I own my home, really own it - no motgage, no home loans, etc. I paid off a 15-year mortgage by living frugally. I still follow that lifestyle. Last week I got a leather shoulder bag, 1 top, 2 blouses, and a T-shirt for about $20 at Goodwill.
CaroleInMN
We are currently renting, but we are in the market to buy - just waiting for the right house to come along. I can see the benefits to both renting and owning.
I've always rented, but get the comment frequently from my dad to "buy a house". Owning a home is different now that when he first bought/built a house. The starting costs are higher, taxes are higher, and the equity is lower. I find it difficult to save money for a downpayment right now because I am single and trying to tackle other expenses, such as car payment, student loans, rent, and credit card debt.
We own. My husband bought our condo years before he met me (and before the real estate crash). We love it because we have the option to do what we want here (like have our cats) and our association dues pay for common upkeep. I don't have to shovel, garden, or deal with other exterior upkeep. The only real negatives we have are (1) having to pay for repairs and (2) not being able to move any time soon. Luckily, we like where we live (and the area is ideal for our dual commutes), but there are times when it'd be nice to have a little more flexibility.
I rent and I happily outsource all problems to my landlord. I am limited on the level of personalization I'm allowed, but I wouldn't trade it right now!
I 'liked' you on FB and I own my home. I spent a year living with my mother, saving every single penny I could, until I qualified for my first, tiny little bachelor apt. It's been 5 years and I've been able to upgrade to a 3 bed apt.
I love knowing that the space I live in is mine and I don't have to ask permission before I paint or redecorate. I also like knowing that the rent isn't going to increase, and that in 10 years, I'll have a nice chunk of money in equity. It's the best 'savings plan' I can think of.
I currently rent. Pros: easy to move out quickly if a new job opportunity comes up in a different location, easy to call someone to fix things. Cons: the carpet color, and I wish I could implement all of those fun Pinterest decorating projects but it seems silly to spend money improving a space that I don't own!
I have owned a condo for 10 years, and I'm just about to buy a house with my fiance. I rented in the same condo development for 6 years before buying -- stupidly, I thought as a single woman that I didn't want to tie myself down to owning a place. I also didn't know much about home maintenance and liked the idea that a landlord would fix everything.
I totally regret throwing away rent all those years and paying down my landlord's mortgage rather than building my own equity. Turns out, over 10 years, I've only had to make a few minor repairs, nothing that would be worth all the years of equity I've built here. Plus, I've saved thousands in taxes every year by being able to make a mortgage deduction.
If the monthly cost of renting is just about the same as mortgage + insurance, you've also got to factor in how much you save in taxes by deducting your mortgage interest. But the biggest factor for me is that every month, you are building equity, building wealth. With renting, you're just building someone else's wealth over time.
My parents never owned a home - we rented the same apartment for 44 years, and they retired and had nothing in life that they owned. They were pretty poor, though, and couldn't come up with a down payment (or at least told themselves they couldn't). My fiance's parents, on the other hand, had good middle class jobs but chose to rent single family homes for his whole childhood not because they couldn't afford to buy but because they didn't want to deal with having to repair a leaking roof or clean gutters. Now they're in their early 70's and still renting. If they had bought the house they rented in the 1970's, not only would they have it entirely paid off by now, but they could have sold it for $600,000 more than they paid for it, as property values have gone up that much, and they'd be sitting on a nest egg of more than a half million dollars. Instead, they are still just living month to month.
If you or a loved one has a gluten intolerance, I would watch out for yeast ingredients, which contribute to candida overgrowth in the gut. While yeast dies as bread bakes, it still lets off toxic chemicals during the baking process. I have also found that worse than sugar is malt. Not only is malt the #1 food for yeast, it has some of the toxic chemicals of yeast. And it is very prevalent in processed foods, especially white bread and crackers in the form of maltodextrin and barley malt. Vinegar is antibacterial, ie. can kill beneficial flora, yet it doesn't bother yeast. Check out "An Extraordinary Power to Heal" by Dr. Bruce Semon. He gives some great diet tips which has helped my entire family.
I own...for now. In fact, I have never rented. I've had fun as I've remodeled, mowed the lawn, wresteled with plumbing and electricity, moved buckets hither and yon to catch raindrops in the living room (while I searched the yellow pages for a roofer who was hungry for work and eager to get started on July 4th). However, I'm looking forward to cashing in my equity in the next few years (yes, there's equity) and getting to know what it's like to rent. I look forward to dialing the landlord when the heat goes on the fritz, when the shower head gets clogged, and when I'm going out of town on vacation (so he can help himself to the newspaper in my absence).
