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44(m) here. I was in a long term relationship living in her house. We broke up after covid and by that time I was priced out. Between interest rates, lack of availability, bidding wars and cash offers, and not having a down payment I’m screwed. The American dream is dead for a single income family unless you make well over six figures. So my 16yr old and I live in a tiny cramped apartment, where I pay more than my ex did for her mortgage. Happy days. It’s the biggest source of discontentment in my life.
46 here. Single income 2 boys. After divorce, went to school, make ok $ as a nurse 75k or so. Now that I finally got independent It’s not enough to even consider a house now. It’s just too much for my income. So is rent but I have to live somewhere. Even if I save 1k a month. I’ll be old by the time my credit and down payment are ready. It’s my biggest saddest thing for me accept.
Recently I closed (mortgage guy)a 30 year fixed rate mortgage for a nurse who earned under &75,000 with 1% down and 6.625% rate (bond program) and $10,000 soft second (no interest loan) for closing cost (Michigan). Minimum credit score 640...her payments were cheaper than rent....
Thank you. I will talk to a mortgage person when I save some $ and get my credit up. Thanks maybe there is a way
You can use gift funds from family too
I'm in a similar position and have pre approval for a 525k loan. Have a decent deposit to allow me and my daughter to find a house up to 630k but I can tell you now... I've done the math, and I will be house poor. At the moment, I have enough savings to feel comfortable that if I lost my job we would be ok ... have enough spare money to invest and keep saving and to do fun things with my girls. I don't worry about the bills because I can afford them. If I go ahead and buy a house that all ends. I have to worry about the mortgage, the rates, the insurance, and the repairs. I'll have no safety net, and fun times are over. I feel sick when I think about buying, particularly as I have to spend over half a million on a basic entry-level property. I feel sick knowing my bank account will go from healthy to nothing. I feel sick knowing if I can't keep up with the additional payments, which will more than double, then I risk losing the house anyway. When I think about continuing to rent I feel blessed that I can afford to rent us a home that is beautiful and would cost about 800/900k to buy. I feel blessed that I only have to pay rent.. I feel secure knowing I'm not trapped in a job because I'm a good saver and have resources to live on... I feel happy that I can just take my girls out or away and buy them nice things... I feel sick that we could be asked to vacate every year and that I have to put up with quarterly house inspections.. I worry about being homeless in both scenarios, whether I loan from a bank or rent from a landlord ... I worry about being 60s...70s..80s with rent, but then I remind myself that I'll have decent finances and children to live with or ill buy a van and park in a beach caravan park..
What I'm saying is.... don't stress about home ownership... just live and save and invest and be happy .. you will buy when it's right for you or you won't .
I’m 60 and my husband is a few years younger. When I retired a few years ago, we sold a condo in the East and moved to a resort community in California, thinking to rent for a year, look around, and then buy. That was late 2019; then Covid hit, and the market here lost its mind.
The rental we found back at the beginning has turned out to be a great deal; it’s comfortable and homey, and with prices in our neighborhood having doubled or more, there’s no way (barring the collapse of the housing market) we could afford to buy without moving somewhere a lot less pleasant.
On top of that, neither of us have any interest at all in maintenance, DIY, gardening, or anything other than basic housekeeping. Our landlord is great, and it’s nice just to call the plumber or ask for a new appliance without worrying about the cost. At this point, I honestly think we’ll just continue to rent. I understand all the arguments for home ownership, but this works for us.
That's good thats what I plan to do. I think it's wise to rent right now as I believe that the housing bubbles about pop. Good luck luck and blessed day.
Good for you We did a similar thing moving to California from NYC We rented in 2019 then bought in 2020 during covid and lucked out buying in a 55+ community but now we’re considering selling it as we’d make a nice amount and downsize to a 55+ apartment place to alleviate the maintenance and headaches.
40 is late in life for an apartment? F me then.
No it isn't...
I'm in that age bracket and a Texan. We have since I can remember been priced out if the housing market, we rent because we don't have the money to buy. I am 71 and my husband is much younger. We pay about $1450.00 for a one bedroom in Arlington Texas. Been looking for an opportunity to rent a house but we are priced out we cannot afford it which is why we have to stay here an apartment, very depressing, they are getting more pushy in the complex, it's no fun.
