“Rent, enjoy life, save, and just be ready to jump in when you know it is the right time.”
So lets see… having rented the past 3 years and moved three times because the landlord wanted to sell the home does indeed point out the first and most annoying part of renting. You are not the master of your own home. After the first two moves we stopped hanging pictures because of fear of having to move yet again. We cannot make any major changes to the home we live in. We cannot do any major changes to the landscape or the yard. Our landlord is okay but recently has amnesia about the condition of the home when we moved in. He seems to be in absentia when things like the sprinklers break or the plumbing craps out. Since I do not own it I am not going to pour money into the home for quality fixes.
Now yes we have saved money renting but at $2500 a month rent we have not saved a whopping pile of money. Scripps has depreciated some so that is the only reason I keep doing it. As for the rent, we need a big home with a big yard that is tolerant of animals and such, so our choices were limited. We took it.
I am not saying we are not saving money because we are mostly due to depreciation in the area. I have enough of a dp to buy close to what I want and my mortgage would equal or be a little less then my rent but insurance and property taxes are not included in that calculation. Obviously if you are a single person or a couple it is alot easier to rent then if you have a couple of kids/pets and in laws living with you. My wife doesn’t shop because she wants to per your comment above. She runs two businesses and raises two kids and somehow puts up with me. She is pretty much way to busy or tired to shop.
So for certain people or lifestyles, I do not believe renting is the shangri la that the above statement portends it to be. Again, I am not saying go out and buy. I am just saying that at least for us, renting kind of blows…. I do it because I believe I will save money in the long run.
