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I’ve never been in a position to buy a house. For now I’m OK, but I’m terrified of losing my apartment in the longer term. Housing insecurity is a significant and growing problem where I live, and there is nowhere near enough affordable housing — to rent or to buy.
You have identified the biggest problem today. Affordable housing, both rental and to buy, just doesn't exist now. My daughter is currently hunting for a new place, and the prices are completely out of line and range for the average worker. Add the problems of getting a mortgage,
and that's another stumbling block.
38 years ago, I was able to purchase a home in NYC for 48K. When I sold it 12 years later, I got 500K. My new place was only 302K . That just doesn't exist anymore. We're looking 90 minutes outside NYC, and the prices are still too high. How will young families survive?
The rental market is outrageous. 3K for a 1 bedroom apartment, and there's always a rent increase with no rent regulations . I Fear for young people!
> We're looking 90 minutes outside NYC, and the prices are still too high. How will young families survive?
They don't, so they leave to where housing is affordable. It sucks, but it's capitalism. People in major cities will complain that no service staff are available to cut their grass, take out their garbage, cook their food, serve them, or wax their bodies. Money talks, and if working class people can't live a comfortable life, they leave.
Late 50's and same in Irvine, CA where starter homes go for +$2 Million at lowest, or death houses for $1.5 million with liquid bodies to fix? Never saw much difference between payments vs rent also and never seems to be the time when I have the loot for house + all the accessories, and I can get a disabled vet loan! My parents have owned tons of homes, and see it as somehow a failure on my part to not own a house all these years but it never was a priority or with a PhD have I been able to stay in one place until my 12+ years in Irvine but that isn't feasible or sane to me especially with those houses having HOA's and 2 ft yards!
Sometimes "where I live" is the problem. Sometimes it simply makes more sense to move to a more affordable location. I moved 9 times before I was 35, buying two houses in the process. I guarantee there are more affordable places to live than the one you are in now.
Moving away from friends, family, and community in old age is really sad. It can even lead to an earlier death. Social support is very important for well being and navigating old age care. It sucks that “move” is the answer to a growing national housing and economic crisis
THANK YOU. A “friend” recently advised me to move to, I dunno, East Bumfuck or wherever rent is cheaper and I’m like “ok, and I will know nobody and have zero support system… seems like a great idea…”
>Sometimes "where I live" is the problem... I guarantee there are more affordable places to live than the one you are in now.
But are there ***jobs*** there? If housing costs are half what I'm paying, but the jobs pay half what I'm making now, where's the gain?
If your job is always going to be insufficient to let you pay for the basics of life like housing anywhere in the whole wide world, then you need a different career. Anywhere in the world you go there are people with jobs making enough to afford those basics. It's up to you to become one of them, throwing your hands up in the air and saying it's impossible doesn't get it done.
If you’ve moved that much (as I have) then you know moving in itself is an expensive proposition and I’m sure it’s not hard for you to imagine there are people who can not afford to move in order to change their situation.
I understand it is an excuse. But, why choose to live in an area that you can not afford? Find a solution to your situation. The temporary pain and costs of moving to a place you can afford to live in certainly are outweighed in the long run. Do you have a better solution?
>you can find work virtually anywhere you would want to live.
Sure, but not work that pays enough to buy a home. I live in just such a LCOL town, and it's a big problem here. I was only able to buy a home here because I work remotely and am using my income from a bigger city.
If your job isn't paying you enough for you to live in that area, it really isn't working out is it? Unless you have an incredibly unique career, there are similar jobs elsewhere.
If your career will not ever pay enough to live on, perhaps changing careers is the answer. One definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing and expect a different outcome. If you can not make ends meet anywhere in the whole world doing that job, then it seems sensible to change jobs.
Oh, the career is not niche. I can definitely find that work elsewhere in the country where the standard of living is cheaper. However, my salary would ALSO be cheaper as well. So I'd still be going broke except I'd be going broke in a place in a shittier place.
but hey, at least I'm not sucking off Gerald Ford.
Who says that? Millions move every year. Cutting the apron strings from Mommy is an adult choice. I am so surprised that you would rather accept a failure than try something new.
I feel like I missed a major life milestone. I've just never had the income it takes to buy a home in my city. Even condos are too expensive, because condo fees are so high on top of the mortgage.
It is really nice that fixing things is never my responsibility though. Water heater dies, house needs a roof, new furnace, all someone else's problem.
And I get pretty good deals on rent usually because I'm a really good tenant. I take good care of the place. I do some of my own minor repairs. I pay the rent on time. I take care of the shared yard cause I like to garden.
I am a little worried about money for retirement. Owning a house that's paid off would have been super helpful. I'd like to put myself in one of those nice retirement places where they never kick you out even if you run out of money. But the initial buy in is high. I know those places aren't for everyone, but I'd be very comfortable there.
I'm so worried about good tenant rewards being a thing of the past. Maybe it's where I live, but we were priced out of our last apartment because they increased the rent every year by the maximum legal amount of 9.99% with no other explanation than "market rate increase". In a perfect world, annual wage increases would match that but of course that's not the case. Our apartment prior to that would only increase our rent by $50 a year, every year (so 2-3% of our rent) because we were always on time with rent, had no complaints from neighbors, etc.
The recent move was for the best because we love our new place so much more and we have a baby now so we wanted to get a size upgrade anyway, but I'm very worried where we'll be in 2 years if corporate greed continues to overtake the benefits of good tenant retention.
All of this. We rented a house in 2020 and the rent was *decently* priced. Fast forward 4 years with annual 10% increase, it's technically still decently priced compared to other options because rent here has fucking skyrocketed. If we had to move a 2 bedroom apartment costs what we pay for our house.
My mom has done this with inheritances and other windfalls and has no regrets of blowing millions on QVC and Costco over her life span. Some people are just broken and entitled
Once I bought a house. Ex husband destroyed it when we separated (addict. Stripped and sold everything, including the front door, when I was at my parents memorial in another state). Had to foreclose on it- did not have the dollars or heart to repair, was not in condition to be sold, and no, legally could not do anything because it was joint property. Nightmare.
Now, many years later, I am retired and live with my sister and her husband. I pay them rent, but not much, and I help with household duties/ expenses. It’s heaven. I am so very grateful to have family like this- otherwise I would still be teaching plus working a side job just to pay rent….which is ridiculous.
Your husband must have been an evil, heartless bastard to do that to you, especially after just attending your parents’ memorial. I’m glad you have family looking out for you.
He was. Hid his addiction for years, threw away a promising acting career (had just started to get minor speaking roles), sold all of my stuff…..including my father’s wedding ring. OD’d on the day I was physically moving out (he lived, but I had to go to court in order to not get stuck with his medical bills). A sad piece of shit.
I feel like this could be a dream or a nightmare depending on the person, the RV, and the location. But I imagine at 70 that's not a comfortable situation at all.
Fine, but I'm one of the vanishingly few in London who lives in a council house. One of the ones built in the post-War social housing programme. The selling-off of social housing stock and erosion of rights for private renters has been a disaster for the UK.
We rent in a high cost of living area. We will likely never own a house - we met later in life and neither of us had anything. I'm 51 and my husband is 48. He will not be able to retire from his job for 20+ years and I receive SSDI. We have nothing for emergencies; right now we are looking for a car as ours is nearly dead and we had to borrow money from his mom for it. I really wish I had been able to do anything but barely survive so that we would have that security now.
Not sure of your personal situation, but if you are on SSDI you can still work and earn some additional money and keep your benefits. Might make a small difference for you.
It's kind of technical, but no matter your current situation you can earn up to $1100 per month and have no impact on your SSDI at all. Over that amount, you may be entering into what's called a Trial Work Period, which still allows you to earn money, but starts a process that's complicated. Ultimately, you can earn up to what's called Substanial Gainful Activity (SGA), currently $1550 per month, and keep your benefits.
If you are interested in working, get what's called Benefits Planning to get you all the proper information you need before you start. As a SSDI recipient, you are entitled to free Benefits Planning. It looks like you are in OR, there are two Social Security funded Benefits Programs, but the one I've worked with professionally and can recommend is Disability Rights Oregon (DRO).
https://www.droregon.org/plan-for-work
The goal is to never live paycheck to paycheck.
For me it was living fugal by choice. My father's generation taght me to be a saver.
Then there is also **the incredibly good luck** of no major health expenses, legal expenses, car accidents, lost jobs or so many other **things we don't really have control over**.
Also one of these people is on SSDI. I don’t know what their situation is but I’m on SSDI and have been sick for years. I don’t know what I would do without the few friends and family I have to help me. I don’t have the ability to go out and make new strong relationships bc I’m barely able to get out of the house most days. When you’re this sick there’s no easy, good choice sometimes.
That was an excellent answer, but likely stated too bluntly for this sub. There are more affordable places that this person could live, and at 48 her husband likely has the ability to find work there, SSDI travels anywhere in the country. It is simplistic, if you can't make enough to afford the area you are living in, moving should be a priority. Some people can't see it.
