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. 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%.
Still mortgaged, but that’s what ownership looks like in the US, mostly.
And, yeah, fuck paying someone for something they can take away with minimum warning. A home is just too fundamental a need for me. A home that someone else controls is not the same thing at all, on the level that matters in that regard.
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. Actually we bought our first house in 1998 at age 22 not because we wanted to, but because prices were rising fast and we felt that we might miss our window if we waited longer. It was severely in need of renovation, and we did just that in a few months with a lot if help from friends and family. Sold the house and bought another house in 2000, which was at that time about seventy years old and showing it’s age (basically barely inhabitable). We did some major rebuilding from 2002 until 2004, and have been improving it on and off ever since, always saving up money in between. I like it this way, we’ve got a house we could have never afforded 25 years ago, but do have the same mortgage costs we had in 2000. You have to be handy to do it this way though.
I want the capital to make the option a real choice for tge average American.
Wanted to own working towards bringing living expenses to zero. But that’s not possible so I’m happy renting. Not having to deal with any stress of maintaining a place is liberating in its own right
I am just grateful not to have to pack up my life every year and relocate to the next lease.
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.
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.
Rent. I fucking wish we owned, but finances don’t allow for it and probably won’t for at least another 5 years, if we’re lucky.
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.
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.
I’ve had solar installed on my roof for 3+ years. Best home upgrade I have made by far, IMHO. I agree that buying them or financing them is much better than leasing. Firstly, you take advantage of the tax rebate, also it’s much better when the time comes to sell the house.
I wouldn’t wait for the tech to advance though. You may lose out on the tax rebate if the current US admin deems that “woke”.
As for my experience with them, it’s been phenomenal. I basically pay $12/month between April and October. My annual electricity bill is down by about 95%.
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).
Own outright. That means pay off the mortgage. To get there I purchase at a price I can get a 15 year mortage but actually get a 30 year mortgage with the intention of paying as if its a 15. Take a few months at 30 to build up an emergency fund but once its well funded do the pay like its a 15 thing. Back off during emergencies. Im unemployed and reducing my expenses to bare bones. This means getting a place much poorer than the typical person at your income level. If you can’t afford doing this expect to be underwater during a crises.
Own. Bought a modest house (1,300sqft) after the 2007 crash. I have a lot of apartment buildings for customers and wouldn’t want to live in any of the ones I could afford. I’m waiting for Trump to wreck the economy so I can pounce again and buy a larger house so my elderly father can move in with me
