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I moved to from TN to IN a little over a year ago and have a stable job. I'm now in my second year of renting and am thinking of buying either a small house with a small yard (in towns probably northeast of Indianapolis) or a condo in the Indy suburbs. I don't mind small amounts of yard work (wouldn't want anything I need much more than a push mower, weed eater, and hedge trimmer for). I don't want to be on a hill nor do I want to be mowing for hours.
I have some loud neighbors and trashy people in the apartment complex. Many times the dumpsters are full with large items like TVs and furniture. I'm getting somewhat tired of renting.
When did you first want to own a home and why?
Off and on since college. It would be nice to customize my living space but then again I have seen things happen in my family as a result of home ownership that didn't work out so well. The most common seems to be someone in the family gets sick or needs the homeowner's help, causing them to fall behind on maintenance and cleaning, especially with big houses. What makes it worse is when there is relocation involved on top of it all.
To be fair, some of those issues can come up with renting as well, though the maintenance time commitment is much reduced.
I got married at age 27 (1974) and was traveling all over the country as a professional dog handler and trainer. I took my bride with me, to show her the sights. In less than a year, we were expecting our first child. So I went back home, bought a starter house (2 beds, 1 bath) and got a job with the state, which I hated. But I did keep it for few years, till we got straight financially. By then, we had TWO babies. We lived in that house for over 20 years.
It was the norm, the example set for us.
Parents and extended family always owned, renting only long enough to buy.
As a kid, I assumed renters were just people who hadn't bought yet.
This is a big part of it. If you grow up in a family that is well enough off to own their home, in a neighborhood/community where all of the adults are homeowners, it becomes the expectation for the next generation. Children grow up seeing adults work hard, pay their mortgage and learn that owning a home is something to be proud of. This is part of how socioeconomic status is transferred, when those kids grow up they not only expect to own homes but they have been exposed to the process and are knowledgeable about what it entails. If no one in your family has ever owned a home it may seem unreachable, not to mention the chances are less likely that they'll be wealthy enough to help you out when you're young to make buying possible. Home ownership is part of the American Dream because it's taught to be valued.
This is a big part of it. If you grow up in a family that is well enough off to own their home, in a neighborhood/community where all of the adults are homeowners, it becomes the expectation for the next generation. Children grow up seeing adults work hard, pay their mortgage and learn that owning a home is something to be proud of. This is part of how socioeconomic status is transferred, when those kids grow up they not only expect to own homes but they have been exposed to the process and are knowledgeable about what it entails. If no one in your family has ever owned a home it may seem unreachable, not to mention the chances are less likely that they'll be wealthy enough to help you out when you're young to make buying possible. Home ownership is part of the American Dream because it's taught to be valued.
Too often, first timers want too much coming out of the chute.
Buying sensibly, and moving up from there(if desired) years later when better financial footing is achieved is much more sustainable than maxing out and making the home a source of financial and personal stress.
Families are smaller and homes are much larger. It makes little financial sense for most young people to approach it that way.
I've had property lust for my entire adult life. I was barely nineteen when I spotted my first. A red brick chalet type just outside of town. Then, the asking price was a mere $55K, now she's easily worth triple that. This was back in the day, mind you. The idea of having my own space was utmost priority having grown up in a noisy houseful of drama. I need space and quiet.
Growing up, many of my family members were renters. So, that was normal, to me. In my sophomore year in college, my mom did buy her first house, and that put the idea into my head, that owning was desirable. (I never really thought about homeownership before that, and had no opinion)
After graduation, I got a job in a new city. I rented an apartment in the suburbs, because I didn't know the city, and because I had plans at the time to move to a different part of the country every 5-10 years. (LOL) After 2 years, I gave up on that idea, and decided I wanted to buy a house in a more walkable, older neighborhood in the city.
13 years later, I just sold that house for just under half of what I paid for it. (the neighborhood was hit extremely hard by foreclosures--lots of walkaways, followed by negligent banks. The fact that I got as much as I did is a sign of stabilization) So, it probably would have been wiser to rent, instead. But, I thoroughly enjoyed having the freedom to do whatever I wanted with the house and landscaping, while there.
When I lived at the beach in Huntington Beach Calif. and my landlady who was a Realtor started raising the rent 20% every year. I realized that the only way to escape the monthly fleecing was to buy my own place and establish a fixed payment every month.
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(the neighborhood was hit extremely hard by foreclosures--lots of walkaways, followed by negligent banks. The fact that I got as much as I did is a sign of stabilization) So, it probably would have been wiser to rent, instead. But, I thoroughly enjoyed having the freedom to do whatever I wanted with the house and landscaping, while there.