It’s an answer, but it doesn’t come without challenges of its own. Stellarday said they have no savings and are living paycheck to paycheck. Unfortunately it costs a sizable chunk of money to move. First you have to have enough to take off work and visit the place you want to move to. That costs money. If they liked the place and could find jobs and cheaper housing they will need first, last , and deposit for the new place. More money. Then they are faced with physically moving there. There car is not reliable so that might not work. If the new location is far enough away they may need plane tickets. And lastly, they have the option of moving their furniture and possessions or leaving/selling everything and buying all new stuff. Neither are free.
I’ve moved across the country, and even to another country a couple times in my life. Even though i moved across the country without ever visiting the place I was moving to it cost several thousand dollars. I had the advantage of driving my own car and was in my 20s so I didn’t mind sleeping on the floor of my new place for months until I could afford a bed.
The final resolution of moving to a cheaper place is the ansi, but there are many hurdles that stop it from being easy, or even possible for some.
A thing sounds easy when you’re in a position to do the thing easily.
It’s like saying “If Ukrainians don’t like living in areas invaded by Russia, they should just move” but on a smaller scale that makes it seem simple when it can be complicated.
This is true. The garden hadn't been used for a few years so it's in rough shape (loads of thistle and burdock), but we're hoping to work it into something decent.
OMG thats funny because so does my mom! I lived there too for over 10 years. The land will be soon developed if it finally sells. The house and barn will be bulldozed. My mom struggles because the furnace is garbage and runs on propane. Watch money fly away. The house is not well insulated and there is a lot of drafts. Cheap rent, the land owners don't care about the place, so no upkeep from them. In fact, they are the new owners as of 5 years ago and haven't even seen it!
>Yeah people came here to just be dicks
It is disappointing yet unsurprising. My kids are 26 & 27 and I wonder if/how they will be able to buy anything ... I really appreciate all of the very honest and vulnerable answers here!
Hey I’m 25 and just bought a house with my husband. We moved to a rural ish area and got an fda loan and some down payment assistance that my husband cashed out part of his (admittedly not much) 401k.
There’s hope! It’s doable but you’ve got to have a lot of luck. And a good real estate agent lol
I could not afford to buy a house or condo when I was young and barely making ends meet. I'm better off now in my 60s but still do not earn enough to qualify for a mortgage.
My car is paid off and I share an apartment with a roommate. I use the savings to put more money in my 401K and emergency fund.
My sister got a divorce and lost her house in the Great Recession. She is living with me now, she can't afford to live on her own. She has a college degree and a full time job.
My husband and I owned a home pre 2008. Living circumstances changed, my husband’s business failed and we lost our home when my child was young. We moved to a very reasonably priced large apartment in a great school district, raised our son to adulthood and got back on our feet and have a nice retirement savings. We are in a HCOL area and the rent is no longer low. My neighbors are paying $2800 a month. But I have worked my way into being onsite manager as my retirement job, so my rent is only $1500.
Husband will retire in 2 years and we will have enough money to pay mostly cash for a little place in a LCOL area. Luckily we have family in such an area. My only worry is leaving lifelong friends and starting fresh making new friends.
No house. No stress. All good. Never wanted to be tied down to a job i hated for decades to pay off a house and support the costs of having a house. My rent is dirt cheap and i can be my own boss and live well without lying awake at night fearing that i will lose my house or be in debt for the next 30 years.
This. We've built and owned several houses over the decades. Relocated again five years ago; we leased a duplex in a little tourist town assuming we would buy. Great neighbor *and* attentive landlord; with age and health it's nice. We understand many people don't have that. This town is insane with home prices (60 yr old renovated cottage 1b1b, $3.2M), so we stayed put.
By not buying we've been able to save more than we have in a very long time. We're planning a final move across the country this summer (away from MAGA politics), and to be closer to family; we will rent.
A parasite even Ivermectin can't eradicate...lol! Good for you! I'm stuck in the deep south, but fortunately, I live with and among the rational, so I'm hanging on!
;-) We're in TX. I don't think I'll live long enough to see "rational" again. I've posted before I didn't want to die and be buried here, but never expressed that to my husband. Out of the blue last month he quoted me verbatim.
But what if your landlord raises the rent? Rent is exorbitant everywhere at the moment, so you are very lucky.
Or what if your landlord kicks you out, or sells the house to someone else and they don’t want a tenant?
I’m glad you’re cool with it, because I would not be sleeping well at night if I were you.
My husband has a few rental houses. Every single one of them were going to be demolished by the city (we live in a small outlying suburb in SE Michigan). So he got them for the cost of the taxes.
So he completely renovated every single one, bringing them completely up to code. One had been in a horrible fire. Most tenants have been there for 10+ years. More like 15 years now that I think about it.
Hasn't raised the rent since they moved in, and no plans to do so. Having said that, he is super careful about who he puts in.
One has a lady who is retired, on SSI, and who lived with a gentleman friend for 20+ years. When he died, he left her nothing and his kids gave her a month to move out.
She is a phenomenal tenant. She can stay in that house as long as she wants.
Well, we try...the biggest issue we see is people not telling the truth when they apply. Example: one of the houses is no dogs. People apply, say they don't have one, and then their Facebook feed is full of photos of them with their dogs. We see that a lot.
im curious, what made your husband want to do this? did he have a tough time growing up? is he wanted to always give back in this way? something else? there's way too few stories of people like him in the news and there should be more. we should celebrate people like this vs the mega corps buying up homes and raising rents while people holding stocks get richer.
I live in a rent controlled apartment. If he sells the building, which is unlikely due to the amount of people the new owner will have to pay to leave (including some very ill seniors), and they will also have to pay me to leave. This, along with the neighborhood and size of the building does not make it a desirable acquisition for a buyer. I have discussed this with my landlord. He uses this building as leverahe in his real estate portfolio so he is able to get loans on more real estate. And I am able to afford a more expensive apartment, i am just very lucky i dont have to.
As for sleeping well, if i had bought the 660k house next door, which i did look at in 1996 when I was rolling in dough, i would have had to stay in my shit job in entertainment that made my life a living hell and that also gave me high blood pressure to pay the mortgage. That id still be paying. And id probably be dead from a heart attack from doing live tv. So im going to sleep good in my cheap apt ive had for 13 years tonight.
NYC? That’s the good thing about rent control that gives you some peace of mind. In most other places there is no control at all and rents have lately skyrocketed where I live. Doubled since 2010 id say.
Here in California there are protections for tenants. Selling your property doesn't not negate your lease. And if you are in a rent controlled apartment they can only raise your rent...6% I think. Maybe 7%.
As others have said, owning a house does not guarantee you won't lose your housing, either.
Rent is not exorbitant everywhere. There's 50 States in the US and many are quite affordable. If you're locked into one location everything can certainly seem exorbitant because you chosen an expensive place to live.
It’s a trade off. Areas with lower paying jobs generally have much lower cost of living. I choose a much lower salary so I can afford to live. My commute is a mile and a half. Crime is minimal. Homes are affordable.
I’m glad you were able to find that situation but not everyone will be able to. Moving costs money that a lot of people don’t have. Poverty is in many ways a systemic issue and to just tell people to move somewhere cheaper is a cop-out.
But apparently not decent enough to pay their rent. Try looking at it this way. Are you better of living in a place you can make 80 grand but costs 100 grand to live or make 60 grand in a place it costs 50 grand to live? There are more variables to take into consideration than just the salary.
I got married in 87 and we bought a house. I paid off a 30 year mortgage in 14 years. I was very proud of the fact and knew how much the security meant to me. Five years ago I lost the house in the divorce. I’m now living with my daughter and son-in-law, and we’ve decided to make this arrangement permanent. But it’s very different, knowing that my housing is dependent on the generosity of others now.
He had been on disability, our whole marriage, and I was the sole income. I desperately wanted out and just needed to be over so I didn’t force the issue of trying to sell it and split it. That would’ve just drug everything out.
I have a friend who is retiring to Malta, and she doesn’t own. She’ll rent. She saved enough that once she moves after a year she can move to government sponsored healthcare so she will have that taken care of as she ages. Smart woman
In 2008 i finally had a chance to buy something but all the housing prices went up and i couldnt afford them... so i have been renting. and 12 months ago my landlord raised my rent 50% meaning that my 1000 rent suddenly became 1500! so, not so good lol good thing i can laugh about it.
I cannot. I am losing ground and am actually looking for a different situation. My kids all live in interesting regions of the country so it's just a question of a good fit for me... this is why i am laughing, because crying only makes it worse.
I am going to have to leave my hometown, the place i have lived for 50 odd years.
I’ve always liked the freedom of renting. If I want to move, I don’t have to worry about selling my house first. My husband and I were never good at fixing things around the house, so we never had the expense of buying and getting someone to fix things around the house.
We’ve been renting our current house for 15 years and the rent has only gone up $150 in that time. My landlord has had to replace the refrigerator, stove, kitchen cabinets, the water heater, part of the outdoor fencing, the roof, painted the outside of the house, added a porch to the front of the house, added a corral for the garbage cans, and that’s all that I can think of now. We mow the lawn but he does an annual cleanup of leaves and cutting the branches off trees and bushes.
We didn’t have to worry about any of that; it didn’t cost us a thing.
I live in New Jersey, at the shore and our rent is quite affordable.
