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Location: Miami (prev. NY, Atlanta, SF, OC and San Diego)
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Greetings:
Moved to Miami a few years ago from San Diego (where I owned) and was gung ho about buying a place as soon as I could when I got here.
Flash forward 2.5 years and I’m still renting and do not have a strong urge to own. I can easily afford a nice modern condo but do I want the hassles of ownership which include maintenance, possible assessments, and in the case of Miami a possible hurricane direct hit and rising sea level. Furthermore, on an $800-900K condo I figure I would need to make $75-100K profit (above what I paid) just to break even after factoring in realtor, attorney plus escrow, furniture costs etc. Will home ownership be as important to today’s teens when it comes time for me to resell the condo in 20 years or so?
If I were 30-35 and in the middle of my working career owning would make more sense. Greater flexibility and investing the dollars (I would otherwise be handing a bank as a down payment) in the stock market seems more financially prudent—not to mention a more liquid investment. Being able to pack up and move seems like a nice option.
Moving sucks, but my life is down to 6-7 boxes and I plan to continue renting furnished so it should not be as big a burden as it once was.
I am also single with no direct heirs, so I would not be leaving my property to someone upon my death.
How many feel the same way as I do and/or are in a similar position?
Last edited by elchevere; 06-06-2019 at 07:36 AM..
Same here. I never had thing against renting except... in apartments there can be neighbor problems. But I never seemed to "qualify" for any of the so-called advantages of owning and I am uncomfortable owning. Having that large albatross tied around my neck
After several years in an apartment I moved into a mobile home park. I get some space between be the next guy so I can play the guitar which I would not be able to do in an apartment. I am on the hook or some maintenance but it's so dirt cheap to live here so what if I have to get a new this or that or have a plumber do something now and then?
Right now all of my material stuff in the USA is in a 5' x 5' storage unit in Tucson. I moved out of my apartment there at the end of April and am renting an AirBnb apartment by the month in Germany. I've been staying in Leipzig, a nice sized and inexpensive city in eastern Germany. If I wanted to stay here long term, I could easily rent a nice 500 sq ft apartment for less than $600 per month.
I don't hear any noise from neighbors. The apartment building was built from solid masonry stones in the late 1800s. The walls are over 1 foot thick. I'm on the third floor of a walk-up 4 story apartment building. Its one of the nicest apartments that I have lived in the past 30+ years. The kitchen, bath and interior were all completely refurbished within the last year or so.
If you can avoid living in the major coastal metro areas of the USA where rents are the highest, there are an incredible number of rental options to consider. Like elchevere said above, moving isn't so bad from time to time if you don't have much stuff to move. Everything I have in the US would fit into a cargo van easily.
I've owned all my homes since I was 26, except for a 4 month period while house shopping in retirement. But I will definitely consider renting again in the future when we decide to move on. We will have to do a major sell off of our "stuff" at that time, and we won't be at that point for at least another 5 years. At that point, we will probably rent one place, like a condo, all year long and travel at will. We like the idea of a "lock and leave" place. Then we can experience some snowbird locales for a few months at a time. Maybe a different locale every year. Sometimes we'll just go on the road for a few weeks at a time.
My in-laws leased a triple wide manufactured home with a nice patio, carport, storage shed, etc. for at least 6 years in retirement, in a quiet 55+ manufactured home community. It had a beautiful 18 hole executive course, two pools, a lovely clubhouse, and other nice amenities. It was very convenient for them and they loved the no maintenance aspect. Garbage disposal (or whatever) breaks down? Call the landlady. Travel? Put in a mail hold, lock the door and go. It was a lot cheaper for them than a house payment, insurance, property taxes, maintenance, and HOA assessments. They sold their last home, invested that money and lived off their SS, a tiny pension, and their investment income. For people like them, in their 80's, they never had to worry about repairs, yard maintenance, etc. Perfect for them.
Moved to Miami a few years ago from San Diego (where I owned) and was gung ho about buying a place as soon as I could when I got here.
Flash forward 2.5 years and I’m still renting and do not have a strong urge to own. I can easily afford a nice modern condo but do I want the hassles of ownership which include maintenance, possible assessments, and in the case of Miami a possible hurricane direct hit and rising sea level. Furthermore, on an $800-900K condo I figure I would need to make $75-100K profit (above what I paid) just to break even after factoring in realtor, attorney plus escrow, furniture costs etc. Will home ownership be as important to today’s teens when it comes time for me to resell the condo in 20 years or so?
