Validate my view that long-term renting is a valid lifestyle choice

[Anonymous]

After owning property for almost a decade, I sold my home and moved into the city. I'm now paying almost $3000 a month for a shoebox in a full-service luxury building. At first it was going to be just a stepping stone until I decided what I wanted to do with the next stage of my life, but I've discovered that I LOVE this lifestyle. No more yard work. No more appliance repairs. No more replacements and renovations. No more responsibility for maintenance of any type. Problem with the plumbing? Put in a maintenance request in the morning, have it fixed by the time I return from work. Want a workout? Take the elevator to the gym instead of working up the willpower to drive to one. Drop dry cleaning off at the front desk in the morning, pick it up in the evening. Never have to worry about packages being stolen off my porch. Pool, dog services, 24-hour concierge...I can go on and on about the conveniences that I use and love.

So now I'm thinking that I want to rent in a building like this for the foreseeable future. The rent is sky high and will only climb, and I can't get the voices out of my head that renting is throwing away money. Even though I've experienced firsthand just how expensive owning can be, and knowing that I hated being a homeowner. I know an alternative is to buy a condo in a full-service building, but I'd ultimately end up paying as much or more as rent with $1000+ condo fees and relatively little equity gain, and be on the hook once again for appliances, renovations, etc.

I just want someone to validate that it's okay to choose a preferred lifestyle as a renter over raw finances when it comes to housing.

[Anonymous]

If you can afford it (and can still save for retirement) and prefer the lifestyle, it's perfectly fine. Not everything should be about money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you can afford it (and can still save for retirement) and prefer the lifestyle, it's perfectly fine. Not everything should be about money.

+1. I miss renting SO much. I’m tempted to do the same thing someday.

[Anonymous]

Totally worth it. You're paying for the convenience of flexibility and spontaneity (you can leave or move any time you want), financial freedom from a big mortgage/appreciation concerns/maintenance and general peace of mind. I'd say all of those things are worth it.

[Anonymous]

All of your reasoning is why I own a condo. I discovered that the construction on my new building was superior to my formerly new-built rental apartment as well.

HOAs get me all the conveniences I could ask for and none of the hassle plus I view the condo itself as a nice way of building up savings plus appreciation for when I sell it down the road...or use it as an investment property to rent to someone else.

For the bigger condo units and a great building, yes you will end up paying about $1,000/mo in HOAs so that's a gamble. But right now my HOA + mortgage combined are $1,220 less a month than a similar full-service apartment building in my area that has an the same features. Renting in a really nice place like that would cost me about $6,800/mo - see http://13thandu.com/. I'd rather just buy the unit and not give up that cash.

[Anonymous]

There's a value in having a place to live. It's like when we were doing renovations on our forever house -- it was pointed out to us how doing X or Y may increase or decrease resale value. I told them I didn't care -- we'll design it with the features we want, as we'll be living here for the next 20 years at least.

[Anonymous]

We saved so much more money renting vs owning.

[Anonymous]

Sounds Heavenly. If it works for you keep doing it.

[Anonymous]

When I read your post, OP, I had to double-take and check my history to confirm that I had not actually written it. We are also between houses and living in an apartment right now. The ease and convenience can't be beat. I've told DH that I'm not interested in buying again unless we're in a well-managed condo or townhouse. No more SFH for us. Too much work. I'd rather eat brunch.

The outstanding question though, is whether it's worth it financially. There are probably a lot of factors that would go into that equation, including private information about your specific financial picture. It also depends a lot on the market you're in. I once lived in a market where rents were so low that I would have been able to save more - without even considering investment gain - than I actually gained in equity on the house I bought and then sold. In other words, I would have ended up with more than I got in equity if I had simply saved the difference between rent and mortgage in a 0% interest savings account. But, this will not be the case in all markets.

The other thing to consider is age. Most 30 years mortgages front load the payments to the bank so for the first few years, your payment doesn't actually get you much equity. At 30, this does not matter so much. At 50, it may or may not make as much sense.

FWIW - my father owned multiple properties and on paper had millions, but they were heavily mortgaged and after he passed, I inherited almost nothing. My mother rented and was at the low-income side of the ledger for most of her life. (She only cracked $50k a year when she was in her 60s.) She liked to invest what little she had though, and when she passed, I inherited over $100k. Real estate isn't the only way to make your money grow.

[Anonymous]

Sounds great ancient works for you, that's good on you. Money isn't everything. It would not be for me. At 45, we have our house paid off, so our expenses are so low, especially considering we live in the metro area. Im sure I will be even more grateful as we hit retirement. We've invested in some rentals and the renters do indeed call us when there are problems, but even after that our homes are still cash flow positive and they pay off my mortgage.

[Anonymous]

My cousin has LOVE and HATE for renting!
I see why...
So at first, it was like a hotel, nice new building...lots of amenities (spa, pool, party area, garden and walking terrace, hammocks etc..)

THEN,
You realize, you never use the above amenities, and parking is a pain!
Taking elevators to your place and parking takes up so much time.
They kept adding different fees...and the free coffee machine is not working any longer!

[Anonymous]

If you're happy, don't seek validation!

[Anonymous]

My wife and I dream of selling our house and either owning a condo or renting. Yeah... taking care of a house is a pain. Like others said, if while renting you can meet your retirement needs, then renting is a great low-stress lifestyle choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All of your reasoning is why I own a condo. I discovered that the construction on my new building was superior to my formerly new-built rental apartment as well.

HOAs get me all the conveniences I could ask for and none of the hassle plus I view the condo itself as a nice way of building up savings plus appreciation for when I sell it down the road...or use it as an investment property to rent to someone else.

For the bigger condo units and a great building, yes you will end up paying about $1,000/mo in HOAs so that's a gamble. But right now my HOA + mortgage combined are $1,220 less a month than a similar full-service apartment building in my area that has an the same features. Renting in a really nice place like that would cost me about $6,800/mo - see http://13thandu.com/. I'd rather just buy the unit and not give up that cash.

I strictly prefer renting to condo. I wouldn't rent a condo either. I only want to deal with a management company, not an individual when it comes to an upscale unit. I hated fighting with the board in the condo I lived in (bought pre-construction, rules were acceptable, new owners started pushing for rule changes later, took lots of time to preserve the important rules, like no dogs in the lobby/main elevators or no hardwood floors or no parties with the professional sound systems in the recreation room, etc.). You also have to deal with some idiots who complain that their internet is not fast enough during the hours when they trade in Tokyo (instead of getting their own internet for their business). Too many annoyances for the cost of living.
I love the convenience of renting, but I am ready to own again, for different reasons now: I don't want a landlord anymore, who can decide to do maintenance or sell the property at their convenience. I never thought of owning as investing, I can get a rental or REIT for that.

[Anonymous]

Financially it’s great at first and can be an easy way to save up money. My husband and I socked away a lot of cash while we were living in a tiny apartment. But eventually, the rent increases start to affect you. In ten years you’ll be paying A LOT more in rent than a mortgage you would have taken out ten years ago.

Perhaps just enjoy the lifestyle and in a year or two reconsider? As long as you’re continuing to save a lot of money , it makes sense. Most of my friends who still rent are NOT saving a lot and are simply spending the difference between a mortgage/maintenance and rent. That’s when you’d be better off owning.