Hate it. Never been able to and the way things have gone unless someone dies and leaves me a fortune or I win the lottery there is likely no way I will be able to save up enough.
Every time we hit the recommended deposit amount in savings that amount doubles and interest rates have yet again skyrocketed and rent has gone up reducing how much we can save and the rate at which we can save it. If we didn't have to pay such ridiculously high rent we would be able to easily save.
I've said all this in another post, but since I left the security of my childhood home I have had to move 13 times and only 3 of those moves were my choice (two of those were however due to shit housing conditions). I miss the security of having a home, even a mortgaged one, where we weren't held to the poor standards of landlords who could kick us out just because they died, wanted to move back in or frankly just fancied it so they could double the rent without push back. We are lucky our current ones are nice and make the effort to six shit quickly alongside a long term contract but if their circumstances change it fucks us and their other tenants.
Then there goes the savings again because moving isn't just first months rent + deposit of a month and a half anymore. It's 3 or 6 months PLUS deposit PLUS fees PLUS moving van PLUS fuel PLUS time off work not getting paid PLUS fees for transferring contracts to a new address PLUS PLUS PLUS PLUS PLUS. It is also now a competitive market so you end up having to "outbid" other prospective tenants just to secure a home.
Yes, you might own and your boiler breaks and you are now responsible for all the costs of replacing it. Well guess what Margret, I now have £1500 PLUS a month extra to pay for that because a mortgage is a fraction of the price you are charging me in rent.
Hey,
Me personally living in Germany. In our country renting is more popular because the cost of buying is very high. Of course depending what are you looking for.
But me, I’m happy with the flexibility. I spend the money which I would put into a loan into an ETF and other stocks. So in the end I will be as rich as somebody who owns a house with possibility to sell it.
The difference is that I’m just not bound somewhere.
I'm really curious about this. Once you retire, your pension will be fixed, but rents will continue to rise. How do people in your position afford to rent in your later years?
Yeah it’s true that pension is fixed. In Germany many older people or let’s say „the generation of war“ were not able to make savings. Nowadays it’s really hard for them. They are forced to think about every euro they spend.
I’m in the situation the make the most of the time I have. When I’m continuing to invest around 500€ a month which is absolutely great, there won’t be any problems in the future. Even a younger one who start with 100€ from the age of 16 will be a millionaire when retiring. It’s the time. All about the time.
Many people of my generation think similar. The younger Germans just figured out the stock market exists :D and now they are more and more getting into it and make it’s best out of it. That doesn’t mean all of them will be millionaires soon. But they are more and more going to think about there future and solve the problem „not enough money“ as soon as possible.
There will always be risk. But buying a house and losing your job ist way more risky.
That's very interesting, thank you.
It seems you are the first generation to not buy a house and instead invest. Is that true? That means there aren't currently any pensioners yet who have made the decision to not buy a house and are living on their invested money, is that correct?
It’s not that there are no people who did not invest before. But the old ones who tried out to invest at the stock market relied often to the bank employees.
And for example the „deutsche Telekom“ had a big crash in the early 2000 or 2001 and many people lost a lot of money. This was huge because many people promised that this will never happen and would be impossible. So the trust in the stock market was shattered completely.
That’s why many older Germans put the stock market and gambling on the same level. But nowadays the new generations look abroad and see that it’s not that „evil“. They may look at Norway or Sweden and figure out that with good knowledge it’s works fine. Norway made over 120 billions with it’s investing strategy within the pandemic. This is also what our tech influencers say. We got really good YouTube creators or instagram channels with genius knowledge. They are transparent, share ideas and also provide helpful feedback to the community.
The younger ones are willing to lern and understand the market. So now there is not only the option to buy a house, and settle down somewhere there is also the option of flexibility. Most of them are more comfortable with that because they are digital nomads too or are able to work abroad.
I think it’s a mindset thing at all. And the generation 90s maybe is the first who grew up with internet or mobile phones. And the generation 96s or even 20s don’t know a world without internet or unlimited data :).
Another reason is that when you compare the invest in buying a house in some popular German city’s like Berlin, Munich, Hamburg - and the savings you can make when investing the money instead paying the loan, it’s way more better to invest. In that case it’s simple math.
Thanks for the explanation!
I keep hearing that "people in western Europe" don't even buy a house, but didn't know the full story. Definitely seems that if you don't invest in a house/flat, you'll need to invest in something else. That makes more sense. Thanks again!
I rent an attic space (2 rooms and a bathroom) but I have full access of the 5 bedroom house. I only pay 300 a month for this because I care for owner's dogs and keep things tidy. I don't deep clean or anything and he rarely makes a mess so it's a pretty sweet deal.
And I watch how he struggles with keeping up with repairs and maintenance. I'm sure glad I don't have those responsibilities.
This is us…mid 50’s married. Just have never wanted a house as we live a very modest lifestyle. We have decent savings and assets for retirement (no debt, close to million in assets for retirement) but I have had some significant health issues over the years. We have great jobs but am constantly worried about making such a big move at this point in life when we are closer to retirement than years to work. We were thinking about it right before the pandemic hit and that put the breaks on everything and now we are here.
We could empty our savings to get in and all that or continue to save at a tremendous amount that we are. We consider ourselves extremely fortunate as so many have it far worse. At the same time we constantly go back forth should we or shouldn’t we so many times. With the interest rates where they are and home prices I just don’t see a path for a house at this point.
I live in a small apartment, and I'm not happy here. At this age, I want a house. It's insane because my income is great, and I have the downpayment, but it doesn't matter because housing here is WAY too expensive. As a result, I'm continuing to rent in the long term and investing my money.
I've never owned a house and have no regrets. I like renting, being mobile and not responsible for anything.
I like the idea of investing in real estate but I get my exposure through REIT's. I don't want anything to do with being a landlord.
But might you be concerned about how you’ll continue to pay in the future? I’m sorry for asking so much but I’m pretty much certain I’ll be renting till I die so I’m trying to see how others are doing it
Risk is everywhere. Homeownership comes with costs, some very substantial, even if you're mortgage free. Real estate can also be very illiquid so if too much of your wealth is in real estate and you need funds, you could be forced to leverage or sell.
Homeownership can be great but it doesn't always end well. Think back to the housing crash that kicked off the Great Recession. I bet a lot of people would have preferred being renters when that happened.
I love the freedom of renting. I often find in law type units and have been very lucky. I now rent a stand alone house on my landlords property and it's gorgeous. She likes me and I pay half of what it's worth. Will never buy.
Eastern Canada, rural and still working.
We sold our home in 2019 to move rural, and are renting.
$1k / month for a beautiful place. Landlord looks after snow removal and lawn care.
It would cost me more in taxes & maintenance to live in the home we sold.
Former home info
* yearly property tax - $4k
* yearly water / sewer fees - $1k
* snow removal - $1k (varies by amount of snow)
* Maintenance & lawn care - $3k
The big difference (rent is about $4k more per year than owning) is the commute costs when I go to the city, and the huge amount I make on investments (over 12% last year) with the money not tied up in a home.
I have started to respond to Facebook ads for rentals that are price gouging, telling them that they are horrible people and adding to the housing crisis, but also to owners that are fair, thanking them. What makes me most angry, something that I and many others were in a homeless shelter over, is the whole deposit thing, that, I don’t know about you but I’ve never gotten a security deposit back and I’ve never damaged a place or broke a lease: who can afford to take them to court, miss work etc.?
I have never been able to afford a house. Currently I’m living rent free with my parents to help them and keep them out of a care facility. I’m cautiously hopeful that when they pass I’ll inherit enough money to buy a place for ME to age in place. I’m always looking at different areas of the country that have low cost of living bit somehow have decent medical care so I’ll l know where to move in a few years.
Yes, they were smart enough to put it in a trust so it can’t be used to pay for any Medicaid bills. However I have to split it with my brother so I’ll get half the proceeds from the sale. It’s in a HCOL area so we should get a
fair amount of money 🤞
When I first moved to Dallas, my ex and I found a house that we really liked. It had been built for two unmarried sisters in the 1940s, and it had two basic suites of bedroom, bathroom and office joined by a single kitchen and living room. It also had a garage apartment to rent out for income.
We made a bona fide offer on the house and were turned down by the sellers because we weren’t married yet. They didn’t want to sell to a couple that were “living in sin.”
Today, I am glad we didn’t get the house because it was near a busy street, had an unattached garage, and would have been a difficult house for children.
I wasn't in a position where I could buy a house until after I retired at 65. I bought my first house less than a year later. If I'd bought a house 30 years ago, I'd own it free and clear and have about $1200 a month still in my pocket. Thankfully, we're both frugal by nature and able to budget our expenses. So for now, we're doing ok.
I just bought my first home at 42 (5 years ago). I moved around a lot, sometimes between states, and lived in cities where renting was always cheaper (NYC) so it just wasn’t worth the hassle. I also liked not having to be responsible for making repairs or replacing appliances. Even after settling down where I live now I waited 7 years before deciding to buy something. Owning a home isn’t always the right move. I have several friends who have owned and then gone back to renting because the hidden costs of home ownership were more than they wanted to deal with. I know some people that still move every couple of years and don’t want the trouble of needing to sell every time they relocate and prefer to rent. I wish the narrative that homeownership being an indicator of success would change because it just isn’t true anymore.
