im surprised people on this board would think this. in a business where its hard to prove your actual income because everyone wants to pay the least amount of taxes possible, it can be hard to get a mortgage unless you have a lot of money saved up. i've rented for over 10 years now. At first it was mostly because I knew if i bought, i wouldn't be able to get out of town as easily and i didn't want to get stuck there. now banks are up everyone's ass and its way harder to get a mortgage then it was a few years ago.

i've owned 2 homes, and i'm currently renting again....

renting is much less headache, all around.

If you have a family and you need schools for your kids then you buy. But it is a losing proposition. Take 30 years mort and pay least possible. Don't pay 1 cent extra to pay off loan.

I bought house in 1990 for 300k. I put 100k into. I sold house in 1998 for 330k. WERE IN SAME PERIOD NOW.

If you bought mutual fund in 1990 and sold it in 1998. Here is fidelity magellan. Its know as 1 of the best funds.

In 1990 FMAGX was $13. In 1998 $53. Let me do some math for you. I put 20% down on that house so lets use figure of 70k.

My $70,000 I put down on House I could have bought magellan and in 1998 it would have been worth $286,000

Real estate market is in same down turn. So Im saying history says DONT BUY INVEST NOW.

farmers insurance paid for everything, I was even able to upgrade a few things because I did a lot of the work myself. Everything in the house has been replaced in the last couple years, so I don't have to worry about it. When the current renters move out, I may just use the house for vacations, it's 2 1/2 miles from Lake Shasta which has 365 miles of shoreline. Park a boat there and have parties on the lake

clever....

You people are a strange lot, always "moving". Whats up with that? None of you have a family, children anything to keep you rooted and not in la-la land?
LOL and some asswipe posted something about a house being a "toy"? LOL what a bunch of kooks.

I rent the top floor of a duplex ( 1600 sq feet, front balcony, back 200 sq terrace ) for a low rent.

I own a duplex 2 streets away, and I rent out both units ... To move in one of my unit would implicate an extra 600.00/month for no more confort ...

rent/buy depends on a lot of variables ...

I'd say in these times, renters are looking pretty smart. I rent and I am not in foreclosure nor do I own a home worth less than my mortgage. What exactly is it about home ownership that makes someone superior?

life is too short to spend 40 years in one structure, rotting.
1950 is over.

my record is 16 moves in one year. (end of 1985 - early 1987)

i've lived in 8 states and 5 countries, and have been to every state in the U.S. except Alaska (and every province in Canada) hundreds of times.

i've moved more times than i can remember. there are some addresses i will simply never recall.
the longest amount of time i've ever spent in one place is 3 years.

What a retarded thread (although Jesus H. Christ & Amp's comments are interesting, and a few others). But still, what a retarded thread.

I live in New York City. NEW YORK FUCKING CITY MAN!! A (decent) 1 BR in a (decent) neighborhood is $3000+. LOL But to BUY that same 1 BR? $750,000+. Over a mil for a 2 BR.

There are only (IMHO) TWO reasons to own a house (and I actually do own one, too, in NJ, for my family):

1. You want "stability" to raise a family/set down "roots" in a community (school, activities, etc)

2. You want to make money through time/equity.

If you don't have either of those things going on then rent, and if you work on the Internet (so you can live anywhere) then live where the rents are cheap. (I live in Manhattan but in a "turning neighborhood" where the rent is only - only - $1200 a month, and I feel lucky. LOL)

I just have a good rental agency that charges 8% and takes the headache out of it. The renters I had problems with, I handled myself, never doing that again

Rental houses around here are shit. So, if you want to live in a nice house, there's no other way than to build one yourself, or renovate an older one.

I'm pro buying. Housing prices did not fall around here the last few years, so all is still good.

Renting is for students, or elderly around here.

NYC is a different animal all together. When I lived there my 1 bedroom was $2500 a month. In the 2 years we lived in the city, I could have use all that money and paid in full for a house where I live now. Yes...there are huge city houses where I live that can be had for under $60k.

We've had the house we're in for 7 years (in Rochester, NY)and are shooting to have it paid off in less than 3 years. 2800 sq ft of living space. And about 2000 between the basement and attic. 2 kitchens. 3 bathrooms. 5 bedrooms. List price 7 years ago was probably about what someone would pay for a new Range Rover or M5.

My rental properties have mortgage payments of just over $200 and both bring in $1000 - 1200 a month in rent. Properties are cheap as shit here.

This part probably isn't legal.
http://www.discriminationiswrong.com/families.html

You got it goin' up there, my fellow New Yorker!! If I didn't have family responsibilities here I'd be out of NYC and living upstate. Tons of gorgeous property, a couple hours from the city (more the further up ya go), can probably grow your own weed there, too. LOL

Seriously, ppl who work on the Internet should live cheap cause they can. Anywhere there's a WiFi or cable connection, there ya go. Sigh. Paying $3000 for a 1 BR apartment should be illegal.

Mortgage is actually Latin for "Until death do we owe"

I think I'd rather rent, more flexibility! Nobody lives forever.

Flexibility is the key. Like you said, nobody lives forever, and I would add to that, jobs come & go, friends come & go, family structures change, lifestyles change, etc... as well. Much easier to make those transitions as a renter.

in bigger cities and for people on the move it is definitely better to rent. But if you have a family or you live in smaller city owning a house is preferred. In those places is true that people look "strange" at you if you dont have a house..especially older people..

i own a handful of houses, but i dont live in any of them, and i rent the place i'm in.
the market where I live and the market where I own the houses are completely different.
doesn't make sense to own in LA, opportunity cost is too high, even with my rent being $3k/month

If you bought 10 years ago and sold 2 years ago and are now renting you are really smart! :)

No it isn't property renters are looking for guys to have a new revenue stream. I rent flats due it's better than buying one. Cheaper. Also i am able to move on if i wish without renting it out.

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

God damn, what an idiot you are.

Renting for 20 years = money pissed down the drain.
Paying mortgage for 20 years = end up owning the house.

Depends on your area but in general renting is a waste of money... I own several and get the mortgage deductions :2 cents:

my worst fear: getting a great place then a year later some underprivileged minority who made bank in some 'entertainment area' moves in with 5 pit bulls and and an entourage of 15 loud mouthy assholes that play loud crappy music and a 'yo and argue all night'

happened to my brother.... some underprivileged immigrants got a house next to him, put fucking chickens in the back yard and now underprivileged 'young men with violent tendencies, that have been alienated by society' drink beer in the yard all night and and fuck the neighbors daughter in the parked cars...

:winkwink:

it's very easy to prove your income... tax return and photoshop and printer

shoulda, woulda, coulda...

this is 2010. you tell me where to invest my money to get 300% return in 7 years. it's all connected to risk. the more risk you take the more you make and the more you can lose. so expecting to gain that much in such a short period means you can affor to lose your 90k. do you? I am guessing not. therefore, do not tell me what you would be better off 20 years in the past. for 100 happy investing stories there's 100 unhappy ones.

I started throwing money into the funds when the crisis hit bottom. and I didn't expose myself. I made just enough to cover the losses and gain some.

and right now I'd be thrilled with about 8% annual return.

300%? well time to invest in shrilanka (this year alnoe they had 70%+ gains) or some other country I sure wouldn't stuck all my savings into. so...

maybe that's how it works in the states. monthly loan payments sure are much fucking bigger here than monthly rent costs. so your math doesn't work that way or is at least outdated.

ha, would this really work...i mean im sure banks do a bit of research before lending someone 300k.

That's fraud. You'll go to jail :2 cents: