Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Real Estate > Renting
 [Register]
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.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 02-24-2013, 02:49 PM
 
Location: somewhere in the Midwest
625 posts, read 948,218 times
Reputation: 331

Advertisements

Hi everyone

I have been renting apartments on my own since September 2003. When September 2013 comes around, I will have rented apartments on my own for 10 years. I am single, never married, and no kids. The apartments that I rented were always affordable, and I usually was able to put aside a good amount of money for savings every month. Do you rent an apartment or buy an apartment? How long have you rented or bought the property? Should I keep renting after 2013? How long should someone rent? I know that I could have lived with my parents but I didn't want to deal with all that drama and stress if I didn't have to. Any advice on what you think I should do would be greatly appreciated. Thank you and have a great day!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 02-24-2013, 03:02 PM
 
Location: San Marcos, TX
2,570 posts, read 7,711,165 times
Reputation: 4059
As long as renting works for you, why not?

There are people who push the idea of home ownership being the holy grail of all things, they will tell you how you are throwing your money away and they think everyone should share the goal of home ownership.

I don't believe that to be always true. If home ownership is something you want and are ready for, then sure, by all means, go for it. Never give into the pressure though, if it isn't what you personally want and what suits you. Just my 2 cents.

I have rented since 1990. I am 41. I have, during that time, been a homeowner for 9 of those years (two different homes) and I realized it wasn't right for us at this point. I can certainly see us wanting to buy something down the road but at this point, no. We don't want the stress of worrying about repairs, we don't want the limitations of not being able to move impulsively, we don't want to be tied to any particular city or town or state right now.

Renting isn't the easiest for us because we have pets and kids but it is what works for us for now so that's what we'll continue to do until the home ownership option is more appealing for whatever reasons.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-24-2013, 04:26 PM
 
31 posts, read 215,440 times
Reputation: 37
I've been renting since 1996. I have no desire to be a homeowner, as I like to move around a lot. I'm planning to move out of state in a couple years and the idea of being tied down to a home is scary lol
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-24-2013, 05:12 PM
 
Location: The Triad
34,091 posts, read 82,464,944 times
Reputation: 43648
Quote:
Originally Posted by anonymous51 View Post
I have been renting apartments on my own since September 2003.
Do you rent an apartment or buy an apartment? How long have you rented or bought the property?
Any advice on...
Unless you feel some unmet emotional void by not having your own lawn to mow or roof to shingle
or furnace to worry over there is little to be gained by buying for most single people.

That is IF, and it's a damn-ed BIG if, you are doing something else to create that pool of equity
(or even wealth) through other investing beyond the retirement accounts you should have either way.

However, most people simply won't do that... or can't do that.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-24-2013, 05:39 PM
 
Location: West Virginia
13,909 posts, read 39,089,894 times
Reputation: 10234
I rented since I was 18 yrs old til 25 yrs old tho some yrs I was in the Army. My 1st home purchse was at 25 yrs old. I Lost ALL in 2000 fighting for my SSD. Lived a few yrs with my son after. Then he lost his home 6 yrs ago so we been renting 6 yrs. I LOVE to Own again but I never afford it. My Son Hated home ownership says He will NEVER own again LOL
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-24-2013, 08:15 PM
 
Location: Clermont Fl
1,715 posts, read 4,758,904 times
Reputation: 1245
Never got my first house at 18
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-24-2013, 11:14 PM
 
9,005 posts, read 13,759,992 times
Reputation: 9636
Someone on the econmics section said you can't be middle class if you don't own a home.
He said that's the defining factor of being middle class,regardless if you have the income.
Im torn at this point.
Homeowners get tax breaks renters don't.
Someone brought up investing in other things. But even that's shaky,esp the stock market. I have heard that investors aren't investing in the stock market anymore(too risky) but are instead investing in real estate,which is a bit more stable than stocks.

I rented for 10 years now.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-25-2013, 04:04 AM
 
6,192 posts, read 7,306,539 times
Reputation: 7558
Quote:
Originally Posted by jerseygal4u View Post
Someone on the econmics section said you can't be middle class if you don't own a home.
He said that's the defining factor of being middle class,regardless if you have the income.
Im torn at this point.
Homeowners get tax breaks renters don't.
Someone brought up investing in other things. But even that's shaky,esp the stock market. I have heard that investors aren't investing in the stock market anymore(too risky) but are instead investing in real estate,which is a bit more stable than stocks.