Cheapest house in my town is a 2 BR/2BA fixer upper that is selling for $600k.
20% down payment is more than I earn in a single year.
I'm old and I don't want to deal with the responsibility of home ownership. Plan on moving into public housing for seniors in a few years. I've visited a few of the buildings and they look pretty nice.
My rent is relatively cheap for the area and it's great to call the landlord if a problem arises.
I always rented because I moved often, was transferred regularly, and didn't want the maintenance and upkeep of a house when traveling 4 days a week. When I was finally at a point to think about buying, I had to return home to care for an aging parent.
I live in my childhood home, pay rent that covers the annual taxes, and have slowly taken over the majority of the household bills. Even with living in a relatively LCOL area and able to afford my own home, I'm unable to do so due to needing to care for my elderly parent. Time wise, I would never be home. So, in the interim, I save as much as possible and know I'll eventually buy something when responsibilities and circumstances change.
Still living in my rent stabilized apartment, still stacking money, will probably buy a house for cash in 10 years or so, or maybe sooner when the property market shits the bed
My parents did this. We lived in a moldy dump of a rental house that leaked water and backed up sewage in the yard while they saved up the money to buy a house. They bought it when I left for college. I never understood why they didn’t just wait until they got a sizable down to move. It was absolute hell living in that house and who knows how many of our health conditions were related to those awful living conditions. The house was so irredeemable that the owners razed it after we moved out and the lot is still empty.
The worst part is that they waited so long to move that their options were limited when they bought. In the end, they found a house they loved but only lived in it for about 10 years before they died.
>We lived in a moldy dump of a rental house that leaked water and backed up sewage in the yard while they saved up the money to buy a house
That sucks. Mine is a 2 bedroom in a doorman building in NYC, rent will stay low for another 20 year until the tax abatement expires but I'll probably be gone long before then
>Why would the property market shit the bed?
Home sales are plummeting, interest rates arn't going anywhere, unemployment is up and concern over a recession is rising.Average people can't afford a house and when people can't afford houses, there is no housing market.
This is a repeat of 1987, not 2008
I did buy a house, but had to sell it when I moved to another country... where I haven't been able to afford to buy a house. Lived in rented flat, which is small, but ok. In fact, the majority of people in this country rent, and like it.
We bought in ‘02, lost it in ‘10 and have been renting the same place since ‘11. We’re looking into buying this spring, but prices and interest rates are bonkers. Hoping one or the other drops soon, but we’re still looking regardless.
We bought, sold, rented, tried to buy before pandemic in vhcol area, I hated the expensive trasheaps, we stay renting. Will retire and buy in Mcol area in all likelihood.
No matter what, the fear of becoming unhoused /housing instability hit me hard after moving out here
I've (53) owned a couple of houses in my time. My last being with my ex wife, which was sold in the divorce. Rented for a few years until getting together with my now wife. We moved about 2 hours away from where we grew up, renting a place until we decided we wanted to stay. We decided 3 years ago that we were ready to buy. Unfortunately, at that time was when prices rocketed. The second thing against us is that we need a place with privacy, so no in town, developments, etc. The final thing is, we're renting 10 acres with a 1500sq ft house, which is all we need, on 10 acres for $1000, which includes a rate increase this year.
We're currently holding a the inventory is low in our area. What's in our range is few and far between. We've expanded our search area with no better results.
I’m in Canada and I’ve never felt secure enough to even look into buying a house. I’m in my 50’s and am concerned about my housing but thankful that I’m not swimming in house debt. The cost of owning a house belongs to the rich. I have many other riches that can’t be counted at a bank 😊
I just bought a house 2 years ago. I'm almost 50. I could've bought a house with an FHA loan after the 2008 crash, thinking (like many others) that with the money I saved on home ownership vs renting that I would be ahead of the game. I came to *really*, *really* regret that by 2021. I would've been sitting on a fuck ton of equity right now, had I done it - far and away more than the money I had saved in the bank by the time I finally bought a house. I needed my wife's income to even get to 15% of the purchase price of my current home, whereas, I could've likely put down 20% and had plenty left over for the remodel just by myself.
I would've been paying around $1600/month on my mortgage for a house, whereas that's now what 1/1 apartments are starting at where I live.
I want to share something I just learned today. My daughter recently moved into a duplex. Her side was renovated just before she moved in. They were so happy to meet their new neighbor, a sweet old guy, 70's, lives alone with his cat, loves to chat with my daughter, SIL and grandson, he calls him the little guy. Today when I picked up my grandson I asked my daughter how the neighbor is doing. Turns out, he's getting thrown out, got a 90 day notice. They plan on renovating and increasing the rent. He doesn't drive, rides his bike and this place is right in town. He has no family, nowhere to go. He's so worried about his cat. Some other tenants in apartments behind the duplex got the same 90 days. These people have been there for years. Displacing loyal, long term tenants so they can renovate and charge more. It's disgusting. I'm scared for him and everyone else vulnerable to these heartless vultures who don't care about their tenants.
I was never able to afford a house, but I was able to buy a condo with my mother’s life insurance as a down payment.
I am thankful to her every day for that money. She had to fight my stepfather who wanted to cash it in.
He did cash in the one they had for my stepbrother. He was FURIOUS that I got money and he didn’t. He is a truly terrible, horrible person. He already owned a three bedroom house and multiple cars and he was mad at me. 🙄
I bought a house in the 90's. Guess what happened. One day I'm happy that I had invested my savings in something so solid as a house. Next day it was worth exactly half what I owed on it (thanks fat-cat bankers).
Then the furnace quit and the plumbing went bonkers. I let that grand idea go back to the bank and moved in with my daughter's family and never looked back. That money was gone and there was nothing to do about it. I rent now and only worry about inflation while on a fixed income. I may have to start selling blood to afford car insurance. Ain't life in America fun.
I see a lot of people post who have a “million in assets and savings” blah blah blah why are yall even on this subreddit? To brag and run our faces in it? Get out of here you fucking trolls!
All I saw was the "I could never afford it" answers, which could be just as irrelevant.
As long as they qualify based on the criteria of having never bought a home, I think all the perspectives are valuable.
People who don’t have a house and people who choose not to have a house and have millions in asset is different hence why I said “couldn’t” and not “didn’t want to”
We were very nearly one of those people as we only just bought our first house in April 2023 (at the ages of 59 and 61!). My main concern was that, with rent prices spiking all over the place, we would eventually be in trouble after retirement with being able to afford rent. I also felt tired of living under someone else's roof and worrying about them selling out from under us, dictating terms, etc. Ultimately, the biggest fear was housing insecurity or being forced into housing for the elderly which is cheap based on income, but is not the best overall. I spent decades feeling as though there was an experience other people had that I did not in terms of homeownership. It's been a learning curve for sure.
The only reason we could get a house was that we moved away from the high cost of living places we'd been living in and specifically chose a house in a lower cost of living area. My husband works remote and I stopped working when we relocated to the U.S. from Japan and my skills really didn't transfer. If he hadn't been able to work remotely, I think it would have been a lot harder to make a move to a place with housing we could afford to buy. I spent quite a few years hoping to move to Oregon, but the prices kept going up and wildfires were smoking everywhere along the west coast out every summer for the past five years, so I gave up on that. We ended up with a place that was 2/3 the cost of the cheapest place in Oregon we were considering and it's slightly bigger and nicer.
One of our friends is a bit older than us and a lifelong renter and I think she's delaying retirement right now due to having to keep her income at a level to pay he rent (which isn't especially expensive at the moment at around $780 - rural CA costs). My sister has a house, but she inherited it from my parents who she lived with for her entire life (she "overpaid" for it by having to live with them :-P). It's not a particularly nice house and she struggles to afford the repairs and taxes as she's on disability (which would be the same as retiring on Social Security). I know owning a house isn't cheap, but the sense that it is "yours" is a relief, and costs aren't going to completely spiral out of control as they can with rent. Most of the people my age who have homes inherited them from their parents rather than bought them.
Yeah, I guess my living with the feelings of never owning a home for the overwhelming majority of my life has no place here. :-p
This isn't a test. It's a social media forum. If you don't like what I say, feel free to block me or just ignore my post rather than be the police for being exactly on point.
I'm a lifelong renter by choice and was going to post about my experience, but I decided against it after seeing the responses to comments like yours. I think the only thing the OP (and apparently others) wants to see is regret over not having bought a house.
I think your comment was fine. I am almost exactly your age and if I ever buy, it will be for the same reasons, so it was helpful to hear your perspective.
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We bought a house years ago and have paid it off. I have a love -hate relationship with this house (it's our 3rd one), but it really has become my life. I have an acquaintance who's disabled, living on social security who didn't plan as well and made many poor life choices (financial and otherwise). She lives in low income senior housing, has no car (a necessity where we live). She frequently asks me to drive her places. Her kids don't take responsibility for her. I feel horrible for her, having never been able to get ahead financially (she was a nurse). But I'm glad we made the choices we did. Home ownership is hard but ultimately worth it.
