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I own two houses in the UK but have moved between several other countries for almost 20 years.
Until I moved to the US, I was always content to rent. Whatever the country.
I have now (unwillingly) sold one of the houses in England to fund a house purchase because I cannot bear to be a tenant in the US any longer. I'm so tired of having strangers having free access to my home. Photos and You Tube videos of my belongings on the internet. A tenant's right to privacy here is almost non-existent.
I'm buying now and I'm going to cry with relief the day I can shut my own front door and know that no-one can come in without my permission.
I own two houses in the UK but have moved between several other countries for almost 20 years.
Until I moved to the US, I was always content to rent. Whatever the country.
I have now (unwillingly) sold one of the houses in England to fund a house purchase because I cannot bear to be a tenant in the US any longer. I'm so tired of having strangers having free access to my home. Photos and You Tube videos of my belongings on the internet. A tenant's right to privacy here is almost non-existent.
I'm buying now and I'm going to cry with relief the day I can shut my own front door and know that no-one can come in without my permission.
Sounds like your problem is a poor landlord and not understanding your rights. Your landlord does not have the right to enter your rental unit without your permission. In every state, there are two rights, the right to quiet enjoyment and the right to habitability that protect you from your landlord's intrusion. If a landlord is interfering with either of those rights, then you need to take steps to protect yourself. They should not, and it is disconcerting if they do, but you can end that interruption.
Oh, the tired old "renting is throwing money away" myth that refuses to die....sigh.
Even if you own, you are still effectively giving money up that you will never get back. Yes, you might get some of your money back, but you won't get all of it back. Between lost investment opportunity, after-tax mortgage interest, property taxes, insurance, and maintenance/repairs, you will almost certainly lose money. The question is, do you lose more money by renting or by owning? The answer is not necessarily what you might think and depends on a number of factors such as property tax rates, neighborhood, price-to-rent ratios, and other things.
I'd much rather give away $100,000 that I'd never see again, than give away $400,000 and get $150,000 of it back - the second option is still worse despite the fact that you are getting some of your money back.
On the other hand, if the second option had instead been give out $160,000 and get $150,000 back, then of course it's better than the first option.
Renting is like the first option - you pay and that's it. Buying can be either like the second option in the first scenario, or like the second option in the second scenario, depending on these factors. You can get some money back, but that doesn't necessarily make it a better deal. It's thus irrational to necessarily assume the first option is worse than the second, and that's why the "renting is throwing money away" myth is just that - a myth.
Relax, ncole1.
I was describing my own situation and nobody else's.
It's not always just the bottom dollar - I would happily pay an extra few hundred per month when it comes down to it to NOT have to deal with a landlord and have the rights to make my home mine.
I would rather pay for a repair than have the LL do it half assed and on his schedule because it was cheaper for him to do it that way.
I prefer to NEVER have to worry about whether a property will be sold under me.
I like the fact that I will most likely build equity over the years - I may not get rich but in my market it's not like I would get rich off the difference between a rental and my owned home anyway. In most markets I can't imagine that renting is ever that much cheaper than buying to justify loosing the ability to have equity / eventually have a paid off home / not have to deal with rent inflation.
Bottom line: Owning (with no stupid HOA) gives me freedom - I won't put a price on that, whatever it cost it is worth it to me.
This is currently what I am pondering. I own & rent out a house in a desirable area, near the beach in so Cal. I moved to be closer to family & have been renting a very nice house for two years in the Seattle area. But... my landlord raised my rent 20% at the end of the two years. In this state, the landlord only has to give you a 30 day notice & can raise the rent to whatever he wants. I could not find another place & move within 30 days. But now what I pay in rent is equivalent to a house payment. I will most likely be living in this area for three more years, maybe longer. The price of houses in the Seattle area is going up and so are the rents. I won't be moving back to my house in California. I prefer to have Washington as my resident state, even if I move elsewhere. So what to do?
2 years ago there were still some screaming deals on homes for sale in the Seattle area. Now, with prices up 25%+ and rates up almost a point, the buy proposition is not as good. I think it depends more on personal circumstances than rent vs buy calculations.
$375K and rents for $1650/mo (was rented last year, so rate is probably withing a few% of current market)
With 20% down, just the PITI payment would be $1850/mo. On a house this inexpensive, the tax deduction is unlikely to be significant so at best the monthly payment might equal the rent... except you had to put down $75K and cover all maintenance and repairs to get it to that point, so in reality it's not even close to being cheaper to own than rent. For this house you might be able to get away with 0 maintenance and just tear the place down when you want to move, since the price is pretty close to teardown value - but that's a big assumption and doesn't take into account opportunity cost, transaction fees or demolition costs.
