I managed to buy a small house during the weird financial stuff going on during covid. As much as this gif is accurate, I like it better than renting.
Own.
Was super lucky that my wife was able to sell property in her home country after we got married and got her mom and her here to US. Also was one of the fortunate ones to have cash during the sub-prime recession so was able to get a super cheap mortgage.
I generally love owning the house although sometimes I miss renting, when something needs fixing. I’m pretty handy, so I do a lot of the jobs myself, but it could be a big chore.
Still, I’d rather have my own property and the freedom to do what I want with it, like installing solar panels, TV antenna, paint any color I like, etc.
My long term plan involves some sort of downsizing, possibly a live-aboard sail boat, although my wife is sceptical on that one. We’re probably going to end up getting a condo in one of the cheaper states.
Have you installed solar panels yet? I want to, but the tech is advancing rapidly enough that it makes more sense for me to wait atm.
I’m also planning on just paying for it up front. The programs for “we’ll do it for cheap but we’ll own it” are generally scammy. My friend has solar panels through his utility company, and his power went out recently but the panels did nothing for him because they go straight to the utility company’s grid. He’s pretty much renting them roof space for a discount on his bill.
Own. I saved for years because I didn’t ever want to rent again.
I managed to buy a small house during the weird financial stuff going on during covid
Same, except I got lucky and managed to buy right before covid. Was able to take advantage of the weird financial stuff and re-finance less than a year into my mortgage, though. Worked out pretty well. Went from a 20-year fixed at 4% to a 15-year fixed at 2.8%.
I have a mortgage, which we like to call “owning” but is really me renting-to-own from the bank.
I vastly prefer this to just renting. At least a portion of the money I spend on housing is going towards something I will eventually own (20+ years from now).
Rent. I always end up fixing shit around the flat though, because it literally won’t ever get done if I leave it to my landlord.
My downstairs neighbor’s windows were practically falling out, and couldn’t be closed (in Scandinavia), but getting them changed still took 2 years.
I really want to own my own house.
Husband owns this house.
Because his parents died.
Only way he’d ever own a home. We both rather they were alive.
This is the unfortunate truth for a lot of us, because I am also in a situation where the only way I will be able to afford a home is when my parents pass.
I am just grateful not to have to pack up my life every year and relocate to the next lease.
Own, but I’m not at all handy so I bought a condo. It’s the best of both worlds - I don’t have to worry about the roof or water heater, and never have to mow grass or shovel the sidewalk, yet I build equity and my mortgage is cheaper than rent would be. I imagine I’ll stick with a condo for as long as I’m single and will get a single family home if I ever get married.
Rent. I move cities every 3-5 years chasing my dream job though so… yeah, rent it is. I’m looking to possibly also lose the current job as well, so it’s also rent as far into the future as I can see.
On the bright side, I don’t have to pay for any appliances 🤷♂️.
Own. I managed not to blow my entire inheritance and bought a house (that’s too small and built by some truly incompetent people) just before the prices started to get stupid. It’s “worth” 2.5x.
It’s mostly too small because my kids will never be able to afford a house of their own.
Own. I wanted to buy in my early 20’s but wasn’t able to make it happen until my mid 30’s. (Nothing like chasing a skyrocketing housing market, amiright?) I hate being responsible for all the maintenance, but otherwise it’s a huge step up in every way. I never want to go back to renting.
All those years of renting left me with a lifelong distaste for landlords. Perpetually renting is part of the American poverty trap, IMO. I hate seeing my peers buying up the last would-be starter homes to turn them into rentals. And I hate that all the new construction around me is targeting higher-income buyers. If I had the time and money, I would love to build modest homes and sell them to first-time buyers and new parents.
Own.
100% what we want, our mortgage is about 60% what the rent would be for a similar home.
We got fortunate as first time home buyers, there’s a grant that allows all the way down to a 3% down payment, which was still unaffordable… until my partner got in a car wreck, and got quite a lot from the settlement. (Shes all right, played it up slightly) She covered almost the entire down payment, so our split of the mortgage is more of a 2/1 ratio, but I make more so it works out.
We’ve calculated the number of payments it will take for us to equal her initial down payment with my contributions, then at that point we’ll shift to a 1/1 for the mortgage.
Unless we get married first, then our finances get more mingled and tricky lol. We’ll see!
Own. I miss renting. It was expensive and a little crowded but that’s an artifact of the US housing market being fucked. I don’t want to be responsibility for a building as a little hobby. It’s a waste of my time
I rent and I want to be dead on a daily basis. The exploitative nature of nearly every part of human civilization wears on me to the point i find life not worth the effort in any way shape or form.
My parents cursed me for a hit of dopamine. Hopefully next life they just shoot up meth or something instead of creating a new wage slave.
Own. Bought a house as-is and fixed it up. Well, am in the process of fixing it up.
Well, am in the process of fixing it up.
It’s a lifestyle. The fixing up never ends.
My only remaining ‘hobbies’ are home improvement and parenting, it’s true.
At least both are rewarding hobbies!
What level of fixup / how handy are you? A friend bought a house without working plumbing and had to flush by pouring buckets of water down the toilets, but they’re pretty handy and actually fixed it up. I’m not that handy, but you can get really good deals if you’re willing to put up with that sort of thing.
I spent half again what I paid for the house on immediate fixes before moving in: new supply plumbing, new electric main, new roof.
After moving I had to immediately dip into the emergency fund to fix the heat, including re-lining the chimney. A year later, got masons in to fix the stone lintel above the front windows before it came crashing down. At that point it was $61K house, $39K renovations before moving, $7K emergency fixes.
I’ve done most of the work since myself; I know carpentry, waste plumbing, and some electrical from my teen years. Anything that could kill me, ie. main power or ladder work, I will hire professionals for. I’ve had to learn pressurized plumbing and insulation already and am in the process of learning masonry and HVAC.
The house was last upgraded in 1929 –I know because I’ve seen the newspapers they used for insulation– so there’s a lot to be done. But the foundation is stable, the walls are straight, and the timbers are old-growth. Someday we’ll have all three bedrooms usable at once, God willing.
Rent. Probably could buy if I got my shit together, but I’m skeptical that my employer won’t go down the toilet in the next few years with the “pricing pressures” and the fact that they just laid off like 60% of their non-preservative R&D staff.
