I never understood the obsession with homeownership.
I’ve owned. It kinda sucked. The things most people think of as “pros” (like being able to renovate) were not that great for me. I’d spend a lot of time thinking about things I could change/improve, and then doing them.
My brain operates differently renting. I don’t really care about things like that since its not an option in the first place. It saves me time/money/stress and I spend more time living my life instead of maintaining a property.
Of course there are drawbacks with renting, specifically shitty landlords, but to me there are more pros than cons.
The only hobbies I actually enjoy require space: gardening and lapidary “arts” (gem/stone cutting). I can’t buy equipment because I don’t have the space to store them and having to move every 2-3 years is not only very difficult when you have more stuff but also really damn expensive.
So there’s that, and there’s retirement. Having set expenses (aside from taxes) is super important and you’ll never have that with renting when you’re retired.
Then again who am I kidding, I’m 38 and working in a factory. My retirement will be whenever I decide to buy a gun lol
I’m currently renting a home for space for gardening. Tomato seedlings went out last weekend :)
So there’s that, and there’s retirement. Having set expenses (aside from taxes) is super important and you’ll never have that with renting when you’re retired.
I don’t consider my home a retirement vehicle. I save separately for that. But I do understand that for some people, it is, and that’s understandable.
Its a retirement vehicle in that it prevents future rent raises from threatening your retirement, not in that you can/should live off of your home’s equity. Nobody wants to go back to work at 85 because their rent doubled.
I feel the same way. I currently own a home, but I honestly want to sell. For me, it’s mostly about the flexibility. I hate not having the flexibility to up and move if a new job opportunity presents itself or I just want to try a new place.
There’s also a crap ton of expenses associated with owning beyond just the mortgage, insurance, and taxes.
Especially if you aren’t financially that well off or on a good career track, I think it’s really appealing just for the stability it affords. My current landlord has been a pretty good guy for us, but if I owned my apartment rather than renting, I wouldn’t have to worry that I’ll suddenly need to pay a ton more money if he dies and his kids decide to jack up the rent, or worse, having to uproot my life entirely and move out because of someone else’s whims.
You don’t have to go all the way to renovating before you see the advantages of homeownership. It shows up even in much smaller home improvements.
A small example: a few years ago my refrigerator broke, and the technician said it’s behind repair. My landlord had to buy a new one, and of course he picked a cheap model.
If I was an homeowning instead of renting, I would have bought a much better refrigerator at trice the cost. But I won’t pay that much for an appliance I’m not going to own, and my landlord won’t pay it for one he wouldn’t use, so I’m stuck with a cheap and noisy refrigerator.
And this is the situation with everything that’s considered a part of the house. Even if I have the money to buy nice things - I can’t have them.
If I was an homeowning instead of renting, I would have bought a much better refrigerator at trice the cost. But I won’t pay that much for an appliance I’m not going to own, and my landlord won’t pay it for one he wouldn’t use, so I’m stuck with a cheap and noisy refrigerator.
Right, I’ve been on both sides of your example. I’ve both bought a refrigerator while owning a home (and picked a more expensive model), and I’ve also had a fridge replaced by a landlord with a cheap model.
Again, for me the renting side of this is a “pro”. I will second guess not splurging if I know it is an option while owning. If I rent, I just don’t care because its not an option in the first place, and I love that.
Ugh, the whole renovation thing is a pain in the ass. My mom watches renovation shows all day while the house has fallen into smelly disrepair over the last twenty years.
She keeps talking about painting this or knocking out that wall or installing all new fixtures 'so it can be nice for the next people (she’s in her 80s and plans on dying there).
I keep telling her that no matter how much money she wastes ‘fixing’ the place up, the people that eventually buy it are going to gut it and do their own thing.
One little old lady using a total of three rooms in a 4br3b house.
She dreams that I’ll settle down and want a quiet place in the suburbs, but I hate the neighborhood and most of the people that live there. If she were hit by a bus tomorrow I’ll call the first Cash For Houses scam I see so I don’t have to deal with any of that.
not paying 1/2 to 3/4 of my salary on rent is a big upside to me. but then again if we are talking about the us, there are probably a thousand fees and ways they siphon your money away anyway.