I rented for 10 years now.

"You can't be middle class if you don't own a home" is simply a terrible idea. You can own a home, in some way or another, and live paycheck-to-paycheck or live off of disability. My MIL has a home and the only money she has is from SS. You think that makes her middle class in the middle of NYC at around 20-21K/year? She can't even pay her bills.

My friend and her husband, a lawyer, paid a ton of money to rent a fancy apartment in Manhattan. Most people in their building with six figure incomes were renters. They could have bought but chose not to. There are people who move around a lot and for them, it makes little sense to buy.

The tax breaks from home ownership aren't all they're cracked up to be. When you're renting, you're usually responsible for rent, gas and electricity. When you're a home owner, things can become very expensive very quickly. If somethings goes wrong in my co-op, I'm responsible for it. When my parents had their boiler breakdown and their taxes go up on their property, that's all on them. Add in a new roof, brick work, a new sidewalk, a leak, a new bathroom, etc. and there goes all of your money.

OP, I don't think anyone should buy a home if they don't really want to. I was renting for a little over four years before we bought our co-op and I still question whether or not this was the right move for us.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-25-2013, 06:36 AM
 
Location: Ridley Park, PA
701 posts, read 1,683,112 times
Reputation: 924
Quote:
Originally Posted by anonymous51 View Post
Hi everyone

I have been renting apartments on my own since September 2003. When September 2013 comes around, I will have rented apartments on my own for 10 years. I am single, never married, and no kids. The apartments that I rented were always affordable, and I usually was able to put aside a good amount of money for savings every month. Do you rent an apartment or buy an apartment? How long have you rented or bought the property? Should I keep renting after 2013? How long should someone rent? I know that I could have lived with my parents but I didn't want to deal with all that drama and stress if I didn't have to. Any advice on what you think I should do would be greatly appreciated. Thank you and have a great day!
I've rented since my second year of college in 1995. While in college I rented with a roommate, then when I started grad school I rented my own apartment/house. I am single, with no kids, and don't plan on ever getting married. I had chosen to rent better places with higher rents, not leaving me as much money to save as others because I truly thought I'd be happy renting for all my life. However, over the years it's been harder and harder for me to deal with the annoyances of renting, even houses. And I've gotten sick of going hat-in-hand begging a potential landlord to let me keep my dog (or begging to be allowed a new one if my old one dies). I know, I know, technically I'm not begging, but at some point it gets absurd for a professional woman in her mid-30s to be asking permission to have a dog as if I'm a kid. So, this past year I decided it was time to buy and the rental I'm in now will hopefully be my last one.

It'll be a pain; I'd never really wanted the annoyances of home ownership, but the benefits finally outweighed the disadvantages for me. Oh, and now that I'm making too much to claim the student loan interest deduction, I need that mortgage tax credit.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-25-2013, 06:54 AM
 
9,005 posts, read 13,759,992 times
Reputation: 9636
Quote:
Originally Posted by city living View Post
"You can't be middle class if you don't own a home" is simply a terrible idea. You can own a home, in some way or another, and live paycheck-to-paycheck or live off of disability. My MIL has a home and the only money she has is from SS. You think that makes her middle class in the middle of NYC at around 20-21K/year? She can't even pay her bills.

My friend and her husband, a lawyer, paid a ton of money to rent a fancy apartment in Manhattan. Most people in their building with six figure incomes were renters. They could have bought but chose not to. There are people who move around a lot and for them, it makes little sense to buy.

The tax breaks from home ownership aren't all they're cracked up to be. When you're renting, you're usually responsible for rent, gas and electricity. When you're a home owner, things can become very expensive very quickly. If somethings goes wrong in my co-op, I'm responsible for it. When my parents had their boiler breakdown and their taxes go up on their property, that's all on them. Add in a new roof, brick work, a new sidewalk, a leak, a new bathroom, etc. and there goes all of your money.

OP, I don't think anyone should buy a home if they don't really want to. I was renting for a little over four years before we bought our co-op and I still question whether or not this was the right move for us.

I think it means you have achieved the American dream by owning a home,in some people's eyes.
You know,the white picket fence. Me personally,I have always wanted a loft in the city.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
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.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Real Estate > Renting
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top