Austinites - why you be rentin? (Houston, Dallas: renters, insurance, mortgage)

[Kosmonaut]

LOts of renters in the town. Why dont' you people buy a house?

[00dog]

I'd imagine most likely down payment or qualifying for a mortgage. I own but getting everything done was a major PIA.

[Komeht]

It's a young city and has a large student population

[sheaday]

You left off that some people cant afford a home in general-regardless of neighborhood. Thats not rocket science.

These polls be dumb.

[EzPeterson]

Or that some people really just prefer renting.
Or that they're in a transient stage and buying would be a poor decision
Or they don't have the credit.

At the end of the day, Austin proper has slightly better owner-occupancy rates than Houston, and Dallas but below SA and Ft Worth.

None of which really matters, but there's two more forums to go post a poll in.

[Idlewile]

Honestly, homeownership here is more expensive than what the media makes it out to be, especially for families wanting to live in Austin proper. Prop taxes, high water and cooling bills, regular pest maintenance, just to name a few. Homeowner's insurance too.

Then, if good schools are a priority and proximity/access to a decent commute is as well, you are limited. Throw in a sellers' market with homes going for asking or way over asking price in these areas and you will likely pay more for a house, right now, than you had originally intended.

On the whole, outside of our mortgage proper, we pay more here than we did living in a cold state where you have to heat your home 6 months of the year and the previous home was two-story and larger, in an area with a HIGHER COL.

Now, we are lucky/unlucky enough to have all of these things I listed above but it is costing us more than we originally anticipated. I get that some would choose to rent, especially here.

(And I am still shocked by how many people here pay to outsource their yard maintenance: lawn/and or entire yard weekly, bi-monthly, etc. We do not yet our yard is easily quadruple the size of anyone else in the neighborhood. Yet another homeowner's expense that it considered par for the course here.)

[oldtoiletsmkgdflrpots]

Stop the misrepresentation. This board is not an accurate "sample" of "Austinites". Perhaps make that clear in all the polls you are making.

[unihills]

what is the point of the ebonics in the poll title?

[Dog_Gone]

My home is paid for. Its a great feeling not having to deal with a mortgage company. Having plenty of extra money for whatever I want is the real bonus.

[famv5]

We just moved here so we aren't familiar enough with the areas to buy. We are renting a house in a nice neighborhood but after being here a month I'm glad we didn't buy. This will now give us time to really look around, talk with people, and make a sound buying decision when the time comes.