Hello wonderful pf community. This is in partial response to yesterday's top post entitled "Buying a house 'responsibly' impossible for many?". While this was a great post, I'd like to point out that renting isn't half bad for what you get. A rent payment doesn't just cover the roof over your head. You also get:
-
Included appliances, such as stove, dishwasher, fridge, laundry units, etc. This could cost thousands of dollars out of your pocket when you own. To not only buy the equipment up front, but also repair them.
-
Lawn care. You either have to buy your own mower upfront and be out in the hot sun for two hours every Saturday, or pay a lawn guy.
-
Amenities. If your rental has a pool, gym, etc. you might pay a slight premium in rent for all of these, but the value is still there. Gym memberships are costly these days. Pool ownership and maintenance is a hassle (any current owners know this is true).
-
Above all else, flexibility to move at basically anytime, so long as you have the cash on hand to buy out of your lease. With a house you have to factor in: possibly being underwater if you don't have enough equity, the extreme length of the sales process (even in a good market it could take up to a year!), and in a worst case scenario not even being able to sell it. I'm sure everyone already saw the "leave your current job every 5 years or so to get a significant raise" post. What if the next great opportunity is across the country? Ya never know.
All this is not to say that renting beats homeownership. Certainly the huge advantage of having no mortgage payment at the end of your 30 years (or however long) is great. But you have to do it right to make it work. Just hoping to change the minds of some "rent averse" people!
Submitted July 20, 2017 at 08:48AM by thatonecoolkid99 http://ift.tt/2vF6RDk
