Quote:
Originally Posted by RunKC
Someone talk to me about owning vs renting. I’ve always been told my whole life that owning a home is “great bc you keep your equity!”
I’ve owned my house for almost 4 years and the “equity” I’m getting on it is shit compared to the money I’ve had to spend to fix shit in a brand new house when I moved in.
It’s to the point where I’m thinking **** it. I’m close to selling this damn house and renting so I won’t have to spend a lot of money every year paying to fix the goddamn thing.
Oh and then when I sell the goddamn thing the realtor gets 6%.
Owning feels like such a sham.
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You'll get a million opinions on it, and there really isn't a clear answer. I largely think it's a decision you should make based on your own life preferences rather than trying to figure out what the best decision is from a purely financial perspective. Do you like being able to customize your place to your preferences? Are you capable of making minor repairs and doing minor maintenance? Are you planning on staying in the same place for a long time? Are you comfortable saving up for the more major expenses? If so, ownership is probably the way to go. Would you rather not have to deal with repairs and maintenance? Are you OK with just living with a fairly generic space that you don't customize? Do you like the idea of being able to pick up and move easily? If so, renting is probably better.
If you want to try and figure out the best financial decision, you can play around with an
online calculator to help you see where the differences are. For me, what it really comes down to is that your mortgage is a fixed amount, while rent will increase over time. So if you plan to stay in your place for 50 years, there's almost no question that buying will be the best option. But you're right that big maintenance items suck, and if you get hit with a bunch of them right after you buy, you might be behind where you'd be if you'd rented in the short term.
Side note:
I'm kind of ignoring the "equity" argument even though it's a valid one. I personally bought my place in 2009 when the government was giving out free money to buy a house, and I live in Denver where the housing market has been booming ever since. Nearly half of my net worth is due to my house, so I've been really fortunate. The problem is that another housing market collapse could eliminate all of it, and the situation in Denver this past decade is far from typical. Again, if you plan to stay in your place for years, the equity will absolutely be a benefit, but it doesn't work for everyone, and the benefit is pretty small if you're not in it for the long haul.