Sometimes I wish I didn't own a home....

**Palooka** · 11-19-2009, 03:56 AM

Now don't read too much into the title...it's just thoughts. I remember a time when financial gurus would say how much money you are throwing away to rent. Really? I don't think so.

I look around my house and see how much money we put into owning a home, taxes, utilities, repairs and up-keeps, etc. Sure you can itemize and all during tax time but so what...so what if I can paint my walls purple and rip up my carpet if I want.

It's just in this economy if one loses their job,(renting) the worst they get is being booted from the landlord if no rent money and no debt to worry about. If you are in the same situation owning a home...that means SOL and you owe the debt.

Being able to refinance and all is nice but how many times does that backfire? Some people are so upside down owning their homes just do to the market.

Sometimes when I read peeps finances/debts I think well at least they don't have paying mortgage to worry about...renting seems to be less bills overall so I see them digging themselves out of debt faster, I suppose.

Any thoughts. I could be completely out of my head too.

**ladykemma2** · 11-19-2009, 05:13 AM

ever since the divorce, i have had to care for this home alone. my ex used to be able to fix anything and had the tools to do so. i do not know how to fix things and have no tools.

I am at that time of year when I hate owning this lovely home. it feels like such a burden. this has happened twice now. i go through the annual resentment and then it passes.

at this time of year i get resentful at how much time it takes- cleaning, yard work, upkeep. And i start thinking that i would have a life if i didn't own this home. I research how much a luxury apartment would be - about the same as i pay for property taxes and upkeep.

i am also in "house shame" becuase the living room needs painting and it looks bad-shabby.

edited to add: the rational person in my head says - well, learn how to fix things and stop whining. the rational person inside my head says - get a roommateto help with bills and chores.

**Siebrie** · 11-19-2009, 05:20 AM

I rent at the moment, and have rented all my adult life. The present 2 bed apartment is rather pricey at € 625 + service charges € 175. The little house I rented in my hometown was € 275, no service charges, 2 beds, 2 balconies. So far, I prefer renting.

You pay a monthly amount, but if there is any major problem, you just call the landlord and he/she comes to fix it. As long as you agree with the landlord, you can make any changes to the house that you want to. In our present apartment, I would say our minimal changes have added to the value of the house.

**craftypam** · 11-19-2009, 06:19 AM

We have owned a home for 32 years and have never felt that way. I love owning my own home. This is the first time the economy has been this bad in the whole 32 years. We also have always lived beneath our means and have never just taken on a mortgage because the bank said we could afford it. Banks were so out of control letting people into mortgages they could not afford and people just accepted them instead of checking out if they could afford them. People losing their jobs is a whole different story.

And another thing. Once you pay off the mortgage you only pay taxes and mine are only $200 a month

**frugalwarrior2** · 11-19-2009, 06:20 AM

We've felt this way when the leaves rain down in droves but that was only once a year for a couple of weeks. Recently though it makes me sad that even though we will be finished w/ our mortgage in 4 years I am not thrilled. Perhaps because the value is falling faster than we are paying it off. Refinancing doesn't make sense,leaving is impossible w/o taking a total hit and alot of our good neighbors have left. The people who have replaced them are not peole I would have chosen as neighbors.
Our house is not in tip top condition and it's all very disheartening.
On the other hand-I love my backyard,having pets w/o penalty and no one is stomping on my head. When we lived in an apt. it used to freak me out that someone could walk in to my apt. whenever. I like my privacy.

**a.nonymous** · 11-19-2009, 06:47 AM

I've always lived in apartments eversince I left home. I also do not feel the urge to buy a home. Mainly because we're planning on living and working in different countries.
My wife has more of the "nest" genes, and she'd love to buy a home. However, she also knows that this is impractical, so she'll wait until we decide to settle down.
In the meantime, once we're out of debt, we'll start to save aggressively towards a downpayment (or full payment) for when that day comes.

I like the flexibility that renting offers. But even so, buying a home on a mortgage has you (hopefully) end up with something that's got considerable value. By renting (assuming I pay the same amount) I trade that for flexibility.

**Denvergirlie** · 11-19-2009, 10:35 AM

I really enjoying renting and it's SOOOOO much cheaper than owning a house. The extra money that I can save each and every month, really adds up a lot faster than any tax credit I could take for paying mortage interest, mush less taxes, maintance, etc.

I did a rental calculator, it basically told me that it would never be cheaper to buy over renting (at least considering renting the place were I currently live) http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/bu...HIC.html?_r=2#

My rent is 1/3rd of the cost that my neighbors pay in mortage (almost identical homes), plus they then have to pay for maintance as well as taxes and services like trash and water which I do not have to pay myself.
$800 in rent a month vs $2300 in mortage plus all the other costs. It's a no brainer.

