This is a post by Sarah Greesonbach
My husband and I have rented for years and we plan to rent for a few years more. Besides the fact that we don’t know how long we’re interested in living where we are now, we aren’t in a financial place to buy. It’s hard enough keeping our savings account going strong, let alone saving ten to twenty thousand dollars for a down payment!
While I know this means we “throw away money each month” instead of “investing in a long-term asset,” this is the right solution for us right now and it is saving us money in the short term. Here’s just a few of the financial benefits of apartment living that have us happy to live where we do:
- I rarely drive. Since I work from home and our apartment is located in a mini-downtown type area, I rarely drive. Most months, I drive to church on Sundays and to a social event on Tuesdays, and that’s about it. If we were to buy a house, our price range would put us much farther from my friends and grocery stores, so I would drive a lot more. That would lead to spending more on gas, getting more frequent oil changes, and causing more wear and tear on our car. If you rent in an affordable city like Columbus, for example, and you don’t drive, you’ll be saving a ton of money.
- When things break, we’re not out $500. This is a tried and true reason to rent. When the heat goes out at 9pm, or the toilet overflows with no obvious cause, my husband and I are calling emergency maintenance for free, not plumbers or HVAC companies on overtime. Ideally if you own a house you have a savings account just for these kinds of things, but it’s been a relief to not have to fund a new microwave or dishwasher in the apartments where those items have broken.
- We don’t spend seasonal outdoor money. Home owners have all kinds of seasonal costs, from mowing and raking (and you need a lawn mower and a rake and time to do it) to salting and shoveling. In our apartment, we have covered parking for our cars and no outdoor space to maintain. This also means we don’t have to worry about seasonal decorations like Christmas lights or pumpkins (though we do get a few pumpkins for the house each year), or mulch and gravel for making the outdoors pretty in the spring and summer.
Those are just three things that come to mind immediately, but I am sure there are more. And that’s why we’re going to continue renting for a few more years until we find our forever home.
Do you rent? Do you love it? At what point are the costs that come with home ownership worth it?
There are days I definitely miss renting. Usually when something breaks. We’re now responsible for controlling the weeds in our yard. (Seriously, the city has threatened to ticket us on numerous occasions.) So many things have broken that we’re actually running out of them. But I’m sure that once we do, it’ll be time for the next round.
That said, my in-laws’ rent for the guest house covers our utilities. So that means that we’re actually paying less than what we were for the apartment. And we can control the roaches here.
That’s what I tell myself when things break anyway. Keeps me sane. Ish.
I and my wife rented for 4 years. We decided to get a house of our own when we were serious about savings and finances. So, we decided to enter in rent to own. I think every couple who is renting should consider rent to own. Possibly, this might be the best option to get a house.
I currently own a condo, which gives me a few of the benefits of apartment-living (such as outdoor maintenance and amenities like a pool) but still offers most of the benefits and drawbacks of owning. It’s a good compromise for me, but I can definitely see how renting is an ideal situation for many people.
There’s nothing wrong with renting. You have got to do what is financially best for you and your family for your current situation. Almost everyone rents for a while until they are in the right position financially and lifestyle wise to buy.
We currently rent off a family member and it is working really well. We will buy this property off them later.
I have both owned and rented. My preference is owning, but only if it is a property like the one we are in with lots of options. As in, it has a unit attached rented separately, the front half of the house is our photography studio and the house is like 2 houses pushed together, so easy to separate and rent the other half of the house if we wanted to.
Me and my partner currently live in a ‘house share’ situation whereby our friend who lives with us actually owns the house via a mortgage.
This saves us loads of money as you say in not directly paying to maintain the property!
I also currently live in a rented apartment but I don’t agree that it’s beneficial long-term to my finances. I believe that owning a house is the best investment for your future as it can generate passive income long-term once rented out. Think big 🙂