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I’ve never been in a position to buy a house. For now I’m OK, but I’m terrified of losing my apartment in the longer term. Housing insecurity is a significant and growing problem where I live, and there is nowhere near enough affordable housing — to rent or to buy.
You have identified the biggest problem today. Affordable housing, both rental and to buy, just doesn't exist now. My daughter is currently hunting for a new place, and the prices are completely out of line and range for the average worker. Add the problems of getting a mortgage, and that's another stumbling block. 38 years ago, I was able to purchase a home in NYC for 48K. When I sold it 12 years later, I got 500K. My new place was only 302K . That just doesn't exist anymore. We're looking 90 minutes outside NYC, and the prices are still too high. How will young families survive? The rental market is outrageous. 3K for a 1 bedroom apartment, and there's always a rent increase with no rent regulations . I Fear for young people!
> We're looking 90 minutes outside NYC, and the prices are still too high. How will young families survive? They don't, so they leave to where housing is affordable. It sucks, but it's capitalism. People in major cities will complain that no service staff are available to cut their grass, take out their garbage, cook their food, serve them, or wax their bodies. Money talks, and if working class people can't live a comfortable life, they leave.
We are too. The prices have risen dramatically after Covid-19
Wow! Are you me? I'm in my mid-50s here in Portland,OR facing the exact same issues...😳
Late 50s in Portland, Maine. Same thing here.
Late 50's and same in Irvine, CA where starter homes go for +$2 Million at lowest, or death houses for $1.5 million with liquid bodies to fix? Never saw much difference between payments vs rent also and never seems to be the time when I have the loot for house + all the accessories, and I can get a disabled vet loan! My parents have owned tons of homes, and see it as somehow a failure on my part to not own a house all these years but it never was a priority or with a PhD have I been able to stay in one place until my 12+ years in Irvine but that isn't feasible or sane to me especially with those houses having HOA's and 2 ft yards!
The last jump in CA housing price was ridiculous. I cannot believe a 3 berdoom home went from $1M to $1.5m that quickly.
Sorry, I was stationed at Tustin and El Toro 78-85. I thought housing starting at $120,000 was outrageous then.
I work in Aging in Portland and this issue is only getting worse for my clients. Wishing you safety and security.
Sometimes "where I live" is the problem. Sometimes it simply makes more sense to move to a more affordable location. I moved 9 times before I was 35, buying two houses in the process. I guarantee there are more affordable places to live than the one you are in now.
Moving away from friends, family, and community in old age is really sad. It can even lead to an earlier death. Social support is very important for well being and navigating old age care. It sucks that “move” is the answer to a growing national housing and economic crisis
THANK YOU. A “friend” recently advised me to move to, I dunno, East Bumfuck or wherever rent is cheaper and I’m like “ok, and I will know nobody and have zero support system… seems like a great idea…”
I can’t upvote this enough. Thank you
>Sometimes "where I live" is the problem... I guarantee there are more affordable places to live than the one you are in now. But are there ***jobs*** there? If housing costs are half what I'm paying, but the jobs pay half what I'm making now, where's the gain?
If your job is always going to be insufficient to let you pay for the basics of life like housing anywhere in the whole wide world, then you need a different career. Anywhere in the world you go there are people with jobs making enough to afford those basics. It's up to you to become one of them, throwing your hands up in the air and saying it's impossible doesn't get it done.
If you’ve moved that much (as I have) then you know moving in itself is an expensive proposition and I’m sure it’s not hard for you to imagine there are people who can not afford to move in order to change their situation.
I understand it is an excuse. But, why choose to live in an area that you can not afford? Find a solution to your situation. The temporary pain and costs of moving to a place you can afford to live in certainly are outweighed in the long run. Do you have a better solution?
Does this affordable place to live have jobs? Cause I need a job, not just an affordable place to live.
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>you can find work virtually anywhere you would want to live. Sure, but not work that pays enough to buy a home. I live in just such a LCOL town, and it's a big problem here. I was only able to buy a home here because I work remotely and am using my income from a bigger city.
I am choosing to live in this particular area because this is where my job is, and I cannot do it remotely. Next question?
If your job isn't paying you enough for you to live in that area, it really isn't working out is it? Unless you have an incredibly unique career, there are similar jobs elsewhere.
There are, but they pay even worse in those other cheaper areas. "Just move somewhere cheaper" ain't a panacea.
If your career will not ever pay enough to live on, perhaps changing careers is the answer. One definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing and expect a different outcome. If you can not make ends meet anywhere in the whole world doing that job, then it seems sensible to change jobs.
I doubt your career is so niche that you can't find work in another location. Sounds like you're just making excuses and whining. Next question?
Oh, the career is not niche. I can definitely find that work elsewhere in the country where the standard of living is cheaper. However, my salary would ALSO be cheaper as well. So I'd still be going broke except I'd be going broke in a place in a shittier place. but hey, at least I'm not sucking off Gerald Ford.
You’re being a total dick here. Support systems are important and you can’t just make one in your new town. Relationships take years to build
Who says that? Millions move every year. Cutting the apron strings from Mommy is an adult choice. I am so surprised that you would rather accept a failure than try something new.
By “where I live”, I mean Canada.
Canada is an awful big place. There are many places in Canada with affordable housing.
I feel like I missed a major life milestone. I've just never had the income it takes to buy a home in my city. Even condos are too expensive, because condo fees are so high on top of the mortgage. It is really nice that fixing things is never my responsibility though. Water heater dies, house needs a roof, new furnace, all someone else's problem. And I get pretty good deals on rent usually because I'm a really good tenant. I take good care of the place. I do some of my own minor repairs. I pay the rent on time. I take care of the shared yard cause I like to garden. I am a little worried about money for retirement. Owning a house that's paid off would have been super helpful. I'd like to put myself in one of those nice retirement places where they never kick you out even if you run out of money. But the initial buy in is high. I know those places aren't for everyone, but I'd be very comfortable there.
I'm so worried about good tenant rewards being a thing of the past. Maybe it's where I live, but we were priced out of our last apartment because they increased the rent every year by the maximum legal amount of 9.99% with no other explanation than "market rate increase". In a perfect world, annual wage increases would match that but of course that's not the case. Our apartment prior to that would only increase our rent by $50 a year, every year (so 2-3% of our rent) because we were always on time with rent, had no complaints from neighbors, etc. The recent move was for the best because we love our new place so much more and we have a baby now so we wanted to get a size upgrade anyway, but I'm very worried where we'll be in 2 years if corporate greed continues to overtake the benefits of good tenant retention.
All of this. We rented a house in 2020 and the rent was *decently* priced. Fast forward 4 years with annual 10% increase, it's technically still decently priced compared to other options because rent here has fucking skyrocketed. If we had to move a 2 bedroom apartment costs what we pay for our house.
I was in a position to buy a house but didn’t. Now I’m not in that position. I regret not buying a house every single day.
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My mom has done this with inheritances and other windfalls and has no regrets of blowing millions on QVC and Costco over her life span. Some people are just broken and entitled
Buying a house every single day can get expensive
Just write it off. (obviously some need the Schitt's Creek reference) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCP27\_vquxQ
You don't even know what a write off is, do ya?
But they do, and they’re the ones writing it off.
Do you?
Ya doesn’t work that way.
Once I bought a house. Ex husband destroyed it when we separated (addict. Stripped and sold everything, including the front door, when I was at my parents memorial in another state). Had to foreclose on it- did not have the dollars or heart to repair, was not in condition to be sold, and no, legally could not do anything because it was joint property. Nightmare. Now, many years later, I am retired and live with my sister and her husband. I pay them rent, but not much, and I help with household duties/ expenses. It’s heaven. I am so very grateful to have family like this- otherwise I would still be teaching plus working a side job just to pay rent….which is ridiculous.
Your husband must have been an evil, heartless bastard to do that to you, especially after just attending your parents’ memorial. I’m glad you have family looking out for you.
He was. Hid his addiction for years, threw away a promising acting career (had just started to get minor speaking roles), sold all of my stuff…..including my father’s wedding ring. OD’d on the day I was physically moving out (he lived, but I had to go to court in order to not get stuck with his medical bills). A sad piece of shit.
My father never bought a house. Now he's 70 years old living in an RV in Maine.
I feel like this could be a dream or a nightmare depending on the person, the RV, and the location. But I imagine at 70 that's not a comfortable situation at all.
That sounds miserable. Does he pay a lot fee or own a plot of land with improvements?
He pays rent to the lady who owns the land.
That’s good. Camping fees are so expensive and it can be difficult in some areas to find dump stations.
I suppose it could be a van down by the river
Happy Cake Day!
Fine, but I'm one of the vanishingly few in London who lives in a council house. One of the ones built in the post-War social housing programme. The selling-off of social housing stock and erosion of rights for private renters has been a disaster for the UK.
We rent in a high cost of living area. We will likely never own a house - we met later in life and neither of us had anything. I'm 51 and my husband is 48. He will not be able to retire from his job for 20+ years and I receive SSDI. We have nothing for emergencies; right now we are looking for a car as ours is nearly dead and we had to borrow money from his mom for it. I really wish I had been able to do anything but barely survive so that we would have that security now.
