If you liked renting would you just keep doing it?

[Anonymous]

I live in an extremely high cost of living area. Median home is $1 million and there’s not much housing. I currently rent a great place that is worth $1.5 million and pay $3800 in rent every month. I wouldn’t be able to afford a place this big to buy. I have invested most of my money and keep a large emergency fund and retirement is maxed out. I don't know if I’ll stay in this place after my kids graduate, but I have to for now due to divorce and having to live here while they’re in school. I assume when they are out of the house my need for space would go down and if I did want to stay here, I could buy a smaller place or a condo.



I can’t seem to shake the feeling that I “should” own. Tell me if you have house regrets and that it’s ok for me to keep doing this.

[Anonymous]

No, I would not rent and no you did not need to stay renting until your kids graduated HS.

[Anonymous]

Does it matter? If you can’t afford it, you can’t afford it. Did your ex not buy you out of the married home?

[Anonymous]

We have one in college and two in grad school - they still come home, and want to. Your everyday need for space will go down once they graduate, but you will still need space for your kids after they graduate

[Anonymous]

Yes- I am actually going to sell my home and downsize and rent. I want flexibility to be able to stay close to my DC after college if they choose to move to another state. I also do not want to be saddled with the constant cost of home repairs every time something goes wrong. Maybe many people on this board have the $$$ for every little thing but after sinking $40,000 into my home for things that never showed on the inspection or were hidden from poor construction and home repairs by unqualified previous owners, I plan to roll the dice with renting. I would rather travel and have a life than worry about mowing a lawn or fixing a toilet seal.

[Anonymous]

Renting in your circumstance is fine. You have flexibility, possibly a lower monthly payment than a mortgage, no maintenance costs (everything breaks eventually) and you’re saving. I have done both, and on my first place when I went to sell I lost money and would have been better off renting for those seven years. The only factor for you could be your retirement income. If you don’t have strong retirement income, you might want to be living in a paid -off property and save your smaller income for just the taxes and carrying costs.

[Anonymous]

The myth that you should own or need to own to get ahead is so prevalent but there’s nothing wrong with renting if you’re investing enough alongside. People think owning is a godsend because it’s forced savings through paying down your mortgage and a leveraged investment (you put down a small down payment but get appreciation on the full value).

But the stock market historically returns more than real estate appreciation. And with renting your rent is the ceiling of why you’ll pay each month; with owning your mortgage is the floor.

TL;DR: renting and owning are two valid ways of keeping a roof over your head and there are reals pros to either. The big benefit to owning is fixing your housing costs before retirement so you’re not at the whim of prevailing rates. But plenty of people who can afford to buy choose to rent and it’s fine.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I would keep renting.

- Beleaguered hone owner

[Anonymous]

How old are you?

[Anonymous]

Renting is perfect for you. My biggest regrets are buying the three homes we bought.
Nothing was wrong with the homes. They even appreciated, but the alternative would have meant we had 3x the money now and decades of experience in the stock market.
I sold all three properties in 2019-2023, put the money into market, and retired soon after.
The regret of 'losing' out on money is so much stronger than the need to own a home.
I plan to talk my kids out of owning or at least, I show them the alternative. I didn't know there was one when I bought the homes.
This pushing home ownership is real. I'm foreign born, so of-course I felt like I needed a home here. It's like the American thing.
You can do the math buying versus renting on homes around you and you probably have. You know it makes no sense to buy.
Pass down the knowledge of investing. I'm in charge of my children's money now. One works and the other received an inheritance. I went on the get a finance degree.
Zero interest in real estate. It was never an asset for us.
We also have several homes in the extended family and abroad. Nobody is going to sell the homes willy-nilly without offering relatives first.
I know it, because we have already been through it.

[Anonymous]

Renting is fine if it works for you. At some you might find rent increases or landlord annoyances to the point it doesn’t work for you and then you can reassess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Renting is fine if it works for you. At some you might find rent increases or landlord annoyances to the point it doesn’t work for you and then you can reassess.

I don’t know where OP is renting, but I have found in upper NW DC that rents on homes have literally gone nowhere in like 10+ years.

This is particularly true for any landlords that won’t rent to groups and want just a couple/family to rent.

[Anonymous]

Homeownership does not automatically make sense for everyone. If renting is working for you then no need to change anything.
Keep in mind, it’s not just the mortgage you have to keep in mind. Even the best properties have a constant stream of maintenance needs if you want to keep your home in good shape.

[Anonymous]

It’s fine but make sure you truly have the cash to possibly purchase a home in retirement. The $3,800 is fine when you’re earning wages, but you won’t want to pay rent when retired.

Really you should be spending the $3,800 a month on a condo or house further out.

A few people I know who mismanage their finances and spend too much all rent in places they can’t afford to buy. That’s the problem with what you’re doing. Really you should be renting further out for say, $2,000

[Anonymous]

The biggest issue is to make sure you're still saving enough because you're not building equity. You don't want to be in a spot where you don't have enough in retirement.

Most people don't have the discipline to save the equity others automatically end up building by paying their mortgage, as it's tempting to take that vacation or by that nice thing.