apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Homeownership is highly overrated:

I rent my apartment - and along with the rent I only have to pay utilities and renters insurance. Do some decorating, deal with the annual rent increase, tip the manager and maintenance man at Christmas - and I'm done. Fridge breaks down? Call the manager and get a repair or new one. Leaving for a month in Italy? Pay the bills, lock the door and leave...

If I owned my apartment I'd have to pay my mortgage (consisting of principal and interest) and utilities plus HOA dues, property taxes - plus pay for the upkeep and repair of anything existing within the walls of my apartment such as appliances, etc. Then when the elevators or pool needs repair or the roof needs replacement, I could always be hit with an assessment - and if that fridge breaks down, I'll be paying out of my own pocket.

Of course, if I owned a house - rather than paying all these fees and assessments, I'd just have to do buy the tools and spend my weekends doing everything myself: mowing lawns and painting the fences myself - or hire a gardener and maintenance man to take care of these things for me - and if I didn't do these things, my "investment" would lose value and my community could fine me.

Oh, and that month in Italy? I could never afford it if I had a house: Gotta pay for all the equipment to maintain the property instead and/or the guys to come maintain the yards while I'm gone, as well as a security monitoring system to make sure that everything is still there when I get back.

I think the whole issue of owning versus renting is also one of life goals and circumstance. The concept of the American Dream of owning a home was a viable one for a great amount of Americans because homes were modest in size and price...in a sense, our dreams were more realistic. But as the average ideal of a home has ballooned, so have the prices (alongside a depletion of desired locations).

As noted above, renting allows for additional options for many of us who make moderate incomes to move, vacation, and purchase items that might be out of reach with a mortgage. I certainly might feel differently if I was planning a family, but renting versus owning a home hasn't been much of a compromise for my personal lifestyle yet. Of course, if I win the lottery tomorrow...Big Sur house, here I come!

I don't know, I live in a muti-fam apt building. I pay a lot of $ on rent, probably $200 cheaper than a regular mortgage payment - still I wish that money I spent gave me back more. Parking is awful. I go up 3 flights of stairs to get to my apt - no elevators. The breezeway is filthy. The "repair" jobs that the leasing office provides are less than mediocre. The fridge is tiny. The stove is old and burns everything. I can only own an electric grill. I know, I know - It's not the same for everyone. It depends on where you live - true. It depends on the goals of a person - true.

I will also add that renting vs buying doesn't keep anyone from going on a trip to Italy for month. And how often does the fridge break down? Or the stove? Or the roof for that matter? Most of these things are problems that are assessed when you purchase the house initially, then 10 years down the road stuff might start falling apart and will need repairs. HOA fees are a drag, but you are getting some conveniences for that fee, plus the perks of home ownership. That being said they shouldn't be too freakin high either!

But you'll pay somehow or another. You'll pay for the luxuries of having no obligations or pay for the luxuries of home ownership. You pay. You rent until you are ready to settle down - whatever that might mean to you. When we are ready to bounce less and stay in more. That's when you buy. Financially you save money by owning. Not the other way around. You might save on work, time, energy, etc, but the $ savings for owners cannot be compared, I think.

Interesting reading on the neverending Rent vs. Buy arguement:

http://biz.yahoo.com/pfg/e10buyrent/art011.html

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banking/HomebuyingGuide/WhyRentToGetRicher.aspx?vv=500

I've rented and I've owned and I gotta say, owning has been great. My monthly mortgage payment is equivalant to what I would pay for rent in an apartment in my old neighborhood plus my utilities, property taxes and 2 mortgage payments are paid for by renting out the studio in the back of my property. Keep in mind renting an inexpensive apartment for 5 years afforded me the opportunity to save for a down payment.

It really comes down to what meets the needs of each person. There is no right or wrong answer, it simply boils down to what meets your needs.

I think it is a different story depending on your family situation. I could not imagine buying a house unless I had a husband and children. I could even see myself in a rented apartment with a family, as long as it was in a neighbourhood with parks and community centres and such. I think it is more the atmosphere of the place that I am living that would determine the "feeling" of a rental or a home that I owned.

Not to say that there aren't benefits each way, but a long term rental with a good landlord and the freedom to decorate and update my home, if it had enough space for a family then maybe that would be something to think about.

This disregards a lot of financial issues which might decide one way or the other, maybe because I'm used to being a poor student and I'm really not there yet (can't even begin to imagine). I've been living in places that are as nice as I can afford, there isn't much luxury of choice on my budget.