Renting vs. Owning (spouse, 2015, retirees, years)
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I have always rented but now that I'm pushing 30 I want a small house with a flat, reasonably sized yard.
I've always enjoyed gardening and collecting and canning fresh vegetables. Obviously that isn't possible in an apartment. I don't mind yard work as long as it is a flat yard and not very big.
Apartments and even condos/townhomes aren't as private as I would like. I will get a whiff of cigs or marijuana several times a week and I don't smoke. It irritates my asthma. I'll also here dogs, kids, or loud TVs. My neighbors are pretty quiet but this is the nature of apartment living.
Rents are constantly going up. My rent went up about $50 this year. Another five years of this, and you're looking at a car payment. A fixed rate mortgage allows you to keep costs relatively static.
My parents got to big of a house with a monster yard on a hill. It is awful to keep up. My grandparents have a house half the size with a flat yard and it was not much trouble to keep up until my grandfather got sick in his early 70s.
I think a lot of people get way more than they really need and then hate the upkeep.
I actually can food in my micro studio apartment, but I don't grow my own food now. And honestly, as much as I love gardening, I would only want a garden now all in waist-high raised beds. And I'd pay someone to keep up the ground around them.
I have always rented but now that I'm pushing 30 I want a small house with a flat, reasonably sized yard.
I've always enjoyed gardening and collecting and canning fresh vegetables. Obviously that isn't possible in an apartment. I don't mind yard work as long as it is a flat yard and not very big.
Apartments and even condos/townhomes aren't as private as I would like. I will get a whiff of cigs or marijuana several times a week and I don't smoke. It irritates my asthma. I'll also here dogs, kids, or loud TVs. My neighbors are pretty quiet but this is the nature of apartment living.
Rents are constantly going up. My rent went up about $50 this year. Another five years of this, and you're looking at a car payment. A fixed rate mortgage allows you to keep costs relatively static.
My parents got to big of a house with a monster yard on a hill. It is awful to keep up. My grandparents have a house half the size with a flat yard and it was not much trouble to keep up until my grandfather got sick in his early 70s.
I think a lot of people get way more than they really need and then hate the upkeep.
I rented for a number of years in different places, and that's been my experience, too. The two things that were absolutely wonderful when I moved into my house years ago was the quiet ... and my very own washer and dryer! You don't realize how important some things are until you have them ... or maybe don't have them any more.
For the OP, I think she should give renting a try to see if she likes it. She can always buy later. I would always rent first if I was moving to a new area because you don't really know a place until you've actually lived there a while.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Originally Posted by Emigrations
I have always rented but now that I'm pushing 30 I want a small house with a flat, reasonably sized yard.
I've always enjoyed gardening and collecting and canning fresh vegetables. Obviously that isn't possible in an apartment.Community gardens are very fun and useful (sharing) I have seen them from SF to Boston, and many smaller communities. Gleaning is another excellent way to get produce, or join a CSA and go 'help-on-the-farm'. the fresh air and experience / exercise will be a nice retreat from an unpleasant apartment..
Apartments and even condos/townhomes aren't as private as I would like. I will get a whiff .... I'll also here dogs, kids, or loud TVs. My neighbors are pretty quiet but this is the nature of apartment living. (when you get to 55+ (as per the thread) or in a co-op, these problems are likely not much of an issue. , but privacy and nice, comfortable, safe home is to be treasured... buy your own multifamily property and enjoy the 'rents' / free living for you (elsewhere, covered by your positive cash flow)!
Rents are constantly going up. My rent went up about $50 this year. ... (per month...my water bill on investment props went up $30/per unit, my taxes up $50/ unit and insurance up $20/ unit. I don't always pass those costs along to tenants as they really scream)
My parents got to big of a house with a monster yard on a hill. It is awful to keep up. My grandparents have a house half the size with a flat yard and it was not much trouble to keep up until my grandfather got sick in his early 70s.
I think a lot of people get way more than they really need and then hate the upkeep.
I have added extra living spaces to my homes (apartments / guest homes / cabins / apartment in garage / shop / barn), and my renters 'boarders' are selected on their desire to work in my garden, mow the grass and help with maint. They love it, they get paid for tasks I would need to subcontract, they enjoy the benefit of the acreage and often the peace and quiet of having the entire property to themselves. (I travel a lot). The apartments will eventually become my home, and my caregiver will live in the 'big house'. 'In home' apartments can also serve 'boomerang kids, needy parents, grandkids, friends in need, and international travelers / missionaries on furlough.
A friend / peer who was really struggling to keep up his u-pick acreage leased it to some Asian immigrants who were still learning english / schooling / getting residency. They did a great job of stewarding his small farm and shared the profits with him. He was able to age on the farm and not worry about maintaining the place.