My husband and I are renters once again after owning our own home for 7 years. i have to say, we sleep better at night right now knowing that if the water heater blows (which ours did) or the house floods (which ours did, 3 times!) we aren't responsible for the bill anymore. We can focus on savings and retirement without worrying about unexpected housing repairs for the time being. Do I miss being able to decorate and paint to my heart's desire? A little bit, but we now live in a bigger space and we are perfectly happy renting. ;)
We own our home, same one for the past 21+ years. It is close to our extended family and is the only home our two teens have ever lived in. That said, now that they are getting older (first one going to college in a few weeks) we are looking to the time when we can sell it. Once they kids are done with school and are on their own, we will be selling and moving on, travel a bit and we don't want the responsibility of a house to hold us back at that time.
We own our home. We bought it 8 1/2 years ago with 20% down and paid off the mortgage aggressively. We paid off the house in full after 6.5 years!
It's an average house in an average neighborhood in an average city. We've also had to put a lot of money in repairs, about 20% of what we paid for it. And the value has dropped by 25% according to the property assessor's office, due to the housing bust.
My philosophy is, we have to live *somewhere*. If we'd been paying rent all these years, we'd have spent over $100k on rent alone.
Squirrels are industrious, and I like to think I am too.
I don't buy plastic garbage bags because my groceries come in bags. And I live in Chicago where Lake Michigan water flows freely so I don't buy bottled water. I'm sure that Net Flix, RedBox, and cable are lovely but my local library lends me DVDs at no cost (and their "fellow-library" borrowing program helps me nab what they don't have in stock. And the company 401k is a God send. Others think I'm nutty, but I'm okay with that as I build my nest with money I've saved.
We are renting. The first place we had, we didn't have to pay rent on because one of my husband's clients (he's a lawyer) worked out a deal to let us stay there in exchange for legal service. Unfortunately, the house was foreclosed, and we had to move. The place we're renting now is OK. My husband likes that yard care and snow plowing are covered by someone else. I like that it's out in the country. He doesn't like that it's out in the country. The walls are plaster, which means there can't be anything hung on them. The one decoration we have is a plaque of a duck that is plastered onto the wall. Not my favorite. :) We're sacing money to buy a small home free and clear.
I own my home, really own it - no motgage, no home loans, etc. I paid off a 15-year mortgage by living frugally. I still follow that lifestyle. Last week I got a leather shoulder bag, 1 top, 2 blouses, and a T-shirt for about $20 at Goodwill.
CaroleInMN
rent!
Liked on Facebook. Thanks!
We are currently renting, but we are in the market to buy - just waiting for the right house to come along. I can see the benefits to both renting and owning.
I've always rented, but get the comment frequently from my dad to "buy a house". Owning a home is different now that when he first bought/built a house. The starting costs are higher, taxes are higher, and the equity is lower. I find it difficult to save money for a downpayment right now because I am single and trying to tackle other expenses, such as car payment, student loans, rent, and credit card debt.
We own. My husband bought our condo years before he met me (and before the real estate crash). We love it because we have the option to do what we want here (like have our cats) and our association dues pay for common upkeep. I don't have to shovel, garden, or deal with other exterior upkeep. The only real negatives we have are (1) having to pay for repairs and (2) not being able to move any time soon. Luckily, we like where we live (and the area is ideal for our dual commutes), but there are times when it'd be nice to have a little more flexibility.
I rent and I happily outsource all problems to my landlord. I am limited on the level of personalization I'm allowed, but I wouldn't trade it right now!
rent apartment
I 'liked' you on FB and I own my home. I spent a year living with my mother, saving every single penny I could, until I qualified for my first, tiny little bachelor apt. It's been 5 years and I've been able to upgrade to a 3 bed apt.
I love knowing that the space I live in is mine and I don't have to ask permission before I paint or redecorate. I also like knowing that the rent isn't going to increase, and that in 10 years, I'll have a nice chunk of money in equity. It's the best 'savings plan' I can think of.
I currently rent. Pros: easy to move out quickly if a new job opportunity comes up in a different location, easy to call someone to fix things. Cons: the carpet color, and I wish I could implement all of those fun Pinterest decorating projects but it seems silly to spend money improving a space that I don't own!
I own a townhome. The upside? I can do anything I want to it. The downside? Things break, and taxes!
I have owned a condo for 10 years, and I'm just about to buy a house with my fiance. I rented in the same condo development for 6 years before buying -- stupidly, I thought as a single woman that I didn't want to tie myself down to owning a place. I also didn't know much about home maintenance and liked the idea that a landlord would fix everything.
I totally regret throwing away rent all those years and paying down my landlord's mortgage rather than building my own equity. Turns out, over 10 years, I've only had to make a few minor repairs, nothing that would be worth all the years of equity I've built here. Plus, I've saved thousands in taxes every year by being able to make a mortgage deduction.