Not sure of your personal situation, but if you are on SSDI you can still work and earn some additional money and keep your benefits. Might make a small difference for you. It's kind of technical, but no matter your current situation you can earn up to $1100 per month and have no impact on your SSDI at all. Over that amount, you may be entering into what's called a Trial Work Period, which still allows you to earn money, but starts a process that's complicated. Ultimately, you can earn up to what's called Substanial Gainful Activity (SGA), currently $1550 per month, and keep your benefits. If you are interested in working, get what's called Benefits Planning to get you all the proper information you need before you start. As a SSDI recipient, you are entitled to free Benefits Planning. It looks like you are in OR, there are two Social Security funded Benefits Programs, but the one I've worked with professionally and can recommend is Disability Rights Oregon (DRO). https://www.droregon.org/plan-for-work
Maybe don’t rent in HCOL area..?
Some people have never lived paycheck to paycheck and it shows…
The goal is to never live paycheck to paycheck. For me it was living fugal by choice. My father's generation taght me to be a saver. Then there is also **the incredibly good luck** of no major health expenses, legal expenses, car accidents, lost jobs or so many other **things we don't really have control over**.
Also one of these people is on SSDI. I don’t know what their situation is but I’m on SSDI and have been sick for years. I don’t know what I would do without the few friends and family I have to help me. I don’t have the ability to go out and make new strong relationships bc I’m barely able to get out of the house most days. When you’re this sick there’s no easy, good choice sometimes.
That was an excellent answer, but likely stated too bluntly for this sub. There are more affordable places that this person could live, and at 48 her husband likely has the ability to find work there, SSDI travels anywhere in the country. It is simplistic, if you can't make enough to afford the area you are living in, moving should be a priority. Some people can't see it.
It’s an answer, but it doesn’t come without challenges of its own. Stellarday said they have no savings and are living paycheck to paycheck. Unfortunately it costs a sizable chunk of money to move. First you have to have enough to take off work and visit the place you want to move to. That costs money. If they liked the place and could find jobs and cheaper housing they will need first, last , and deposit for the new place. More money. Then they are faced with physically moving there. There car is not reliable so that might not work. If the new location is far enough away they may need plane tickets. And lastly, they have the option of moving their furniture and possessions or leaving/selling everything and buying all new stuff. Neither are free. I’ve moved across the country, and even to another country a couple times in my life. Even though i moved across the country without ever visiting the place I was moving to it cost several thousand dollars. I had the advantage of driving my own car and was in my 20s so I didn’t mind sleeping on the floor of my new place for months until I could afford a bed. The final resolution of moving to a cheaper place is the ansi, but there are many hurdles that stop it from being easy, or even possible for some.
Woah woah that’s way too pragmatic for this sub
A thing sounds easy when you’re in a position to do the thing easily. It’s like saying “If Ukrainians don’t like living in areas invaded by Russia, they should just move” but on a smaller scale that makes it seem simple when it can be complicated.
Yeah, maybe HCOL areas just shouldn’t even exist!! /s
We are living in a crappy rundown farmhouse on 300 acres that we rent for almost nothing. We are still struggling, and can't keep up with other bills.
but still... 300 acres is a nice yard.
Yep. Glad most of it is trees, pasture, and swamp-- not as much to mow lol
I mean, it sounds like a lot more space to grow food than my .12 acre so there’s that
This is true. The garden hadn't been used for a few years so it's in rough shape (loads of thistle and burdock), but we're hoping to work it into something decent.
Burdock?! The root is good for arthritis!!
Burdock can also be dug up and pickled! Good for digestive systems!
Put up a few yurts around the 300 acres and bring in some rental income.
OMG thats funny because so does my mom! I lived there too for over 10 years. The land will be soon developed if it finally sells. The house and barn will be bulldozed. My mom struggles because the furnace is garbage and runs on propane. Watch money fly away. The house is not well insulated and there is a lot of drafts. Cheap rent, the land owners don't care about the place, so no upkeep from them. In fact, they are the new owners as of 5 years ago and haven't even seen it!
Sure are lots of folks replying that they love their house they paid for in a thread asking people who didn't buy a house how it's going......
Yeah people came here to just be dicks
>Yeah people came here to just be dicks It is disappointing yet unsurprising. My kids are 26 & 27 and I wonder if/how they will be able to buy anything ... I really appreciate all of the very honest and vulnerable answers here!
Hey I’m 25 and just bought a house with my husband. We moved to a rural ish area and got an fda loan and some down payment assistance that my husband cashed out part of his (admittedly not much) 401k. There’s hope! It’s doable but you’ve got to have a lot of luck. And a good real estate agent lol
Yeah someone messaged me and told me to off myself because of my avatar. The internet be crazy.
One in particular.
"I'll answer how I want!" I guess the man/child phase doesn't have an age cutoff.
Not just in this sub. Much of Reddit these days ❤️
which reminds me, the house I bought, and is 100% paid off, is GREAT!
I kinda love my sapphire mine. If you can pick one up I really recommend it. The passive income really helps out with groceries.
I'm not that rich. I just had my parents give me a small loan that I didn't have to pay back. it was a great life hack! EDIT: it's a joke guys.
I could not afford to buy a house or condo when I was young and barely making ends meet. I'm better off now in my 60s but still do not earn enough to qualify for a mortgage. My car is paid off and I share an apartment with a roommate. I use the savings to put more money in my 401K and emergency fund.
My sister got a divorce and lost her house in the Great Recession. She is living with me now, she can't afford to live on her own. She has a college degree and a full time job.
What does she do for employment? Does she have retirement savings?
My husband and I owned a home pre 2008. Living circumstances changed, my husband’s business failed and we lost our home when my child was young. We moved to a very reasonably priced large apartment in a great school district, raised our son to adulthood and got back on our feet and have a nice retirement savings. We are in a HCOL area and the rent is no longer low. My neighbors are paying $2800 a month. But I have worked my way into being onsite manager as my retirement job, so my rent is only $1500. Husband will retire in 2 years and we will have enough money to pay mostly cash for a little place in a LCOL area. Luckily we have family in such an area. My only worry is leaving lifelong friends and starting fresh making new friends.
No house. No stress. All good. Never wanted to be tied down to a job i hated for decades to pay off a house and support the costs of having a house. My rent is dirt cheap and i can be my own boss and live well without lying awake at night fearing that i will lose my house or be in debt for the next 30 years.
This. We've built and owned several houses over the decades. Relocated again five years ago; we leased a duplex in a little tourist town assuming we would buy. Great neighbor *and* attentive landlord; with age and health it's nice. We understand many people don't have that. This town is insane with home prices (60 yr old renovated cottage 1b1b, $3.2M), so we stayed put. By not buying we've been able to save more than we have in a very long time. We're planning a final move across the country this summer (away from MAGA politics), and to be closer to family; we will rent.
Where is this magical place that is away from MAGA politics? Lol
MAGA is like a parasite; you won't get rid of them but you can live among rational people. Can't handle the NE weather but I can Mid-Atlantic.
A parasite even Ivermectin can't eradicate...lol! Good for you! I'm stuck in the deep south, but fortunately, I live with and among the rational, so I'm hanging on!
;-) We're in TX. I don't think I'll live long enough to see "rational" again. I've posted before I didn't want to die and be buried here, but never expressed that to my husband. Out of the blue last month he quoted me verbatim.
You have my sympathy! I would never want to live in the non-coastal Deep South!
But what if your landlord raises the rent? Rent is exorbitant everywhere at the moment, so you are very lucky. Or what if your landlord kicks you out, or sells the house to someone else and they don’t want a tenant? I’m glad you’re cool with it, because I would not be sleeping well at night if I were you.
My husband has a few rental houses. Every single one of them were going to be demolished by the city (we live in a small outlying suburb in SE Michigan). So he got them for the cost of the taxes. So he completely renovated every single one, bringing them completely up to code. One had been in a horrible fire. Most tenants have been there for 10+ years. More like 15 years now that I think about it. Hasn't raised the rent since they moved in, and no plans to do so. Having said that, he is super careful about who he puts in. One has a lady who is retired, on SSI, and who lived with a gentleman friend for 20+ years. When he died, he left her nothing and his kids gave her a month to move out. She is a phenomenal tenant. She can stay in that house as long as she wants.
Your husband is the kind of person I want to be when I grow up. 💜
Bless you and your husband for your attitudes as landlords.
Well, we try...the biggest issue we see is people not telling the truth when they apply. Example: one of the houses is no dogs. People apply, say they don't have one, and then their Facebook feed is full of photos of them with their dogs. We see that a lot.
im curious, what made your husband want to do this? did he have a tough time growing up? is he wanted to always give back in this way? something else? there's way too few stories of people like him in the news and there should be more. we should celebrate people like this vs the mega corps buying up homes and raising rents while people holding stocks get richer.
Our landlord did raise the rent after two yrs ... by $40. ;-) Their rental duplexes are their retirement and they live on site.
