STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

ILoveChoo · Hermes

own or rent?

member · Hermes

My boyfriend and I rent an apartment in Chicago right now. That's really all we can do right now. We choose to live in the city and it's expensive, so owning something in the city would be almost impossible for us now. We could probably easily own in the suburbs, but neither of us wants to do that right now. I have a feeling we'll be renters for a while. Not forever, but a while. He gets a pretty large inheritance when his grandmother (god bless her heart) passes away, so when we get that (not that we are planning on that!) we will probably buy then.

laken1 · Hermes

I voted "other"

We are in the process of doing a lease / purchase on our house. Our deal is set up where you lock into the future sales price as the current appraised value at the time you move in, pay "lease" payments for a time (1-3 years) & part of your monthly payment to the owner goes into escrow on your down payment when you re-finance. If you move out, it's as if you are renting. This way, we are in a nicer house, have built in savings for down payment, and don't get screwed unless property values go down, (although there is a clause on a max hit you can take & I don't see this happening anyway). It gives us time to pay down our existing debt so we can qualify for a house that costs this much. To be honest, I don't want a house in the price range our current debt to income will allow (paying off both of our debt from previous marriages, etc) but we will have it all paid off within a year. It's a win-win for the current owner too - gives them additional monthly income, since we are buying it, there is less risk of renters trashing the house, we can do improvements with the plan of purchasing, but if we don't they get the benefit of those improvements, etc.

This was the best option for us - there is a book explaining the details & benefits to both parties involved.

Elle · Hermes

We rent . I want to buy a house, and we could pretty easily afford to do so. But we're still in the 'move-around' phase of our lives and I don't want to have to try to deal with selling a house after only living in it for only a year or so!

If we like Denver, we'll probably end up buying a condo there. Maybe in a year or so (after our wedding) if it looks like we'll be around for awhile.

RyanJ · Coach

live w/ my parents and plan to for a few more years. I like be spoiled and I am not ready to be an adult yet.

luckylily · Gucci

We rent an apartment. I like living in the city and we will *never* be able to afford to buy within the area we like to live. Regardless of the throwing away money arguement, I'd much prefer to rent than to live in the burbs with a long commute.

Part of me also hates the idea of owning. Our landlords are awesome. I love that whenever we need something fixed, they take care of it, and we don't need to worry about it at all.

We will probably more seriously consider a condo once our debt is payed off, but that is still several years away. Plus we don't really think we are going to stay in Seattle for more than a couple more years.

Andrea Julia · Coach

I voted other. I live with my mother, but I have to pay rent that is like half as much as having my own apartment would be. I just found out I qualify for an affordable housing program because I make less than $45,000. This means I can buy a condo for $55,000 so I am going to go fill out an application this week and hopefully have my own place soon.

ILoveChoo · Hermes

quote:
Originally posted by: Andrea Julia
"I voted other. I live with my mother, but I have to pay rent that is like half as much as having my own apartment would be. I just found out I qualify for an affordable housing program because I make less than $45,000. This means I can buy a condo for $55,000 so I am going to go fill out an application this week and hopefully have my own place soon."

wow! I wish I could get a condo for 55k! The cheapest falling-down-in-the-ghetto condo I can find here is still pushing 200,000.

Maybe I need to move.

shopgirl82 · Chanel

currently, i am living with my bf in a BEAUTIFUL condo that he owns. while i don't pay "rent" as he wouldn't me pay for something that i would never own....i pay "rent" into a joint account that we have set up to buy a vacation home one day (proabably pretty soon!!). i am a firm believer in owning instead of renting. if you have ever seen a t.v. program on money management, the first thing they say is 1) own, don't rent 2) pay all your debts

while i feel so incredibly lucky to be able to live for "free"...i know that right out of college i couldn't (i'm one year out). since he sat down with a financial planner when he was younger, he learned a lot about what game plan he should use in order to own instead of rent. i think this is something that would be super beneficial for anyone who hasn't. it worked for me, as well as reading books on money matters (suze is great!).

one more thing...if you do want to rent, one thing that worked for him was to downsize his apt. to save money to own. i hope that helps anyone.

also, for what he spent on his condo, in some states/cities...we could be living in a two story house...i think that's so crazy!!! so a lot depends on where you live.

esquiress · Marc Jacobs

rent. my roomate/best friend and I LOOOVE our apt. and while the "throwing away $" argument make intellectual sense I'm just not ready for that phase of my life yet. besides the market here is ridiculous right now!

Andrea Julia · Coach

quote:
Originally posted by: ILoveChoo
"wow! I wish I could get a condo for 55k! The cheapest falling-down-in-the-ghetto condo I can find here is still pushing 200,000. Maybe I need to move."

The prices are similar here, crappy studio condo for $200,000. You have to qualify for the program to get a condo for $55,000.

honey · Gucci

i rent. as others have pointed out the problem with living in most cities is that it's really expensive to own. i would *love* to own an apt. honestly i'm more than content to live in a vibrant area and rent, than own in a suburb (nothing against them, but they're not for me). however i will probably stay in my current apt. until i can afford to own, b/c my landlord is that great, and he hasn't raised my rent in 3 years.

ILoveChoo · Hermes

quote:
Originally posted by: Andrea Julia
"The prices are similar here, crappy studio condo for $200,000. You have to qualify for the program to get a condo for $55,000."

haha, after I read your post I looked up the income requirements for programs like that around here... and FH and I make $4,000 too much to qualify. not that that will get you far here anywhere- that would qualify us for a 115,000 condo.

-- Edited by ILoveChoo at 21:13, 2005-05-23

Tati · Chanel

quote:
Originally posted by: RyanJ
"live w/ my parents and plan to for a few more years. I like be spoiled and I am not ready to be an adult yet. "

Cricket · Gucci

Own a home in Phoenix. Being in the military, we haven't realy settled down long enough anywhere in the states to buy a house. The longest we've lived in one place was right before here we lived in Italy for 3 years, but I definitly wasn't messing with buying a house there. We'll be here another 2 years, and hopefully we'll buy any house we live in from here on out and just rent them out when we leave.

rocky · Coach

My SO and I rent the lower level of a house. It has a separate entryway and everything. I plan on moving next year for grad school, and then I might move again to a job prospect, so my life is not stable enough to own.

Joina · Kenneth Cole

Own. I bought my apartment in the Upper West Side in Manhattan about 2 years ago and it was the best investment I have ever made. The price has gone up 50% since I got it!!!!

Plus the tax break benefits are awesome. Seriously, if you can own, do so, the benefits are great.

halleybird · Hermes

We just bought our 2nd house. We were lucky when we bought our first house, because it was right before the housing boom, and Phoenix home prices were very low (THEN!). We had to live in the outer suburbs for 2 years, but it's the only way we'd be able to be in the house we're in now.

blubirde · Chanel

I rent part of a house (a duplex). I'd love to buy but in ATX, the prices are just too, too outrageous for something centrally located. I know it makes fiscal sense to buy and it's a good investment and all that but I just don't have the $$$ to make it happen. Plus, I can't afford the property taxes or the maintenance. I like being able to call someone when something breaks. Plus I have a strange phobia of owning. It makes me feel like I couldn't up and leave anytime I wanted, like renting does.