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Why does a 30-year-old man need someone to mow his lawn for him? I'm an almost 40-year-old woman and I mow my own lawn. There are elements beyond the financial involved in owning a home. It's getting nigh on impossible to rent in many areas of the country if you have a pet, or heaven forbid, more than one pet. I'm interested in occasionally fostering dogs: can't do that on a lease either.
Pssshhht, I would never mow a lawn in Texas heat.. If you buy a home, get a lawn service, a repairman and a maid. Just sayin...
Sorry, I must be obtuse, but I'm still not seeing it. As I understand your post, you are addressing the ongoing expenses that are involved in owning vs. renting. I did not see you address the issue of what you get back at the end of the process.
Anyway, it doesn't matter. I've tossed my two cents into this thread, so there we go.
That's more or less what I am doing.
When you buy, you have both fixed and variable expenses. The fixed expense is your principle and (usually) your interest. The variable expense is your land taxes, insurance and repairs. These will go up over time, and historically have tracked inflation (more or less).
With a rental, the entire expense is a variable, roughly tracking inflation.
In many markets, renting is cheaper than buying. The thought is that you take the difference between what you would pay for your mortgage and what you pay for rent, and you bank that. Generally speaking the return on the stock market is better than the return on real estate. Over 30 years, you make more on the delta between mortgage and rental payments than you do on real estate appreciation.
Again with tl;dr.
After 30 years the homeowner has a house that they have to sell. It is worth less than the total amount of money they put into it once you count interest, taxes and maintenance.
After 30 years the disciplined renter has no real estate, but a big wad of cash that is worth more than your house.
Possible side investment, cash, bonds, mutual funds, etc. since you didn't have to pay for maintenance except as part of the rent, and also did not have to make a down payment or pay PMI.
...
Not just receipts, also financial assets.
What assets? How much do you think maintenance will be?
In all seriousness though, people may have varying reasons they don't want to own, or want to live in an area that also happens to have an HOA, etc.
Others may put the ability to paint outside walls and not have escalating HOA dues or rent as a high priority.
It is true that one often has to pick one's battles though, whether renting or owning.
Totally agree. I just don't think those reasons need to be monetized to be valid.
Actually, I think that's why there are so many of these threads. If someone says "Buying isn't for me. I like the ability to pick up and move whenever I want" how can you do anything but respect those feelings. It's when it gets into "renting costs more/less" that people try to "prove" it one way or the other, and things go downhill.
If you don't want to own your own home, don't buy one. It's as simple as that.
But for some people, the freedom and control of owning one's own home outweighs the hassle and nickel-and-dime expenses.
I was 32 and single when I bought my first house. When I bought the second one, I was married and sold the first one for three times what I paid for it.
I agree with everyone who said this is totally subjective and based on one's own lifestyle, location and desires. I decided to buy because in my location rents have been rising crazily over the past few years. I am lucky my rent is still affordable, but it still goes up every year. If I ever had to move out of the condo I am renting, I would be scrambling to find a place that is both affordable and in a reasonable decent/safe area.
The interest rates are low, but the housing market is heating up here so now is a good time for me. I went for a small house in a desirable neighborhood. One factor for me is that I work from home so owning a house will allow me to dedicate a separate room as workspace and to have privacy and quiet during my work hours. Another big factor was that my house will be paid off when I retire, so I won't have to worry about paying rent/mortgage at that time. If rents keep rising the way they are now, that would be scary.
Yes, I am very spoiled from living in a rented condo for the past 3 years so I went for a small house with a small yard. I need a bit more exercise anyway. Maintenance: I just created a budget for. It's hard to put a price on having my own garage and my own washer and dryer. lol Save a little every month and when you need to buy or fix something you have the money. Whatever habit you got into to save for the down payment, just continue.
I think one needs to take into consideration ALL the factors in one's life, not just a month to month budgeting. Make your happiness the ultimate goal. I am looking forward to this move being over.
It's been long proven that buying a home will generally lead to increased wealth accumulation vs renting. Why some people continue to argue that point in threads like these is nuts.
If you buy a home of a comparable size of living space as you are renting, you will DEFINITELY come out ahead in the long run vs renting. That's the first mistake I see made... people thinking that buying a home will cost them $1-2k per month, then they point out that renting will only cost them $750/month, nevermind that they are talking about a 1br/1ba apartment vs a 3br/2ba house with a lot more living space.
If you buy a home that is within your means, and buy it at the right price (ie market value, and don't overpay vs what the house is actually worth) then most people either make money or at the very least, don't lose any value, and build equity slowly. All renting does is make your landlord richer.
I'm 30 and don't plan on getting married and starting a family anytime soon. However, everyone and their aunt is telling me to buy a home. The reasons I get all the time are: I'm throwing money away on rent, interest rates are at rock bottom and will only go up, and a house is a good investment.
Well, being an accountant I ran the numbers and buying a home really isn't attractive at all from a financial standpoint. Here's the figures (I live in the Houston area btw):
Rent for a 1 bedroom apartment + all utilities + rental insurance costs = $950/month
Assuming I buy a $150,000 home, here are the estimated monthly expenses:
$300 property taxes (high property taxes around here)
$250 average for all utilities (Houston is hot!)
$100 insurance
$250 all maintenance costs, including having the grass cut
So, in housing expenses alone, I will be "throwing away" $900/month, just $50/month less than I am throwing away with my apartment. That's not even counting interest on the mortgage. As far as "a house is an investment" goes, houses historically have only appreciated in value at the rate of inflation. Your money will earn MUCH higher returns over time in quality stock index funds. You have to consider the opportunity cost of putting your down payment into something that will provide a very low return, as well as the commission when you decide to sell the house.
Then there is the flexibility aspect of renting. For a single person, homeownership just isn't that great of a deal unless you really just want a house for emotional reasons rather than financial.
Apples and porcupines, Mr. Accountant. $950 a month including utilities and insurance gets you a hovel. Compare the space difference in a house and a hovel. For what you propose you could buy the house and rent out a couple of rooms.
You're entitled to live in any conditions you desire; calling yourself an accountant and making an irrational comparison does nothing to further your opinion.
Completely agree. My house is only about 400 sqft of living space larger than the condo I am renting. That doesn't count the huge garage, small yard and decent sized enclosed patio I will be getting. Running the monthly numbers my monthly mortgage, insurance, taxes and HOA will be right around or slightly lower than the going rate for a 1 BR here. And I am moving to a much better area! It's a no brainer, but that is here in S FL. YMMV.
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Maintenance: I just created a budget for. It's hard to put a price on having my own garage and my own washer and dryer. lol Save a little every month and when you need to buy or fix something you have the money. Whatever habit you got into to save for the down payment, just continue. 
