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As I get older (50s now), the more and more I agree.
There are 2 main negatives of renting: One is psychological (but that can be mitigated by realizing that we never really own our real estate - try not paying property tax, etc). The other is more practical: Neighbors.
I think thats where ownership excels is you (a) can get more distance from your neighbors, and (b) your neighbors tend to be higher quality on average (ownership fosters a public good mindset).
I had loud neighbors where I owned too. Assholes exhist everywhere. I actually had a fair bit of distance, but they liked to have fires and stay up all night drinking and partying.
We had insane neighbors with our first home. You definitely have to buy into select neighborhoods to get this advantage, which I imagine is also possible with rentals.
I love my current place, I don't imagine I'll be leaving soon. It's more of a living/shopping hybrid. I walk to the grocery store daily.
Yep thats one of the ideas that are driving me and wife to consider renting once the nest is empty. There are upscale rental development near us that has Whole Foods and anchor with 6 or so restaurants along the strip. Park + gym + etc.
Goal would be to also downsize to a single vehicle (not really for cost reasons, just less mental hassle), so that type of lifestyle is a big plus....
Do you have personal property taxes assessed on your cars?
That plus insurance make multiple cars insanely expensive.
We've always done single vehicle.
My parents constant complaints about their apartment definitely has me reluctant to rent, but I also recognize that they did a very poor job selecting the place they live.
That's awesome. If we move again, being walking distance from stuff will be a high priority.
Very true. Our starter home had sketchy neighbors (but should add that a fair amount of them of them were renting).
The one place where rental totally breaks down is for 5+ member families. Trying to find 4+ bedroom / 2+ bath that maybe also has an office that meets the other requirements are very very slim.
In those cases you are renting from an individual owner, so all those economies of scale disappear. There are no large real-estate development that caters to this demo....
In the end if you are just looking for a 2 bedroom place, then renting can often be the better deal.
(a) can get more distance from your neighbors
this (plus being able to cheaply/tax-advantaged 7x short the fiat currency) are the two major things that will ultimately push me over the edge, I'm afraid
When I retire, my ideal situation would be to own a small condo or apartment with a good HOA. I know people hate HOAs, but I'd rather pay a fee to have someone else take care of all the maintenance tasks than to do it myself.
I wouldn't mind renting either. But with renting I'm always afraid of the potential instability posed by landlords.
More power to anyone who wants to do it, but I'm not going to do it again.
it's like division of labor and comparative advantage are serious concepts!
All I know is that I hated ownership. It was a constant pain in the ass, and it wasn't my cup of tea. I honest to god hate yard work, and maintenance, and the never ending supply of headaches.
More power to anyone who wants to do it, but I'm not going to do it again.