I never understood the obsession with homeownership.
I’ve owned. It kinda sucked. The things most people think of as “pros” (like being able to renovate) were not that great for me. I’d spend a lot of time thinking about things I could change/improve, and then doing them.
My brain operates differently renting. I don’t really care about things like that since its not an option in the first place. It saves me time/money/stress and I spend more time living my life instead of maintaining a property.
Of course there are drawbacks with renting, specifically shitty landlords, but to me there are more pros than cons.
The only hobbies I actually enjoy require space: gardening and lapidary “arts” (gem/stone cutting). I can’t buy equipment because I don’t have the space to store them and having to move every 2-3 years is not only very difficult when you have more stuff but also really damn expensive.
So there’s that, and there’s retirement. Having set expenses (aside from taxes) is super important and you’ll never have that with renting when you’re retired.
Then again who am I kidding, I’m 38 and working in a factory. My retirement will be whenever I decide to buy a gun lol
I’m currently renting a home for space for gardening. Tomato seedlings went out last weekend :)
I don’t consider my home a retirement vehicle. I save separately for that. But I do understand that for some people, it is, and that’s understandable.
Its a retirement vehicle in that it prevents future rent raises from threatening your retirement, not in that you can/should live off of your home’s equity. Nobody wants to go back to work at 85 because their rent doubled.
I feel the same way. I currently own a home, but I honestly want to sell. For me, it’s mostly about the flexibility. I hate not having the flexibility to up and move if a new job opportunity presents itself or I just want to try a new place.
There’s also a crap ton of expenses associated with owning beyond just the mortgage, insurance, and taxes.
Especially if you aren’t financially that well off or on a good career track, I think it’s really appealing just for the stability it affords. My current landlord has been a pretty good guy for us, but if I owned my apartment rather than renting, I wouldn’t have to worry that I’ll suddenly need to pay a ton more money if he dies and his kids decide to jack up the rent, or worse, having to uproot my life entirely and move out because of someone else’s whims.
You don’t have to go all the way to renovating before you see the advantages of homeownership. It shows up even in much smaller home improvements.
A small example: a few years ago my refrigerator broke, and the technician said it’s behind repair. My landlord had to buy a new one, and of course he picked a cheap model.
If I was an homeowning instead of renting, I would have bought a much better refrigerator at trice the cost. But I won’t pay that much for an appliance I’m not going to own, and my landlord won’t pay it for one he wouldn’t use, so I’m stuck with a cheap and noisy refrigerator.
And this is the situation with everything that’s considered a part of the house. Even if I have the money to buy nice things - I can’t have them.
Right, I’ve been on both sides of your example. I’ve both bought a refrigerator while owning a home (and picked a more expensive model), and I’ve also had a fridge replaced by a landlord with a cheap model.
Again, for me the renting side of this is a “pro”. I will second guess not splurging if I know it is an option while owning. If I rent, I just don’t care because its not an option in the first place, and I love that.
Ugh, the whole renovation thing is a pain in the ass. My mom watches renovation shows all day while the house has fallen into smelly disrepair over the last twenty years.
She keeps talking about painting this or knocking out that wall or installing all new fixtures 'so it can be nice for the next people (she’s in her 80s and plans on dying there).
I keep telling her that no matter how much money she wastes ‘fixing’ the place up, the people that eventually buy it are going to gut it and do their own thing.
One little old lady using a total of three rooms in a 4br3b house.
She dreams that I’ll settle down and want a quiet place in the suburbs, but I hate the neighborhood and most of the people that live there. If she were hit by a bus tomorrow I’ll call the first Cash For Houses scam I see so I don’t have to deal with any of that.
/Rant
not paying 1/2 to 3/4 of my salary on rent is a big upside to me. but then again if we are talking about the us, there are probably a thousand fees and ways they siphon your money away anyway.
because in usa culture homeownership grants you higher social status and it’s seen as an investment.
renting = lower status, second class citizen, poor
owning = high status, first class citizen, ‘successful’
that’s it.