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I LOVE renting!! We sold our home (just in the nick of time) back in 2007. We have been in this rental ever since. The owner lets us do whatever we want to the home. We paint and upgrade it how we want (and by upgrade I mean new light fixtures and chandelier, etc. nothing major). When we move out (if we ever do HA! ) we simply paint the house back to how he wants it and put back his old fixtures or leave the new ones and he pays us for them. We do have the option of buying this home. He said he'll only sell to us. We have become friends with him and he's a nice guy. But what we love the most is when the A/C breaks, water line breaks, water heater needs replacement, WE DON'T PAY A CENT! He does
It's going to be hard moving out and buying a home again where we'll be responsbible for the maintenance.
And we're great renters btw. We treat the home like if it was ours.
Maybe that's why he loves us so much
It's worth it if you want your own outdoor space. I want my own little porch, trees, garden plot and yard to do with as I please, and I don't want to have to share it with anyone.
My thoughts all along are you buy when you are ready. As soon as you make that decision don't look back, just go with it. We looked at the decision to buy our home as a long term commitment, meaning that we plan on being there for the next 30 + years. I can't tell what will happen in the future but I know what is happeing now. I know what is happening with my employer, although as we all know their are no guarentees in life. The possibility is that every thing can fall apart and we will all be out of luck. The probability of that happening though is slim. I look at life and have a lot of faith in the future, doom and gloom is for the weak. Success is for those that make it happen.
For those questioning if this is the right time to buy a home, I would ask if you have a reserve fund of money that will last you a minumum of 3 months, even better 6 months, and better yet a year of living expenses socked away. Then do you have the down payment saved. If you have as little as 3.5% you can get into an FHA financed home. Better yet would be a minumum of 5%, with 10% an even better place, and of course 20% or more even better. Many times the seller will cover the closing cost in this market or at least pick up some of them. Better still is to have some additional cash stuck away for those costs. Lastly if you are buying an older home do you have money for repairs that may not be covered? We bought a bank owned home that was sold as is. After our inspection we were told that the home was in very good shape. We were also told that it needed some things, like a water heater, the furnace needed to be repaired, and several other small things that I knew I could do on my own. We ended up replacing the water heater and I replaced the parts on the furnace that needed help. The other items I also took care of. Then we also wanted to paint and put in a new carpet. All those items cost money. Do you have it?
Maybe make a check list.
1. Reserve fund for emergencies
2. Down Payment
3. Closing cost
4. Repair and decorating budget
5. I will add in Furniture and other household items that you may want, a washer and dryer?
If you have all those things then yes you are ready to buy a home today. If not then you need to wait it out.
I'm curious... for all the posters who said that they haven't bought a home for an "investment". If you had to sell it, like soon, do you think you would be realistic in your asking price or would the "I invested this much and want to get that much out of it" kick in? Because the idea that you bought your house to have a roof over your head, wanted your own yard etc.. when it is all fine and good, at the end of the day will you want some unrealistic profit?
I'm curious... for all the posters who said that they haven't bought a home for an "investment". If you had to sell it, like soon, do you think you would be realistic in your asking price or would the "I invested this much and want to get that much out of it" kick in? Because the idea that you bought your house to have a roof over your head, wanted your own yard etc.. when it is all fine and good, at the end of the day will you want some unrealistic profit?
What kind of responses are you expecting? You think someone is going to say "yes, i will want an unrealistic profit"?
I plan to retire to Maine. Love Maine but realistically it is a poor and economically depressed state yet there are people on some threads who talk of moving to Maine (it could be any poor/depressed state) and buying a home. I can't seem to wrap my head around the idea of buying in a place that you might not be able to sell/get rid of this house you have bought.
Just because a place offers cheap real estate, what about the fact that it could sit on the market FOREVER and you may get back ziltch from what you put into it.
OK so it cost us $2,026 a month to buy the place and rentals in my area are in the $2,200 to $2,500 range per month for a similar home. That doesn't say what the place is worth, just that I could rent it out for more than it cost me to own it. Not sure why that is such a hard concept to grasp. A 2 bed 1 bath apartment in my area rents for $1,300 a month. A 3 bedroom 2 bath condo rents for $1,600 to $1,900 a month. A 3 bedroom 2 bath SFH rents for $1,800 to $2,200 and 4 bed 3 bath like mine are starting at the $2,200 and up range. I am just stating the facts for my part of the world. Never said what it was worth or if the value has declined. I know what it cost me each month and I know what rents are going for in the area.
It's not a hard concept to grasp... for me. You're spewing numbers that are absolutely meaningless - especially when you consider 20% disparity between the upper and lower numbers. Beyond that, you say "similar home" which blatantly ignores the point I made previously about the only thing you can bring as "proof" are subjective comparables. You don't know as bankable cash what you can rent your house for... just like you don't know what you could sell for tomorrow.
These "facts" are not facts - they're just opinion on value. If you were an investor buying distressed properties for cash flow, that's one thing - you offset risk with multiple properties accounting dips or gaps in vacancy for your bottom line. As a person discussing their primary (and likely only) residence, the factors completely change. Talking about bottom line numbers as if you wave a magic wand over the property making it rentable, cost you nothing on upkeep as a landlord, and dealing with tenants - all while your family is displaced is not feasible for your average homeowner. It's fantasy stuff.
Buying may work for someone personally, but not because of the numbers you put here. The rent vs. own financials go much deeper then you represent.
What kind of responses are you expecting? You think someone is going to say "yes, i will want an unrealistic profit"?
Whatever responses I get, I get. Not looking for anything specific.
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We sold our home (just in the nick of time) back in 2007. We have been in this rental ever since. The owner lets us do whatever we want to the home. We paint and upgrade it how we want (and by upgrade I mean new light fixtures and chandelier, etc. nothing major). When we move out (if we ever do HA! 
) we simply paint the house back to how he wants it and put back his old fixtures or leave the new ones and he pays us for them. We do have the option of buying this home. He said he'll only sell to us. We have become friends with him and he's a nice guy. But what we love the most is when the A/C breaks, water line breaks, water heater needs replacement, WE DON'T PAY A CENT! 
He does 