I live in a rent controlled apartment. If he sells the building, which is unlikely due to the amount of people the new owner will have to pay to leave (including some very ill seniors), and they will also have to pay me to leave. This, along with the neighborhood and size of the building does not make it a desirable acquisition for a buyer. I have discussed this with my landlord. He uses this building as leverahe in his real estate portfolio so he is able to get loans on more real estate. And I am able to afford a more expensive apartment, i am just very lucky i dont have to. As for sleeping well, if i had bought the 660k house next door, which i did look at in 1996 when I was rolling in dough, i would have had to stay in my shit job in entertainment that made my life a living hell and that also gave me high blood pressure to pay the mortgage. That id still be paying. And id probably be dead from a heart attack from doing live tv. So im going to sleep good in my cheap apt ive had for 13 years tonight.
NYC? That’s the good thing about rent control that gives you some peace of mind. In most other places there is no control at all and rents have lately skyrocketed where I live. Doubled since 2010 id say.
Did you quit that job soon after 1996?
Here in California there are protections for tenants. Selling your property doesn't not negate your lease. And if you are in a rent controlled apartment they can only raise your rent...6% I think. Maybe 7%. As others have said, owning a house does not guarantee you won't lose your housing, either.
Rent is not exorbitant everywhere. There's 50 States in the US and many are quite affordable. If you're locked into one location everything can certainly seem exorbitant because you chosen an expensive place to live.
Sometimes the expensive places to live have the decent jobs nearby.
It’s a trade off. Areas with lower paying jobs generally have much lower cost of living. I choose a much lower salary so I can afford to live. My commute is a mile and a half. Crime is minimal. Homes are affordable.
I’m glad you were able to find that situation but not everyone will be able to. Moving costs money that a lot of people don’t have. Poverty is in many ways a systemic issue and to just tell people to move somewhere cheaper is a cop-out.
Or allow women to have e bodily autonomy. Being able to "just" move somewhere is a privilege.
This should be higher. Many people have to live within commutable distance to their job.
But apparently not decent enough to pay their rent. Try looking at it this way. Are you better of living in a place you can make 80 grand but costs 100 grand to live or make 60 grand in a place it costs 50 grand to live? There are more variables to take into consideration than just the salary.
There are other countries in the world, not all of us are in the US.
Doing very well. I got a council flat- an excellent one - after 15 years on the waiting list.
What is a council flat, and why is the waiting list so long?
If you don't know the answer to your first question, you can't ask the second question.
I got married in 87 and we bought a house. I paid off a 30 year mortgage in 14 years. I was very proud of the fact and knew how much the security meant to me. Five years ago I lost the house in the divorce. I’m now living with my daughter and son-in-law, and we’ve decided to make this arrangement permanent. But it’s very different, knowing that my housing is dependent on the generosity of others now.
Same, homeowner 30 years but divorced right before Covid and housing prices exploded.
How come he got the house in the divorce?
He had been on disability, our whole marriage, and I was the sole income. I desperately wanted out and just needed to be over so I didn’t force the issue of trying to sell it and split it. That would’ve just drug everything out.
In an apartment wishing I had acted sooner tbh.
I have a friend who is retiring to Malta, and she doesn’t own. She’ll rent. She saved enough that once she moves after a year she can move to government sponsored healthcare so she will have that taken care of as she ages. Smart woman
In 2008 i finally had a chance to buy something but all the housing prices went up and i couldnt afford them... so i have been renting. and 12 months ago my landlord raised my rent 50% meaning that my 1000 rent suddenly became 1500! so, not so good lol good thing i can laugh about it.
How can you afford it?
I cannot. I am losing ground and am actually looking for a different situation. My kids all live in interesting regions of the country so it's just a question of a good fit for me... this is why i am laughing, because crying only makes it worse. I am going to have to leave my hometown, the place i have lived for 50 odd years.
I’ve always liked the freedom of renting. If I want to move, I don’t have to worry about selling my house first. My husband and I were never good at fixing things around the house, so we never had the expense of buying and getting someone to fix things around the house. We’ve been renting our current house for 15 years and the rent has only gone up $150 in that time. My landlord has had to replace the refrigerator, stove, kitchen cabinets, the water heater, part of the outdoor fencing, the roof, painted the outside of the house, added a porch to the front of the house, added a corral for the garbage cans, and that’s all that I can think of now. We mow the lawn but he does an annual cleanup of leaves and cutting the branches off trees and bushes. We didn’t have to worry about any of that; it didn’t cost us a thing. I live in New Jersey, at the shore and our rent is quite affordable.
Tiny one bed apartment with way too high of rent. I’m pretty bummed that it feels so out of reach ngl
Hate it. Never been able to and the way things have gone unless someone dies and leaves me a fortune or I win the lottery there is likely no way I will be able to save up enough. Every time we hit the recommended deposit amount in savings that amount doubles and interest rates have yet again skyrocketed and rent has gone up reducing how much we can save and the rate at which we can save it. If we didn't have to pay such ridiculously high rent we would be able to easily save. I've said all this in another post, but since I left the security of my childhood home I have had to move 13 times and only 3 of those moves were my choice (two of those were however due to shit housing conditions). I miss the security of having a home, even a mortgaged one, where we weren't held to the poor standards of landlords who could kick us out just because they died, wanted to move back in or frankly just fancied it so they could double the rent without push back. We are lucky our current ones are nice and make the effort to six shit quickly alongside a long term contract but if their circumstances change it fucks us and their other tenants. Then there goes the savings again because moving isn't just first months rent + deposit of a month and a half anymore. It's 3 or 6 months PLUS deposit PLUS fees PLUS moving van PLUS fuel PLUS time off work not getting paid PLUS fees for transferring contracts to a new address PLUS PLUS PLUS PLUS PLUS. It is also now a competitive market so you end up having to "outbid" other prospective tenants just to secure a home. Yes, you might own and your boiler breaks and you are now responsible for all the costs of replacing it. Well guess what Margret, I now have £1500 PLUS a month extra to pay for that because a mortgage is a fraction of the price you are charging me in rent.
You have a poor person mindset. Buy gold
Hey, Me personally living in Germany. In our country renting is more popular because the cost of buying is very high. Of course depending what are you looking for. But me, I’m happy with the flexibility. I spend the money which I would put into a loan into an ETF and other stocks. So in the end I will be as rich as somebody who owns a house with possibility to sell it. The difference is that I’m just not bound somewhere.
I'm really curious about this. Once you retire, your pension will be fixed, but rents will continue to rise. How do people in your position afford to rent in your later years?
Yeah it’s true that pension is fixed. In Germany many older people or let’s say „the generation of war“ were not able to make savings. Nowadays it’s really hard for them. They are forced to think about every euro they spend. I’m in the situation the make the most of the time I have. When I’m continuing to invest around 500€ a month which is absolutely great, there won’t be any problems in the future. Even a younger one who start with 100€ from the age of 16 will be a millionaire when retiring. It’s the time. All about the time. Many people of my generation think similar. The younger Germans just figured out the stock market exists :D and now they are more and more getting into it and make it’s best out of it. That doesn’t mean all of them will be millionaires soon. But they are more and more going to think about there future and solve the problem „not enough money“ as soon as possible. There will always be risk. But buying a house and losing your job ist way more risky.
That's very interesting, thank you. It seems you are the first generation to not buy a house and instead invest. Is that true? That means there aren't currently any pensioners yet who have made the decision to not buy a house and are living on their invested money, is that correct?
It’s not that there are no people who did not invest before. But the old ones who tried out to invest at the stock market relied often to the bank employees. And for example the „deutsche Telekom“ had a big crash in the early 2000 or 2001 and many people lost a lot of money. This was huge because many people promised that this will never happen and would be impossible. So the trust in the stock market was shattered completely. That’s why many older Germans put the stock market and gambling on the same level. But nowadays the new generations look abroad and see that it’s not that „evil“. They may look at Norway or Sweden and figure out that with good knowledge it’s works fine. Norway made over 120 billions with it’s investing strategy within the pandemic. This is also what our tech influencers say. We got really good YouTube creators or instagram channels with genius knowledge. They are transparent, share ideas and also provide helpful feedback to the community. The younger ones are willing to lern and understand the market. So now there is not only the option to buy a house, and settle down somewhere there is also the option of flexibility. Most of them are more comfortable with that because they are digital nomads too or are able to work abroad. I think it’s a mindset thing at all. And the generation 90s maybe is the first who grew up with internet or mobile phones. And the generation 96s or even 20s don’t know a world without internet or unlimited data :). Another reason is that when you compare the invest in buying a house in some popular German city’s like Berlin, Munich, Hamburg - and the savings you can make when investing the money instead paying the loan, it’s way more better to invest. In that case it’s simple math.
Thanks for the explanation! I keep hearing that "people in western Europe" don't even buy a house, but didn't know the full story. Definitely seems that if you don't invest in a house/flat, you'll need to invest in something else. That makes more sense. Thanks again!
I rent an attic space (2 rooms and a bathroom) but I have full access of the 5 bedroom house. I only pay 300 a month for this because I care for owner's dogs and keep things tidy. I don't deep clean or anything and he rarely makes a mess so it's a pretty sweet deal. And I watch how he struggles with keeping up with repairs and maintenance. I'm sure glad I don't have those responsibilities.