If I were 30-35 and in the middle of my working career owning would make more sense. Greater flexibility and investing the dollars (I would otherwise be handing a bank as a down payment) in the stock market seems more financially prudent—not to mention a more liquid investment. Being able to pack up and move seems like a nice option.
Moving sucks, but my life is down to 6-7 boxes and I plan to continue renting furnished so it should not be as big a burden as it once was.
I am also single with no direct heirs, so I would not be leaving my property to someone upon my death.
How many feel the same way as I do and/or are in a similar position?
i own a home, but would love to be a renter again! Almost a carefree existence from what i remember -
I sold my house in Florida in March and am happily living in an apartment in Tennessee. I find renting very calming, although there are inconveniences that come with apartment living. I find it more economical than owning. I feel free and I like that feeling. Neighbors are friendly. Convenience is key. And the maintenance man even changes my light bulbs and refrigerator filters.
Just a better Quality of Life for me.
Speaking of QOL, If I didn't have my dog I would join you in that AirBnB in Germany. Lived there for 12 years and rented most of the time. Seriously considered staying there but children's needs came first.
Another thing, with my house I could not sit on my porch and relax. My compulsive mind always saw work that needed to be done. At this moment, I am sitting on my apartment patio surrounded by flowers, landscaping, sprinklers, pool, etc which I do not feel compelled to touch. Enjoying the peace and the moment.
So waiting to see if the new wears off, but for now I am happy with renting.
I've rented about half my life and lived in single-family homes about half my life, and given the choice, I would not want to rent again because of (1) having no control over the neighbors (noise and smoking) or rent increases, (2) I value my privacy too much, and (3) all the restrictions about what you can do to your apartment. Also, because, unlike an apartment, a house is something you own once the mortgage is paid off, and it also makes a nice nest egg, either in equity you can borrow against, or that you can sell, if that becomes necessary.
However, if not for those things, I would be tempted to rent! I admit that it is very nice to just make a phone call if something goes wrong -- not to mention that you don't have to shovel sidewalks or mow the lawn if you live in an apartment building (ditto for some condo complexes). Also, although this is not much of a concern for many seniors, if you decide you don't like where you're living, it is much easier to just move than it is to sell your house.
Last edited by katharsis; 06-06-2019 at 01:27 PM..
Another thing, with my house I could not sit on my porch and relax. My compulsive mind always saw work that needed to be done
I'm like that. Sometimes I wish I could just mow the lawn 10 times in a row and be done with it for a couple of months! But it doesn't work that way. I also worry about.... I wonder how many years the roof has left? Maybe I should have it inspected just to be safe? I wonder how long the A/C has left? Maybe something I haven't thought of will happen...?
Quote:
Katharsis I've rented about half my life and lived in single-family homes about half my life, and given the choice, I would not want to rent again because of (1) having no control over the neighbors (noise and smoking) or rent increases, (2) I value my privacy too much, and (3) all the restrictions about what you can do to your apartment. Also, because, unlike an apartment, a house is something you own once the mortgage is paid off, and it also makes a nice nest egg, either in equity you can borrow against, or that you can sell, if that becomes necessary.
I've always seen owning as a necessary evil. If I want to play the guitar then I can't live in a apartment. Renting a house has always been expensive or otherwise problematic where I have lived. As far as the neighbors? I have experienced the worst while owning and renting. Unless you live way out somewhere with lots of space between houses I haven't been able to get far enough away from gratuitous noise. I finally adopted the position "If I'm going to have to put up with this I might as well do it for the lowest cost and fewest encumbrances as I can find." Even as a young person I knew there was no way I was ever going to "own" that house. So, the concept of "owning" is sort of foreign to me. Especially something that big
Privacy was always good in apartments, Lived for several years with the same people and spoke to each other maybe once or twice. Ships passing in the night. With a house I had to put up with kids and dogs thinking my lawn was their lawn don't try to talk to the neighbors about it unless you want more trouble.
Last edited by fallstaff; 06-06-2019 at 01:33 PM..
After 34 years of home ownership, we sold the house and contents when my DH got sick. Lived in furnished condos for a couple of years. Now I have been in this apt. for the last 2 years, bought some furniture, and I like it here. It is not a typical apt., it is a 2 story ell of an old house.
I did look at buying a place after he died, but it was depressing thinking about rattling around alone in a 3 BR 2 BA house. Hard to find something smaller. I may still buy something at some point, I would like to have a cat or two, and most rentals here are not pet friendly.
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