How come it is so expensive in Arlington. In Houston, you can find a whole house with 3 bedrooms for $1700.
I can't really say other than that we have a lot filthy rich people and we have been heavily gentrified don't think that's a word but it's always been like that.
That's wild because Im in a small town (50k pop) and all houses for rent are $1400-2500
Would have thought it'd be much higher in Houston.
I think it is because Houston is huge. It takes an hour to drive from one end to another. It has huge supplies of houses for rent. Renting in downtown will be expensive, but if you go 30 minutes away from it, $2500 can get you a big 4/2 house.
how much younger is your husband....
buy a bus and go travel the coastline
49 here. Rented my entire life. No wish or desire to ever buy. I get bored and move too much, it's never even really been on my radar. Also I like just calling the landlord to cut the grass, fix the leak, replace the HVAC, whatever. Will I ever be able to retire? Well sure, I could retire right now if I wanted. I saved up all that money instead of spending it on houses I don't want....haha
How has renting saved you money? Just curious. The point of buying is not having rent in retirement. So you could retire now and pay rent forever and still be ahead of having bought?
Well, I actually said I saved money by not spending it on houses I don't want. The I don't want is pretty key. But to look at it another way - I currently rent a little 2br cape cod style house. If I had bought this house, I'd want to remodel the bath and kitchen, the whole place should be repainted and some other odds and ends. What's a typical bathroom and kitchen remodel go for these days? A bunch for sure..115k? Probably in that ballpark. So yes, I'm familiar with the old adage if you rent for 20 years you have nothing to show for it while if you buy, at least you have a house. But how much did you spend on maintaining and updating that house? If you don't update them, then you're not going to make a ton on resale. You'll just have an old house.
If you're looking to grow generational wealth, you have the right idea. Better to own property in that case. But I'm childless and unmarried, so I don't have an interest in leaving anything behind. And I do get BORED...I've been here 3 years and it's time to go. New state, new city. I work in IT so it's easy to job hop and as a result I haven't lived anyplace for longer than 3-4 years since college.
It's like everything else in life - buying isn't for everybody and renting isn't for everybody, just got to find what works for you. Renting works for me.,
If you don't update them, then you're not going to make a ton on resale. You'll just have an old house.
1)How much do you make reselling your rented apartment?
2) You think everyone who buys a house drops tens of thousands remodeling?
I pay $1000 for a bug infested moldly apartment and my friend pays like $800 a month for his clean pretty house with a yard and garage without sharing a wall with random people. Next year I'll probably be paying $1150 for the same place, hes still paying $800. They're not dropping 45k to remodel it because that's not normal.
There’s a lot more that goes into it than remodeling. Also, does your friend lives in an area where taxes never increase and things in their home never break?
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/upshot/buy-rent-calculator.html
I don't know how much his taxes change, we don't talk about his financial life that much or get into the details of it.
I'm sure things break in their house like all others, and I don't think I said anything similar to them having a magical house.
I just asked him how much he pays for his mortgage.
You really think everyone in a house is paying more monthly than all renters? Sure doesn't feel like it.
easy to invest into your retirement accounts and other things when you literally only have rent to pay. Houses are expensive and the first decade or more is just getting the interest down... then taxes which are forever.. plus fees to actually buy.. plus insurances..repairs..
A house is an investment. But you can make much more money investing that money other ways than sinking it in a house.
Hm. I guess. A house can also just be a home. Not every buyer is looking for a return. Some people just want a home, and a mortgage is often cheaper than rent. A mortgage payment is locked in, unlike rent, which will always go up.
Also, not paying a mortgage or rent for the last 30 or so years of your life, if you stay in the home, is quite a lot of savings.
a mortgage right now is 900 a week, plus insurance and rates at another 130 a week. Rent right now is 500 - 600 a week. 5 years ago, mortgage was 600 a week plus rates and insurance, and rent was 350 a week. It's always cheaper to rent until your twenty odd years into your mortgage, at least.