However, that being said, some day I will own, but it will be totally for quality of life issues, not because of the actual cost.

Quality of life - I want to be on land and out of this city, would never choose to buy a house in the city when it's so much cheaper to rent and save money.

**Inkstain82** · 11-19-2009, 10:46 AM

My apartment consists of a small bedroom, a bathroom, and a combined kitchen/living room.

I pay $550/month in a rural area. For half that, I could get a mortgage on a small house. That money is gone and I have no assets in exchange for it. I can't wait until the day I can own a home.

I think part of the problem is that renters tend to be much pickier about how much they really need. Home-buyers tend to go for as much and as nice as they can possibly afford, which can lead to problems. That, and of course the fact that many people got stuck buying at the top of a huge bubble.

**Greebo** · 11-19-2009, 11:00 AM

Location makes a huge difference. We own rentals in an area where a SFR will rent for $900 or so a month, but the mortgage is only $750.

**Radish4ever** · 11-19-2009, 04:01 PM

I am feeling this way. I also feel "stuck" if we want to move. My goal is for us to move in 2 years once our debt is paid off....but I look around at homes in my neighbornhood that have been on the market for MONTHS AND MONTHS and I think...oh crap, what if we're STUCK here!? We couldn't afford (or WANT to afford) payingon our mortgage AND on another home at the same time...

We are NOT handy, our house needs some repairs and upkeep and we don't have the money for that because of our other debt right now that we're being agressive with paying off.... We have a 15 year mortgage and it's 1/5 paid off right now and I so don't want to live here long enough to see it paid off through monthly payments... I want to move in no more than 3 years and I can't help but wondering what's going to happen if no one buys because it's a fixer upper, you know?

UGHHHHHHHH

I can't wait until we DO move. DH and I both agreed that we'll rent instead of buy for at least a few years. Next time we know more of what we'll want in a home (this is our first). We want a bigger kitchen, bigger bedrooms, and don't really care so much about having so many square feet (because of the setup of this house, we aren't using about 1/3 of our home as much as we could if it were laid out more traditionally...)

Blah sorry to whine

**BertineC** · 11-19-2009, 04:28 PM

We are currently renters- I used to get upset over the thought of seemingly everyone but myself buying a home but Im over that now. I really like the flexibility of renting and after this last year and all the economic uncertainty, I dont mind having that premium for renting over buying. My brother just bought earlier in the year and now they want to move back to the state Im in. Well.... now they are kinda stuck because even though they bought a short sale, they are also in NV. They have been lucky jobwise so far, but if his job goes, I dont know what else he would do there.

I wonder if Ill ever find somewhere appealing enough where I want to stay long term, but having grown up with a number of extremely long distance moves (3000 miles +) Im not one to be deeply rooted.

I think it helps the renting proposition if you find a good lessor. My current one is wonderful- ive had the same rent for the last three years, they are stable, everything is fixed on time and the place is in fantastic shape (an old 1920s one up one down house) and our upstairs neighbor is the lessors mother in law (so i know shes not having loud parties!). We could never afford to buy in this neighborhood (or pay the $6-$8K in property taxes!) so this is a good compromise especially as we never intended to stay in this town longer than 4 years.

**Denvergirlie** · 11-19-2009, 05:55 PM

I just read this article, and thought it was timely in reference to this thread.

5 myths about home sweet homeownership
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...ef=patrick.net

**kcsmom76** · 11-19-2009, 06:56 PM

I am so glad I am not the only one feeling this way.

I keep telling dh we would be better off to sell this house and rent. There is sooo much to do to this house and we don't have the money to put into it. We have a 30 year mortgage and are only almost 9 years into it, even though we have lived here almost 13 years. We refinanced to add in our HELOC and it has been Heck ever since. We had to file BK due to dh losing his manufacturing job to China and then a month ago he stood up and his knee gave out. He has been on short term disability and will NOT be able to return to his good paying job. Our area is hit hard with job layoffs and losses and I am scared to death we are going to lose all the money we have paid in on it for almost 13 years.

I have been telling my kids that the "American Dream" is just that, a dream, now it costs so much to own a home and then all the other things you have to pay for, you just can't make it like you used to.

**frugalfranny** · 11-19-2009, 07:11 PM

Palooka, a couple friends of mine are feeling the same way you do right now. I would say it is sort of a 'sign of the times'. I am betting that if their house value was increasing at even 7% a year; they wouldn't be feeling that way.

The economy hasn't been this bad since I owned so maybe we will be seeing a change in the 'dream' of home ownership.

**fixer** · 11-19-2009, 07:42 PM

We have done a disservice to many people by telling them renting was just throwing your money away. Rent provides shelter just as a mortgage payment does. Many people would be better off renting. The American dream should be just being secure in where you are not owning a home.