10 Reasons to Live Mortgage Free (Houston: renters, insurance, townhome)

[emirate25]

Do you agree?


first-person-perspective-from-renters-10-reasons-we-live-mortgage-free: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance (http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/110934/first-person-perspective-from-renters-10-reasons-we-live-mortgage-free - broken link)

[chris_ut]

4, 8 and 10 are the only valid points. The others are all claiming you don't have to pay various expenses associated with owning the home but of course the landlord is just rolling those expenses into your rent.

[tstone]

I think even #8 can be seen as somewhat bogus. Housing in the entire Houston area is pretty stable, with no wild swings up or down seen in other parts of the country.

[HoustonRonnie]

Many reasons to have a mortgage too, but the top 3 for me are:

1. I can knock down any wall I want to remodel.
2. Tax deductions galore.
3. I'm the only one with keys to my home. (Landlords suck)

Just sayin'...

Ronnie

[stan4]

Um, given that I'd rather chew my own arm off than share a wall with anybody ever again, I think most of his points become invalidated once you rent a freestanding home (like free utilities, cable, security, maintenance, lawn, pool, etc.).

[HouseHeadMike]

I rent, but only because I have a hard time predicting where I'll be 2 years from now, much less 5. Unless mobility is the most important, it is hard to say renting is the better option in Houston. In other places where rent is much lower than the average mortgage it might be true, but thankfully homes in Houston are very affordable.

[houstonfan]

I strongly agree with article!! But keep in mind that they are probably comparing a 1-2brm apt (Rent 800-$1500) to a more expensive townhome/house ($300k+) so not an apple to apple comparison. If they were renting a nice house in the same neighborhood as the house they were going to buy, then it'd probably wouldn't be any savings but they do get to walk away when they want too. On the other hand, the owner may decide to sell the place and kick them out.
You can gain a lot of money buying, but you must know what you're doing (ie, buy low in an area you're certain will appreciate). In Houston, appreciation usually is minimal (<3%) if at all. Also buy if you're pretty sure you don't need to move anytime soon and you're financially stable for worse case scenarios, also buy what you can afford. The other time I'd buy is if I'm in a position to pay off the mortgage real fast so that I can stop paying mortgage. I know lots of ppl who own houses in suburbs and they can't sell it much more than what they bought them for a few years ago after taking inflation into account....not to mention the high suburb taxes and HOAs and home improvements and insurances and security AND the cost of reaestate transactions (6%commision, closing costs). But they did enjoy a certain quality of life over those years that apts can't give them. To each his own, but if you don't need/want a home, then rent all the way! I know that sounds counter intuitive, but it's true. I like both owning and renting, done both so i'm not pushing one or the other.

[cheryjohns]

Number one not only is rolled into your rent, but the landlord gets the write-off, not you. No roots is the real one - which is important if you don't plan on being in an area long.

[astrohip]

Mostly bogus. Do you really think you don't pay property taxes when you rent? And maintenance is paid by goodwill?

If you want or need the ability to move quickly, or don't plan on staying in an area for at least 3-5+ years, by all means rent. But for a stable person, who intends to remain rooted for 5+ years, buying makes far more sense.

YMMV.

[Texas User]

You are actaully throwing away more owning a primary home with no renters then renting. There have been many debates on this.