Welp. A mortgage is not 900 a week. A mortgage depends on a) how much you borrow, b) your interest rate, c) the money you put down, and other negotiations. I was recently renting for 800 more per month than the new mortgage+tax+insurance.
it is where I live. No properties here for under 650k with interest at 6.5%. make it make sense, housing here is a complete shit show.
Aww, prayers dear one.🕊
44(m) here. I was in a long term relationship living in her house. We broke up after covid and by that time I was priced out. Between interest rates, lack of availability, bidding wars and cash offers, and not having a down payment I’m screwed. The American dream is dead for a single income family unless you make well over six figures. So my 16yr old and I live in a tiny cramped apartment, where I pay more than my ex did for her mortgage. Happy days. It’s the biggest source of discontentment in my life.
55 here. My husband and I rent a 3/2 in his son’s school district. We were going to buy but the interest rates jumped. We can afford to buy, but we just don’t want to spend the money or have a high mortgage in retirement. So we applied for co-operative housing. Our rent will be less than $700 for a 3 bedroom townhome. We will be able to retire comfortably paying for that.
That's a bargain. What is co-operative housing and where do you live?
I live in Central Illinois. Basically, the people who live in the development purchase shares. Those shares give you the right to rent a unit. The shares will cost about $11,000. You sell the shares back to the development when you move - they increase in value.
My mother lived in the same development for two decades. The place is quiet, clean, and the rent includes water, heat and internet. The rent decreases once you turn 65 because there’s some relationship with HUD.
Honestly, I’d love to see this type of housing expand to other areas.
We have some relatives who are 65 and 62 who sold their house and are renting a patio home in a nice subdivision. The HOA takes care of everything outside, including mowing the grass, plants, hedges, siding and paint, gutters, snow removal, etc. The landlord takes care of everything inside the house should there be any problems.
They can leave to travel whenever for as long as they wish, and wanted a carefree lifestyle which this gives. Between the money they got from selling their house plus other retirement income they can easily afford to rent as long as they wish.
Their house was 2 stories and large plus costly to heat, cool, and maintain, so they have marveled at how much lower the utility bills are for the ranch style rental house.
They have no desire to buy another house and have talked about moving into one of the nice active senior facilities in the area if they have to move. Some of these have pools, dining, pubs, game rooms, theaters, and activity staff to organize events and the like.
I rent n it's whatever but I'll probably have a few houses in inheritance but I don't want their houses one bedroom in California is around $2k rent doesn't matter if u have the money if u don't have the money then it's a problem. I'm 41 and have alot of friends that are in the same situation no big deal really n we don't waste time on looking at the value of houses like the boomers do. My dad told me he lost $15k last week and I thought maybe he gambled it away but no. His house value dropped $15k but he acted like it was real
Renter in my mid 40s. I love never having do yardwork. If a major appliance breaks, I don't have to worry -i know it will be fixed with no hit to my banking account. I have access to 2 pools and the apartment fitness center included in my rent. As a person living alone, renting works for me.
- I rent because that's all I can afford, and I have a poor credit rating
I'm sure this varies per country, how well the renters are protected by law, if the rent prices are regulated etc.
I'm almost 40, we're renting, expecting a child and it doesn't seem we'll be able to buy our own place any time soon.
It's not too bad, although it's quite expensive. But my husband doesn't like maintaining a house, prefers to leave it to others. We were finally lucky to find a really good landlord (after a few bad ones) and it will probably become long-term for us here.