Another great option for seniors is to buy / create a senior foster care home. They are very profitable and would allow you to 'age-in-place'. Partner with Eastern Europeans or Filipinos, they are doing a great job of managing many local senior foster care homes. (4-10 residents) This culture group is very well networked and help each other and have plenty of access to good competent and conscientious workers.
I think the OP should give renting a try to see how well it suits. I am not retired yet, but I am very attracted to the idea of renting when I retire. I previously owned a townhome that was not a condo and did not have a HOA so the maintenance responsibilities were on me, but were fairly manageable in terms of cost and effort since the yard was tiny. I currently live in a single family home that is about 35 years old where the maintenance costs are rising. I realize that rent can increase as opposed to a fixed mortgage. However, there are a lot of costs to home ownership that are often overlooked, such as homeowner's insurance. I live in a modest home in FL and my homeowner's insurance is almost $4,000/year and my flood insurance is another $1500/year. Those costs are rising every year also. Renter's insurance would be a drop in the bucket in comparison. And none of that includes the interior or appliance maintenance such as the fridge dying, the AC unit breaking (in FL where AC is vital), the plumbing leak that flooded the interior, etc.
So, I'd personally, avoid condos. Plus, the board members are rarely people with real qualifications to handle the money they have to manage. It's frightening really. To get on the board, you just have to be a homeowner. No need to know how to manage thousands upon thousands of dollars.
Anyway, I love renting.
What you say about condo boards is very often true. I have a friend who works in condo management and where he lives they have a term for these Nazis..."Condo Commandos".
Often, the people who seek positions of the condo board are corrupt, power hungry people. They like to create expensive pet projects to benefit family, friends, or themselves, etc. Oh, the stories he tells me. In his experience almost every condo board has at least 1 or 2 of these people and they strong arm the other board members into going along with them. Complacent condo owners typically don't pay close attention to what's going on.
This is the most annoying part of renting, the annual increases. They figure it'd be too much of a hassle for you to move, so they increase the rent even though they advertise low rent to new renters just to get them in and then increase the rent after the intro period. At least with a paid off house you only have property taxes and/or HOAs that might increase.
This doesn't happen in every area. I am certain new renters in my building pay a lot more in rent than I do.I admit the landlords in my building are more merciful with the rent increases than others in my area, but this is still a pretty common scenario where I live...the new folks pay the same or more than the existing tenants.
We have opened the discussion of renting rather than owning when we get into our 70s. Our thinking is: (a) no maintenance of course (b) can concentrate on artistic pursuits rather than keeping up a property (c) ease of living on one floor (d) can really downsize possessions and keep life simple (e) can easily and safely leave the apt to travel (f) so much easier for our kids to dismantle our home when we pass away, with no home sale to have to deal with (g) can place home sale proceeds into an income-bearing vehicle, to pay for the rental.
Downsides for us: (a) in our 70s, we will have at least one dog (one is getting older and may still be alive), and it's hard to find rentals allowing dogs (b) the neighbors from hell are any neighbors who make noise and disturb my peace and quiet (i.e., I'm way too sensitive (c) landlord can sell and we would have to move in elderly years (d) rents do steadily rise but can also suddenly jump way up.
Where does this balance sheet point?
I never thought of renting but I agree it might be the right thing to do approaching 70.
Was thinking of purchasing a second home up north to be near grandkids most of the time but come October 1st to May 15th move south snowbird style. If we did purchase the second home how long would we own it for; 5 years, 10 years, 15 years?
Leaving a home for half the year bothers me, utilities keep going and you have someone watch and shovel snow, pick up mail and that sort of thing. In the meantime we could rent a very nice two bedroom two bath apartment in a good area for $1,000/month plus utilities. A little hefty compared to buying but when renting when you are done you are done.
Approaching 70 there are some good valid reasons for renting.
I'm approaching 70 and there still is nothing I would like less than renting. I realize this is unusual, but I cannot imagine having to put up with noisey, disrespectful neighbors, living in close proximity. Even wonderful apartment/condo/townhouse neighbors, while delightful, no doubt can be overwhelming at times. I still love having pets, poking about in the yard, hopping on the tractor, cutting grass, planning improvements. One day I will need to give this up, but until then it is certainly not the burden so many think it is. Freedom and independence (within reason) should be the reward for having worked hard all your life.
I've rented in one location now for a long time...had some horrible/weird neighbors (fortunately they don't stay that long) and some wonderful ones that I've become great friends with. There are quite a lot of older people who live here, singles and couples. The couples who have owned homes and downsized to rent generally do like it, but it is an adjustment (noise is usually the biggest issue, lack of privacy, rules, lack of storage, etc.) If I could I'd like to rent/live a small house or a stand alone condo, maybe some day! No matter how long you rent in a place and make it your home, it still isn't "your own". But it's worth a try if you think it might work for you.
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