Ratios might be more favorable in the south end neighborhoods, but by how much?
Sounds like your problem is a poor landlord and not understanding your rights. Your landlord does not have the right to enter your rental unit without your permission. In every state, there are two rights, the right to quiet enjoyment and the right to habitability that protect you from your landlord's intrusion. If a landlord is interfering with either of those rights, then you need to take steps to protect yourself. They should not, and it is disconcerting if they do, but you can end that interruption.
The problem is that technically they always do have permission and can do pretty much what they like within reason. Most landlords are decent people but if they're not, they can fully exploit the lease conditions to the tenants' detriment.
They only have to give reasonable notice in order to inspect, repair, show to buyers etc ... and that covers just about every situation you can think of. They can always make one of those apply if they need to.
A tenant cannot reasonably refuse access so you can't turn away prospective buyers or deny (trumped up) 'repair' excuses for entry.
I have to fight tooth and nail just to get the 24hr notice clause added.
I always try to get the 'buyer access' clause removed and it never goes down well with landlords because it cuts their options.
On two occasions I wasn't able to do this and both landlords put the house up for sale during my tenancy. One landlord did it only 8 weeks into the lease and I had to suffer 10 months of constant house showings.
The problem is that technically they always do have permission and can do pretty much what they like within reason. Most landlords are decent people but if they're not, they can fully exploit the lease conditions to the tenants' detriment.
They only have to give reasonable notice in order to inspect, repair, show to buyers etc ... and that covers just about every situation you can think of. They can always make one of those apply if they need to.
A tenant cannot reasonably refuse access so you can't turn away prospective buyers or deny (trumped up) 'repair' excuses for entry.
I have to fight tooth and nail just to get the 24hr notice clause added.
I always try to get the 'buyer access' clause removed and it never goes down well with landlords because it cuts their options.
On two occasions I wasn't able to do this and both landlords put the house up for sale during my tenancy. One landlord did it only 8 weeks into the lease and I had to suffer 10 months of constant house showings.
It is not true at all that they technically always do have permission. Technically, they never have permission unless you specifically give it to them. If they enter without your permission, not only have they trespassed, they have also committed an invasion of your privacy (if your State has an action for invasion of privacy).
If there is no repair to be done, then you can absolutely refuse entry on the basis of "repair."
If they provide no notice, then you can absolutely refuse entry.
They have no right to inspect unless you are moving out (with very limited exceptions, for example, a neighboring unit has a leak at a shared wall so they need to inspect damage in your unit).
If a unit is actually for sale, then you will both have to compromise to allow for reasonable showings. They cannot simply come in whenever they want--you have the right to quiet enjoyment of the premises.
As a first time home/condo buyer, the reason I am buying is I'm getting older and don't want to be paying out a mortgage when I'm in my 70s. I lived in a nice town in a crappy low rent apartment for years but with a landlord who didn't keep up with maintenance, etc. No washer/dryer and no central a/c. To rent in the building I'm buying is about the same mortgage I'm paying including condo fees, better security and a garage for my car.
Renting is fine short term but I'd rather have some equity I can call my own rather than lining my LL's pocket.
As a first time home/condo buyer, the reason I am buying is I'm getting older and don't want to be paying out a mortgage when I'm in my 70s. I lived in a nice town in a crappy low rent apartment for years but with a landlord who didn't keep up with maintenance, etc. No washer/dryer and no central a/c. To rent in the building I'm buying is about the same mortgage I'm paying including condo fees, better security and a garage for my car.
Renting is fine short term but I'd rather have some equity I can call my own rather than lining my LL's pocket.
Yet again the "renting is throwing money away" mythology that has been debunked many times over.
Everything you buy is "lining someone else's pocket", yet no one seems to be bothered by it except when it comes to buying shelter services by the month and then all of a sudden it's a big deal, which makes no sense.
Renting does not mean you'll have a mortgage later on, provided you save and invest so that when you do buy you can pay cash for the whole property.
If you don't do that, the problem isn't that you're wasting money on rent, it's that you're wasting money on whatever else it is you're buying instead of saving to buy a property outright.
As has been stated before, it really depends on where you are...
Here, renting is throwing money away because you are going to pay for a roof over your head one way or another and the cost is not so much that your going to make a killing on investments - You either:
A) Pay into a house you own and build equity
or
B) Pay someone else to build their equity.
Having a landlord adds a middle man to the roof over your head need, and considering these landlords are in business to make a profit I don't see how that can be beneficial in most cases. All those costs that you talk about (repairs and what not) are going to be paid one way or another, you think the LL is going to loose money on a regular basis so you can save it?
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