[quote=AN][quote=spdrun]Why does living in a rental long-term “suck” other than some conditioned sense of “pride of ownership?”[/quote]
Because most rental condition suck. Also, there’s a huge difference between a house and a home. There are things you would do to a home that you wouldn’t want to do as a rental.[/quote]
[quote=spdrun]Maybe my level of giveashit is just measurably lower than many people’? As long as the place is clean and in a nice location, the color of the kitchen tiles or the newness of the appliances does little for me.[/quote]
Said the youngish (not sure how old you are), single guy with no family. 😉
Like you, I don’t have a problem with renting, but even I, CA renter, hated the constant anxiety in the back of my mind while we were renting — worrying about the landlord raising the rent or deciding to sell the house before we were ready to move, living with “repairs” that were clearly of a temporary nature, worrying that the kids would be grown and moved out before we could buy a house that we could modify specifically for our family, etc.
Ultimately, it’s better to own because you have more control over your own environment and your housing costs. The goal should also be to have a paid-off house before retirement, IMO. Can’t do that if you’re spending decades in a rental waiting for the housing market to correct.
That being said, when conditions are totally, ridiculously out of whack, it can be wise to sell and rent (that’s what we did). But even doing that isn’t a guarantee that things will work out as planned. Stuff happens.
Also, I think I can speak for the majority of families here when I say that your living conditions and housing stability become a MUCH bigger issue once you’re married with kids. It would be pretty difficult for you to understand unless you’ve moved a family of five with 30-days notice (we didn’t have to do this, but know others who did…one bubble-sitting poster (here or HBB?) had to move their family every single year while they waited, either because their rental was being foreclosed on or the owner wanted to sell, etc. Needless to say, they were ecstatic when they finally bought…didn’t wait for the exact bottom, but didn’t care at that point.