Today is my last day of renting. I am 57 and have a boy and girl. I was renting a 2 bedroom/2 bath condo. My rent started at $1250 eight years ago. You can imagine the rent increase. The owners were a couple in New Jersey who want to retire in the condo and asked me to leave. I looked at renting another condo in the same complex. A smaller 2 bedroom 1 bath without a fireplace, no garage, and no view, and all old appliances, etc started at 2k. I would go from 1150 sq feet to 850 sq ft. Ones the same size we’re going for $2300-$2500. A three bedroom which is what I actually needed was $3k. It is the same all around here. When I found out I had to leave I decided to buy. Just moved in. It is still a 2 bedroom/2 bath condo. My bed is no longer in the middle of the living room though. There is an alcove to put my bed. And I own it. No one can raise my rent any more. That was my biggest fear. I was afraid some greedy landlord would continue to raise my rent until I couldn’t afford a safe place for my teens. I feared being priced out of rentals as well. Interest rates are high, but I can refinance at some point. There is still a lot that can go wrong with this as well. I thought it is my best option before I would never be able to buy at all. It is exactly what ai needed? No. But we will make it work. Will I probably have to work until I die? Yes, I am gen x.
good work.. 😁
Iam 66 11 years ago I bought my first house. Move in had the house 6 weeks into owner ship i had a bad sewer line after 5 bids in found out it would run 16,000 to replace the 95 feet of pipe and at about 20 feet from the sewer main the line drop 14 feet down to the main. Sent a letter to the x owner and got a reply sorry for your luck!. Called 15 attorneys and they all said sorry for your luck had to let the house go back run my credit destroyed my life also that the person on that house that I bought it from me $80,000 off of me and I lost my life. If they told me buyer beware!
Current renter here. I have owned a few homes in my lifetime but I moved to a HCOL to gain a higher pay grade and do not intend to stay here. I like to change jobs fairly often. Ive got a bit of money saved up and Im just waiting for this housing bubble to drop to scoop up a couple rental properties for passive income.
Another colleague of mine, moved to my area who is also renting and is on his last few years before retiring. His youngest is about to start college and he & his wife are going to buy their a kid a condo where she decides to go college but they also have been putting money down on a luxury apartment for seniors in Belize. When they come stateside to visit theyll have a place to stay and when their kid graduates, she can sell or keep it as a rental property.
I’m 44 and I rent. I can afford a down payment on a home but I make a good salary and I prefer to have freedom and the peace of mind of having money in the bank rather than living on the edge of what I can afford. I really don’t mind renting.
I personally believe that since home prices have skyrocketed over the past 50 years while middle class wages have remained stagnant, it is simply impossible for ppl buying today to make the same astronomical return on investment that baby boomers who purchased on the 1979’s have.
I think it’s actually a bad investment now - down payment, closing costs, property taxes, repairs, inflation - the home would have to accumulate enormous value to make a profit when you take all of that into account. I actually feel that renting is actually more financially intelligent in the short and long term.
I live in a rent-control city in a rent-control state. My apartment, while humble, is inexpensive. The money I save by not paying a ginormous mortgage goes towards my investments. It’s not much but it’s something, I guess
We sold.out house and rent. We're in our 40s.
The flexibility is important for us.
I also like not having to fix shit when it breaks
Not everyone wants a house. Renting is not admitting failure. My FIL sold his house 25 years ago and had been renting ever since. Freedom from being tied to property. Fewer chores. Fewer assets. No surprise repairs. Just pays his rent and lives his life. If there's a problem he makes a phone call and goes on with his life. No stress. It's practically the fountain of youth.
I plan to rent after my children move out. I will be in my late 40s when that happens. I have never enjoyed home ownership. I feel no pride in it. I prefer the freedom of renting.
I do not have any fears about renting. The fears I have as an owner are related to major repairs. Own a home long enough and you’ll need to replace most of it. Some items are absolutely crushing to a budget. Renting is a more predictable cost, and it tends to move with inflation over the long term.
I will not need to work until death. I have a somewhat reasonable or attainable goal of retiring at age 57. Home equity is not a part of my retirement planning because I would like to keep the option to own open house m case my feelings on this matter change over the next 15 years.
I wouldn’t consider buying because it is a bad investment. I could make more money investing it other ways. Why devalue my money in a house?
Me (44) and my husband are getting a divorce. I moved out and now plan stupid rent .But I had to go, our marriage was abusive. Planning to live with family later this year to save money and go from there. My parents house is paid for so that may be where I retire. I feel like I should but something small because I don’t want a mortgage when I’m in my 60s. But I don’t feel ready to settle down. Feels like I would be missing out on something if I do that now.
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