If the monthly cost of renting is just about the same as mortgage + insurance, you've also got to factor in how much you save in taxes by deducting your mortgage interest. But the biggest factor for me is that every month, you are building equity, building wealth. With renting, you're just building someone else's wealth over time.
My parents never owned a home - we rented the same apartment for 44 years, and they retired and had nothing in life that they owned. They were pretty poor, though, and couldn't come up with a down payment (or at least told themselves they couldn't). My fiance's parents, on the other hand, had good middle class jobs but chose to rent single family homes for his whole childhood not because they couldn't afford to buy but because they didn't want to deal with having to repair a leaking roof or clean gutters. Now they're in their early 70's and still renting. If they had bought the house they rented in the 1970's, not only would they have it entirely paid off by now, but they could have sold it for $600,000 more than they paid for it, as property values have gone up that much, and they'd be sitting on a nest egg of more than a half million dollars. Instead, they are still just living month to month.
That's why we opt to own a home.
Own.
I tweeted: https://twitter.com/RichardsonJesse/status/230376631041159169
We own our home. In one year from today, it will be COMPLETELY ours!
If you or a loved one has a gluten intolerance, I would watch out for yeast ingredients, which contribute to candida overgrowth in the gut. While yeast dies as bread bakes, it still lets off toxic chemicals during the baking process. I have also found that worse than sugar is malt. Not only is malt the #1 food for yeast, it has some of the toxic chemicals of yeast. And it is very prevalent in processed foods, especially white bread and crackers in the form of maltodextrin and barley malt. Vinegar is antibacterial, ie. can kill beneficial flora, yet it doesn't bother yeast. Check out "An Extraordinary Power to Heal" by Dr. Bruce Semon. He gives some great diet tips which has helped my entire family.
I own...for now. In fact, I have never rented. I've had fun as I've remodeled, mowed the lawn, wresteled with plumbing and electricity, moved buckets hither and yon to catch raindrops in the living room (while I searched the yellow pages for a roofer who was hungry for work and eager to get started on July 4th). However, I'm looking forward to cashing in my equity in the next few years (yes, there's equity) and getting to know what it's like to rent. I look forward to dialing the landlord when the heat goes on the fritz, when the shower head gets clogged, and when I'm going out of town on vacation (so he can help himself to the newspaper in my absence).
My husband and I are renters once again after owning our own home for 7 years. i have to say, we sleep better at night right now knowing that if the water heater blows (which ours did) or the house floods (which ours did, 3 times!) we aren't responsible for the bill anymore. We can focus on savings and retirement without worrying about unexpected housing repairs for the time being. Do I miss being able to decorate and paint to my heart's desire? A little bit, but we now live in a bigger space and we are perfectly happy renting. ;)
I rent. I live in chicago, and cannot afford the property taxes. :(
We own our home, same one for the past 21+ years. It is close to our extended family and is the only home our two teens have ever lived in. That said, now that they are getting older (first one going to college in a few weeks) we are looking to the time when we can sell it. Once they kids are done with school and are on their own, we will be selling and moving on, travel a bit and we don't want the responsibility of a house to hold us back at that time.
We're buying our little house so will own it someday.
We own our home. We bought it 8 1/2 years ago with 20% down and paid off the mortgage aggressively. We paid off the house in full after 6.5 years!
It's an average house in an average neighborhood in an average city. We've also had to put a lot of money in repairs, about 20% of what we paid for it. And the value has dropped by 25% according to the property assessor's office, due to the housing bust.
My philosophy is, we have to live *somewhere*. If we'd been paying rent all these years, we'd have spent over $100k on rent alone.
Squirrels are industrious, and I like to think I am too.
I don't buy plastic garbage bags because my groceries come in bags. And I live in Chicago where Lake Michigan water flows freely so I don't buy bottled water. I'm sure that Net Flix, RedBox, and cable are lovely but my local library lends me DVDs at no cost (and their "fellow-library" borrowing program helps me nab what they don't have in stock. And the company 401k is a God send. Others think I'm nutty, but I'm okay with that as I build my nest with money I've saved.
I own my home. We paid off the mortgage in 2010!
We are renting. The first place we had, we didn't have to pay rent on because one of my husband's clients (he's a lawyer) worked out a deal to let us stay there in exchange for legal service. Unfortunately, the house was foreclosed, and we had to move. The place we're renting now is OK. My husband likes that yard care and snow plowing are covered by someone else. I like that it's out in the country. He doesn't like that it's out in the country. The walls are plaster, which means there can't be anything hung on them. The one decoration we have is a plaque of a duck that is plastered onto the wall. Not my favorite. :) We're sacing money to buy a small home free and clear.