« First « Previous Comments 23 - 28 of 28 Search these comments
I think this is going to be on a case-by-case basis.
The irony is that we have been renting the same house for longer than probably 30-40% of the people who "own" on our street. People move out of houses they've bought here in the Bay Area more frequently than some people buy shoes. Its ridiculous. I know all of my neighbors, go to their BBQ's, know their kid's names, know their pet's names, have probably one of the nicer yards in the neighborhood, and also live in one of the nicer houses. My rent at the time being is around $1,300. That's because the landlord has never raised the rent which I realize is unusual. The same house even today would carry a $3,500 mortgage not including taxes and upkeep.
As far as people worrying over moving often due to renting or thinking the must buy a house when they have kids- well I definitely know my fair share of people who have been forced to sell their houses because they lost a job or fell behind on their mortgages. Kids don't really care either. They won't care if you own or buy. If its about schools- rent in the same area as the school. Easy! The bottom line is that buying a house isn't a magic solution to avoid unforeseen outcomes. Both renting and buying carry risks.
You could have signed a two year (or longer) lease, but you didn’t.
Have you spoken with the landlord? Do you know something I don't know? I wish you had let me know beforehand.
Have you spoken with the landlord?
No, you could find a place with a landlord that'd be willing. Who's saying at the same place -- clearly your landlord had about an 18 month time horizon. Many experienced landlords (and not just bubble-waiters) will accept a 2 year lease.
No, you could find a place with a landlord that’d be willing. Who’s saying at the same place
I guess my point is that you don't know the details of my situation, so your general comments fall flat. The landlord didn't have an 18 month time horizon, he had an unknown, developing situation. I did understand what I was getting in to, but I'm pointing out that the Pollyanna attitude that so many people (you included, it seems) have about renting is not always realistic. Maybe in the Bay Area (or wherever you hail from) renting is essentially interchangeable with buying (in terms of getting what you want), but for my parameters, in my situation I would have much more easily been able to find an available house for sale than one to rent. So while it is in fact possible that I could have found an equivalent house that would accept a 2 year lease, I didn't. In fact, in most of the places I have lived most (as in almost all) of the houses in the vicinity are owner occupied -- so finding a rental in those areas is nearly impossible. Which was my original point -- the idea that you always have the option to rent an equivalent house is, in my experience, not true. And not just a little bit not true. So, I object to this fairy tale part of the "buy vs. rent" argument that gets sold daily. (even though I agree that renting is often better than buying, in spite of these difficulties)
So, I object to this fairy tale part of the “buy vs. rent†argument that gets sold daily.
You can object to it, but I think you'll find anything I personally have ever stated to be far more nuanced than a simple buy vs. rent calculation. I can't speak for other people.
but what I really want to say is
“look I do rent and own zero of this house but in real numbers I own more of this house than you own of yours. Zero is a larger number than any Negitive number I know of,…right.â€
Nice.
« First « Previous Comments 23 - 28 of 28 Search these comments
They are, in a word, simplistic.
I will pick a few of my pet peeves.
1. If the price is less than X times annual rents, it's reasonable to buy.
I know this has been pointed out many times, but there is more to this than just rent and sales price. Interest rates (for one) play a big role, but this is often overlooked. Property taxes, HOA fees, too.
2. Using some fixed % figure for maintenance.
This one is the biggest pile of horse hockey. There are so many things wrong with this "rule of thumb"...The type of exterior is a good place to start. The environment/climate the house is in...and the big one -- the fact that in some places the land is worth (far) more than the structure...yet the 1% (or whatever) rule of thumb factors in the entire cost. I think this could be off by a factor of 2 in many cases..
3. "You can usually rent an equal house in the same neighborhood for less than you can buy"
Except for when you can't. I have found that it is rather difficult to rent a house in the neighborhoods I want to live in here in Denver. I did, however, find a house in a good school district and at a fair price. It's not really that nice, but in all it's fine. After a year and a half here we are facing the housing hunt again -- why? Because the owner is selling...So even when you can rent a house for less, there is no guarantee for how long.
Owning and renting aren't equivalent. Owners and renters aren't equivalent neighbors. I'm sure different as a renter than I was as an owner.
Ok, I feel better now.
#housing