Is it better for a middle class citizen to rent or own? (rental, countertops)

[HockeyMac18]

Buying is generally always better if you have somewhat long-term plans to stay in an area, but I don't think it's very realistic for middle class individuals in today's Bay Area.

So I don't know if this is even a good question to ask.

A better question is if it even makes sense to live in the Bay Area as a middle class person.

[justinbro2002]

The truth nowadays is that most middle class people in the bay area don't have the ability to buy a home and therefore the question, is it better to rent than buy is a moot one.

[Cardiff Kook]

Originally Posted by LoriBee62

Or even Option #3: You rent your house out.

I work for a global company and a number of my coworkers have done this because their jobs were either relocated out of the state, they went on a temporary tour out of the country, or they simply decided to retire out of state but didn't want to lose their ability to come back if they discovered they didn't like their new home.

It's actually pretty hard to lose your home and walk away with nothing if you really don't want to. You would have had to make a lot of mistakes leading up to that point.

Yes, I forgot option #3 but another great point!

[LoriBee62]

Originally Posted by HockeyMac18

Buying is generally always better if you have somewhat long-term plans to stay in an area, but I don't think it's very realistic for middle class individuals in today's Bay Area.

So I don't know if this is even a good question to ask.

A better question is if it even makes sense to live in the Bay Area as a middle class person.

Originally Posted by justinbro2002

The truth nowadays is that most middle class people in the bay area don't have the ability to buy a home and therefore the question, is it better to rent than buy is a moot one.

This is nonsense. In the town where I live in Sonoma County you can still buy a condominium in a nice neighborhood for the mid $200's. If something that cheap is unaffordable, you need to redefine your idea of what "middle class" is.

[HockeyMac18]

Originally Posted by LoriBee62

This is nonsense. In the town where I live in Sonoma County you can still buy a condominium in a nice neighborhood for the mid $200's. If something that cheap is unaffordable, you need to redefine your idea of what "middle class" is.

This is most certainly the most extreme outlier in the Bay Area...please don't pretend that this is normal for a house/condo in the majority of the Bay Area (which is more like 700K - 1 Million for most towns), especially if you want to be near jobs (Sonoma County is not realistic for a commute to a job in SV).

[JustCuriouss]

Originally Posted by LoriBee62

This is nonsense. In the town where I live in Sonoma County you can still buy a condominium in a nice neighborhood for the mid $200's. If something that cheap is unaffordable, you need to redefine your idea of what "middle class" is.

what's the point of condos? You're renting for the owning price? you have to deal with regulations and membership, and when you want to sell, it isn't worth much.

[bmw335xi]

It's almost always better to own given you can afford the house. That's why San Francisco and most of the Bay Area is a horrible place for the middle class.

[shooting4life]

I prefer owning as I think long term. Owning my house will allow me to retire much younger and much more financially secure.

[sav858]

Being a first time middle class home buyer likely means at least 2 or 3 of the following in order to purchase a house:

-Long commute (45+ min door to door) to extremely long commute (60-90+ min)
-mediocre to crappy schools
-Living in or near an area with relatively high crime, gangs, etc..
-Living around lower-class/trashy people who moved into the neighborhood when real estate was more affordable

OR you can get a condo in a better, nicer area.


I always think it's better to buy and with rent constantly increasing in the area it seems like a pretty safe bet in the long-run. I didn't want to deal with rising rents and having to move every few years, especially with kids, so we bought a house. I didn't want to buy at the top of the market but I just wanted to get out of the rental market for the peace of mind and stability owning a home can provide.

[LoriBee62]

Originally Posted by HockeyMac18

This is most certainly the most extreme outlier in the Bay Area...please don't pretend that this is normal for a house/condo in the majority of the Bay Area (which is more like 700K - 1 Million for most towns), especially if you want to be near jobs (Sonoma County is not realistic for a commute to a job in SV).

This is the "Bay Area" forum, San Francisco/Oakland specifically. If the OP had asked exclusively about commuting distance to Silicon Valley, I would have presumed the question would have been asked on the San Jose forum.

In proximity to San Francisco/Oakland there are plenty of areas where you can still own a home under $300K. Is it on the banks of Tiburon or within walking distance of the Marina? No, but the OP specifically mentioned middle class families. Once upon a time, a typical middle class family didn't feel entitled to own property in the most affluent areas of any city.