Renting Vs Buying

I built a house a few years ago, when the housing market was really bad, basically got it for less than a 30 year old house was selling that needed work.. The housing market was so inflated in the early 2000's and now people are underwater on their houses so if you got money now.. Its a great time to buy cause the market is going to improve.
Renting was nice cause someone else shoveled snow, or cut the grass and did all the maintenance but you were basically getting nothing back for your money... its more of an investment

Renting sucks....if you can take a 15 year mortgage and bust your butt to pay it off as fast as you can. Having a paid for home trumps renting easily.

Always factor in repairs as well. When you rent, someone else pays for major repairs...ie roof, floors, siding, HVAC. Though you are also at their mercy as to a timeframe and the quality of repairs.

I have always rented but recently moved in with my SO and he has been in the same house for 20 years. Last year, we put a roof on 5,000.00. The HVAC system needs to be replaced and the whole house needs updating BUT we do these things on our time and decoide what quality of work we expect and are willing to pay for.

if you like to move around a lot and you don't want to commit to the responsibility of owning a home then renting is the better option especially when you're young. When you own a home you have to spend a lot of money on updates and renovations or else you will never see a good return or your investment, buying a bad house can also turn into an endless money pitt. that being said i think paying over $1000 a month for rent is ridiculous, might as well pay mortgage.

This "rent is a waste" idea pushes people into owning at any cost. You don't own your home any more than when you rent, the bank does. I don't see rent as throwing money away, I see it as paying to live where I want and have someone else worry about the pipes bursting in winter.

Except after living in my home for 10 years, I made enormous bank when I sold it....

and I know how to turn my own water off so pipes don't burst in the winter...

A home, that is.

What are your opinions, guys? I'm undecided and always hear "renting is dead money". Any insights?

totally depends on your financial situation/family/lifestyle etc etc etc

I'm almost done with university, graduating in a couple of months, with lots of student debt and no down payment to buy an apartment with my boyfriend. My choices are either rent a place with him (then I worry about wasting money) or move in with my parents (who I don't get on with very much) to save money in order to buy.

In your situation, I would not buy YET.

Continue to "live like a student" and save your money -- you need to have a downpayment and a contingency before committing to a house.

Student loan payments kick in ~6mo after graduation, for the months before your payments start, put that amount into savings IN ADDITION TO an amount that you commit to every month. Don’t save what is left after spending; spend what is left after saving.

It really depend s on your priorities. I rented until I was 32 I am now a Home Owner and a Land Lord.

1. Do care more about free time or gaining equity

2. Do you plan on staying in the area you are now or do you want the option of being relocating.

Purchasing - I don't own my house the bank does. But I am building equity and hopefully if I have to sell me house I can get that money back less taxes, fees. In another 13 years I will own my house. Even then I don't truly own it in the sense I cant do anything I want. And If I don't pay the taxes the government can easily take it. If I wan't to build onto the house or put up a fence I have to get neighbors and towns approval. Currently my yard is being torn up by bulldozer putting in a new water line. I don't mind but I also have no real say in it. So it isn't true ownership. Any thing breaks I have to pay for it. Upkeep (painting, roof, water heater) I have to pay for it. The upside it I have equity and I get tax breaks on my rental property and my rental property will also be my retirement.

Renting - It is not throwing your money away. Your paying for a place to live and for someone else take care of the head aches. Think to your self what do I do with my weekends now. Now throw all that out of your mind and replace it with raking, lawn mowing, snow blowing, painting, plumbing there is always something that needs to be done. The only down side is your aren't building equity. but if you have a retirement plan outside of home ownership savings/401k than it doesn't matter.

^^^^ Exactly!!!

I would never rent, I feel like it's a waste of money in my opinion.

My mortgage is the same amount as renting an apartment where I live would be.

It all depends.

^^ I feel the same. Only rent if you don't intend on staying long! I've rented for 4 years in various places across the country and can't wait to setle somewhere, buy and stop throwing money down the drain.

I think it depends on a lot of factors as well. Yes, renting is just putting your money into someone else's pocket, but sometimes it is unavoidable, if you don't have the money for a down payment on a house, or can't get a mortgage for other reasons.
You also don't want to buy a house and then be house poor either, because you really can't afford to own it.

Yes, the cost of a mortgage can sometimes be the same as rent. Where I live, that is not the case - my mortgage is about $2400/month, but you can rent an apartment for around $1200/month.

If you need to save up money for a down payment, then I would suggest renting something affordable and SAVING your money. If you are going to rent for years and not save a dime towards a house, then you are foolish. Unless of course it is impossible for you to save any extra money while renting. I've been there too. But if you have extra money and don't save it, then that is where you are foolish.
The best possible situation would be to buy a house you can afford rather than renting.

I think this basically depends on a lot of factors that basically boil down to where are you at in life. Do you have a stable job and know for sure it will not require a move. Same question for your spouse/BF/SO? Do you have the money for closing and down payment or do you have a plan for assistance in that area? What is the market like in your area? Do you understand the upkeep required for purchasing your own home? Do you have the credit required to purchase a home? etc, etc.

I absolutely do not agree with the statement "Renting is for people who can't afford a down payment". A year ago My husband and I went on a search for a house. I was two or three months pregnant. We have amazing credit for people our age and also had the money for closing and the down payment. We put in offers on multiple house, and were always declined to an investor that offered half the money we did in almost every instance except for two (one was a short sale that kept dragging on and on and the other house had title issues). Finally when I got to the point where I was ready to pop and waddling to every house show, the husband and I decided to give up on the house buying for a while. There are many other reasons why people chose renting over buying such as a job that requires many moves, single parents who are not so handy mandy (my mom rents for this reason), rent is cheaper than a mortgage payment,etc.

We lucked up majorly when we found the house we are renting right now. Similar houses in our area are being rented out for 2 times, sometimes 3 times as much as what we are paying monthly. Even if we bought a house, there is no way our mortgage would be as cheap, thus proving the statement " buying is usually around the same price range as renting", is not always correct. We will most likely buy a house in the future, but right now renting what we are renting is allowing us to save more and more money than buying ever would.

Oh, and if you prefer not having to do any maintenance to your yard or property, then buy a condo or townhouse instead of renting.

As someone else mentioned, If you can live with your parents for a little while, do it.
save as much as you can. PAY OFF THE STUDENT LOANS!!!!!!!!!!

Don't buy a new car yet.
Even if you can put $500.00 a month in a savings account, do it.
$500.00 * 18 months = $9,000.00
Not a bad down payment.
Explain to your folks what you are trying to do (save for a house) and maybe they will be easier on you.

There are plenty of loan options that don't require a down payment. Especially for first time buyers.

We don't have a down payment, my best friend just bought her first house with no down payment and got the seller to replace roof, leave washer and dryer AND pay closing costs.

As someone else mentioned, If you can live with your parents for a little while, do it.
save as much as you can. PAY OFF THE STUDENT LOANS!!!!!!!!!!

Don't buy a new car yet.
Even if you can put $500.00 a month in a savings account, do it.
$500.00 * 18 months = $9,000.00
Not a bad down payment.
Explain to your folks what you are trying to do (save for a house) and maybe they will be easier on you.

$9,000 as a downpayment on what? A house? I don't know about other states, but in NJ, you have to put down 10% unless you want to pay Private Mortgage insurance (PMI) every month... so if a house costs $300k, then you need to put $30k down.

What's awesome is you guys are paying my PMI...thank you VA.

No money down, no PMI.