent a single family home and I have neighbors who bought at the height of the market who said I'm smart to rent.
On the other hand, to get things fixed I have to go through a middleman, and this is currently a problem.
I will buy next year, prepared to pay for the maintenance, and just getting it done.
I've obviously been struggling with this one for a long time. I have lived in apartments for over 18 years (my childhood home was foreclosed on and my family was evicted) and its been a huge dream ever since to buy my own home one day (maybe next year!!!) But the economy killed my career and I have not been able to buy a house yet.
Consequently, I can't help but feel less successful and less wealthy than my homeowner friends and colleagues. Owning your own home seems to be this huge status symbol. But isn't it a symbol of success?
Am I crazy or justified in feeling this way? Are renter's generlaly viewed as being poorer or lower class?
I think sometimes yes people do think of renters as somehow "less than" mortgage-holders (they're not really home owners unless they've paid for the thing; the bank owns it until then. They can deny that til they turn blue but when you own it a bank can't come take it and when you owe money it means you have not paid for it completely. I can't say I own a salami sandwich that was 5 bucks and for which I only handed the guy $2.50! Weird that we let people have cars and houses they haven't paid for.) Sometimes it's due to the "transient" nature of renting and the fact that one can pick up and leave in a matter of months and so perhaps not take as much care with the place because what do they care, they're not invested. Lots of renters don't have that attitude and keep things nice but I think maybe there are so many who just don't that it gives the rest a bad rap.
I've rented and we've owned. We sold the house and are renting again and I'll buy when I'm ready. I'm not ready because I don't know where I want to settle down (kind of an important factor in buying a house LOL). Allergies have kicked in so I'm thinking of leaving the state all together because I am just hit so hard for so many months each year so that's a huge thing.
Anyway, when we got the house (we wanted a condo but the in laws were basically hunting for us at the time, don't ask) we then realized hey, we have to deal with this massive lawn and backyard and 5 trees and eww there's earwigs and grubs in the yard and property taxes like whoa and school tax and tax tax and Welcome tax (Yes, literally something called "Welcome tax" -- this was Canada). When our toilet didn't work we had to buy a new one and pay the plumber to install it. We had to have stairs added to a side door that had a massive drop (why no stairs, former owners?), we added railings to the stairs inside and so on. We had to hire snow removal for winter. It was a lot of work and a lot of money. Yes, it can be lovely having a house but it's not like it's without problems and responsibilities. We would have been happier with a condo honestly. That's something to consider, too.
I know much better what kind of house I'd like and what to look for when buying. It can get complicated and you can't always trust the inspector.
A lot of my peers actually are renting homes which seems quite popular.
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