irvinesinglemom – Today’s rentals are in the nicest neighborhoods; nobody will ever know you are renting if you live in a rental house vs. a rental apartment. We sold our house, and our family, w 3 kids, is renting for at least 2 years. My kids stayed in the same schools they attended since 2000. We live in a neighborhood with homeowners, and a few renters. How do you know who rents, who owns? You only know if you ask.
One thing I noticed over several moves we had to make within the same city: the kids were practically unaffected by moves that allowed them to stay in the same school. Moving homes was exciting to them, as long as they could stay in the same school. Moves that required changing schools was a little scary.
Home prices are dropping several percentages each month. Your income does not make you wealthy enough to afford a loss of 50% on a $ 800K house. Such a loss could seriously set you back.
Patience, and remember, your childhood moves were difficult because you changed cities and schools, and back then, “rental neighborhoods” were low class and undesireable. Today, investors snapped up rentals in all the best neighborhoods. You can be an closet renter in the best subdivisions, and you can choose to rent in a neighborhood that feeds into the same schools where you eventually want to buy. Then, when you are ready to buy, your son will have the same friends he had in preschoool. That is something my kids have, that I did not, and I wanted to provide for my kids too. I have done so, and with renting, I have provided more financial security for my children.
