Hey guys,
This thought has been constantly bugging me recently.
My parents are first generation Americans growing up from the NYC area and were constantly living via renting (and rent today well into their retirement). I have not grown up with the interest of home ownership to this point.
I'm currently 28 years old, making a somewhat decent salary a few years out of collegeand have a somewhat ok amount of money in savings (as well as contribute to 401k to match as well as some into my roth).....fell into a few stumbles in my mid 20s and had to pay off those debts, but am now recovering. I still have some students loans to pay off (under 20k) but will be looking to pay them off within 2 years max). I rent in the NYC area.
I live rather frugally, save near 50 percent of my income (note i consider money going towards my student loans to be a part of my savings rate, even though they are going towards my loans, since it's paying them off) and am looking to pay off my loans within the next two years.No shame, I definitely spend a bit of money on travel and hobbies and I don't discount it...I enjoy it and at this age am not looking to slow down.
Everytime I think of home ownership, I think of a deadweight hanging over my head, maintenance ( i don't want to mow a lawn!) and the possibility of losing a big chunk of change if something goes wrong in the house. It also seems like something that will tie me down to a certain area and not give me the freedom or flexibility to move. Although I'm from NY, i have moved around a bit. The idea of also saving for a downpayment just feels unappealing, as i'm looking to just save money to put into my ROTH, put my 401k and pay off my loans. I'd also just like to have my money relatively liquid in the event where i lose my job, i'll have quick access to it.
from what i'm reading on the net, this sounds like it's gonna go down a bad route when i get old. I'm constantly hearing that it wouldn't be good to pay rent for the rest of your life, but i don't want to go into major debt over something breaking in a house or closing/opening costs. I'd like to get some opinions. I appreciate all input!
edit: one other note to make is that buying property in the NYC area is near impossible on price unless you make bank, which i don't. So I definitely don't want to buy property here, which will ideally cost me leaving the area as well.
Submitted January 19, 2019 at 09:33PM by DevChatt http://bit.ly/2AUIab4
