Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
According to me in your case, it sounds like the upkeep of your place is causing too much stress, and renting may be the better deal for you both psychologically if not financially.
Pretty sure I sat down in the middle of the yard and started bawling that I couldn't take it anymore. However far from wanting to continue his cushy existence at the expense of my time and effort - my husband was right there with me. Fortunately neither of us is a packrat or overly attached to places. Home is wherever we're with each other - not a structure.
We sold, rented for several very blissful and maintenance-free years, and then the local rental market started getting outta control so we bought a condo in a concrete and steel highrise. Quieter than the suburbs, cheaper than our old house, very low maintenance, full time maintenance staff, pool, elevators, etc. So far it's been pretty sweet. Regardless of buy vs rent, we have decided we are definitely NOT 'house' people.
And you're right about the cost of maintenance - we were able to rent in a luxury building and still spend less than what we spent on our house. Not less than our house payment, but I watch every penny in a spreadsheet, and it wasn't hard to see (besides just having more in our account) that renting was netting us $500/mo. We are actually doing better than both renting and our previous house with this condo, but if we do a major remodel or something - that will disappear. It really was illustrative to see the numbers though.
Location: Stuck on the East Coast, hoping to head West
4,641 posts, read 11,941,823 times
Reputation: 9887
Thanks again for all of the responses. Hubby and I had a sit-down and we both agreed that renting is best. Now the decision is when, exactly, to sell. We did agree that I've been doing waaaaayyy too much of the maintenance. Hubby's compromise is to hire help; but, ultimately, we just aren't house people. The plan is to sell within the next 2 years. I'm okay with that and it gives him time to acclimate to the idea of going back to renting. Helps that I also had a list of luxury (maintenance-free) apartments we could rent in the area.
The moral of this thread seems to be that the best solution to the homeowner blues is to buy a condo, but in a development where the one condo is the only dwelling that you're purchasing, on 100 acres with lots of privacy, where you are the sole HOA Board member and president, plus a full-time maintenance person.
The moral of this thread seems to be that the best solution to the homeowner blues is to buy a condo, but in a development where the one condo is the only dwelling that you're purchasing, on 100 acres with lots of privacy, where you are the sole HOA Board member and president, plus a full-time maintenance person.
Sign me up!!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