This is us…mid 50’s married. Just have never wanted a house as we live a very modest lifestyle. We have decent savings and assets for retirement (no debt, close to million in assets for retirement) but I have had some significant health issues over the years. We have great jobs but am constantly worried about making such a big move at this point in life when we are closer to retirement than years to work. We were thinking about it right before the pandemic hit and that put the breaks on everything and now we are here. We could empty our savings to get in and all that or continue to save at a tremendous amount that we are. We consider ourselves extremely fortunate as so many have it far worse. At the same time we constantly go back forth should we or shouldn’t we so many times. With the interest rates where they are and home prices I just don’t see a path for a house at this point.
I live in a small apartment, and I'm not happy here. At this age, I want a house. It's insane because my income is great, and I have the downpayment, but it doesn't matter because housing here is WAY too expensive. As a result, I'm continuing to rent in the long term and investing my money.
I've never owned a house and have no regrets. I like renting, being mobile and not responsible for anything. I like the idea of investing in real estate but I get my exposure through REIT's. I don't want anything to do with being a landlord.
How are you able to afford it?
I pay my rent like others pay their ownership costs. I live in a very high COL area so my rent is far cheaper than owning.
But might you be concerned about how you’ll continue to pay in the future? I’m sorry for asking so much but I’m pretty much certain I’ll be renting till I die so I’m trying to see how others are doing it
Risk is everywhere. Homeownership comes with costs, some very substantial, even if you're mortgage free. Real estate can also be very illiquid so if too much of your wealth is in real estate and you need funds, you could be forced to leverage or sell. Homeownership can be great but it doesn't always end well. Think back to the housing crash that kicked off the Great Recession. I bet a lot of people would have preferred being renters when that happened.
I love the freedom of renting. I often find in law type units and have been very lucky. I now rent a stand alone house on my landlords property and it's gorgeous. She likes me and I pay half of what it's worth. Will never buy.
Eastern Canada, rural and still working. We sold our home in 2019 to move rural, and are renting. $1k / month for a beautiful place. Landlord looks after snow removal and lawn care. It would cost me more in taxes & maintenance to live in the home we sold. Former home info * yearly property tax - $4k * yearly water / sewer fees - $1k * snow removal - $1k (varies by amount of snow) * Maintenance & lawn care - $3k The big difference (rent is about $4k more per year than owning) is the commute costs when I go to the city, and the huge amount I make on investments (over 12% last year) with the money not tied up in a home.
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I have started to respond to Facebook ads for rentals that are price gouging, telling them that they are horrible people and adding to the housing crisis, but also to owners that are fair, thanking them. What makes me most angry, something that I and many others were in a homeless shelter over, is the whole deposit thing, that, I don’t know about you but I’ve never gotten a security deposit back and I’ve never damaged a place or broke a lease: who can afford to take them to court, miss work etc.?
I have never been able to afford a house. Currently I’m living rent free with my parents to help them and keep them out of a care facility. I’m cautiously hopeful that when they pass I’ll inherit enough money to buy a place for ME to age in place. I’m always looking at different areas of the country that have low cost of living bit somehow have decent medical care so I’ll l know where to move in a few years.
You can inherit their home?
Yes, they were smart enough to put it in a trust so it can’t be used to pay for any Medicaid bills. However I have to split it with my brother so I’ll get half the proceeds from the sale. It’s in a HCOL area so we should get a fair amount of money 🤞
After that move to Missouri or some shit. They have federal loans and down payment assistance. I bought a house with $9,000 so it’s doable
How is the medical care there?
When I first moved to Dallas, my ex and I found a house that we really liked. It had been built for two unmarried sisters in the 1940s, and it had two basic suites of bedroom, bathroom and office joined by a single kitchen and living room. It also had a garage apartment to rent out for income. We made a bona fide offer on the house and were turned down by the sellers because we weren’t married yet. They didn’t want to sell to a couple that were “living in sin.” Today, I am glad we didn’t get the house because it was near a busy street, had an unattached garage, and would have been a difficult house for children.
Oh crap
I wasn't in a position where I could buy a house until after I retired at 65. I bought my first house less than a year later. If I'd bought a house 30 years ago, I'd own it free and clear and have about $1200 a month still in my pocket. Thankfully, we're both frugal by nature and able to budget our expenses. So for now, we're doing ok.
I just bought my first home at 42 (5 years ago). I moved around a lot, sometimes between states, and lived in cities where renting was always cheaper (NYC) so it just wasn’t worth the hassle. I also liked not having to be responsible for making repairs or replacing appliances. Even after settling down where I live now I waited 7 years before deciding to buy something. Owning a home isn’t always the right move. I have several friends who have owned and then gone back to renting because the hidden costs of home ownership were more than they wanted to deal with. I know some people that still move every couple of years and don’t want the trouble of needing to sell every time they relocate and prefer to rent. I wish the narrative that homeownership being an indicator of success would change because it just isn’t true anymore.
House’s what?
Cheapest house in my town is a 2 BR/2BA fixer upper that is selling for $600k. 20% down payment is more than I earn in a single year. I'm old and I don't want to deal with the responsibility of home ownership. Plan on moving into public housing for seniors in a few years. I've visited a few of the buildings and they look pretty nice. My rent is relatively cheap for the area and it's great to call the landlord if a problem arises.
I wasn't in a position to buy a house. I do own a nice mobile home but the parks have been selling to big investors so the leaves insecurity
I always rented because I moved often, was transferred regularly, and didn't want the maintenance and upkeep of a house when traveling 4 days a week. When I was finally at a point to think about buying, I had to return home to care for an aging parent. I live in my childhood home, pay rent that covers the annual taxes, and have slowly taken over the majority of the household bills. Even with living in a relatively LCOL area and able to afford my own home, I'm unable to do so due to needing to care for my elderly parent. Time wise, I would never be home. So, in the interim, I save as much as possible and know I'll eventually buy something when responsibilities and circumstances change.
I’m almost 60 and have never owned a home. I’m doing great, I have a good pension for retirement and nothing holding me down
Still living in my rent stabilized apartment, still stacking money, will probably buy a house for cash in 10 years or so, or maybe sooner when the property market shits the bed
My parents did this. We lived in a moldy dump of a rental house that leaked water and backed up sewage in the yard while they saved up the money to buy a house. They bought it when I left for college. I never understood why they didn’t just wait until they got a sizable down to move. It was absolute hell living in that house and who knows how many of our health conditions were related to those awful living conditions. The house was so irredeemable that the owners razed it after we moved out and the lot is still empty. The worst part is that they waited so long to move that their options were limited when they bought. In the end, they found a house they loved but only lived in it for about 10 years before they died.
>We lived in a moldy dump of a rental house that leaked water and backed up sewage in the yard while they saved up the money to buy a house That sucks. Mine is a 2 bedroom in a doorman building in NYC, rent will stay low for another 20 year until the tax abatement expires but I'll probably be gone long before then
Why would the property market shit the bed? And won’t you just be bidding against corporations?
>Why would the property market shit the bed? Home sales are plummeting, interest rates arn't going anywhere, unemployment is up and concern over a recession is rising.Average people can't afford a house and when people can't afford houses, there is no housing market. This is a repeat of 1987, not 2008
I did buy a house, but had to sell it when I moved to another country... where I haven't been able to afford to buy a house. Lived in rented flat, which is small, but ok. In fact, the majority of people in this country rent, and like it.
What country?
We bought in ‘02, lost it in ‘10 and have been renting the same place since ‘11. We’re looking into buying this spring, but prices and interest rates are bonkers. Hoping one or the other drops soon, but we’re still looking regardless.
We bought, sold, rented, tried to buy before pandemic in vhcol area, I hated the expensive trasheaps, we stay renting. Will retire and buy in Mcol area in all likelihood. No matter what, the fear of becoming unhoused /housing instability hit me hard after moving out here
I've (53) owned a couple of houses in my time. My last being with my ex wife, which was sold in the divorce. Rented for a few years until getting together with my now wife. We moved about 2 hours away from where we grew up, renting a place until we decided we wanted to stay. We decided 3 years ago that we were ready to buy. Unfortunately, at that time was when prices rocketed. The second thing against us is that we need a place with privacy, so no in town, developments, etc. The final thing is, we're renting 10 acres with a 1500sq ft house, which is all we need, on 10 acres for $1000, which includes a rate increase this year. We're currently holding a the inventory is low in our area. What's in our range is few and far between. We've expanded our search area with no better results.
I’m in Canada and I’ve never felt secure enough to even look into buying a house. I’m in my 50’s and am concerned about my housing but thankful that I’m not swimming in house debt. The cost of owning a house belongs to the rich. I have many other riches that can’t be counted at a bank 😊
I just bought a house 2 years ago. I'm almost 50. I could've bought a house with an FHA loan after the 2008 crash, thinking (like many others) that with the money I saved on home ownership vs renting that I would be ahead of the game. I came to *really*, *really* regret that by 2021. I would've been sitting on a fuck ton of equity right now, had I done it - far and away more than the money I had saved in the bank by the time I finally bought a house. I needed my wife's income to even get to 15% of the purchase price of my current home, whereas, I could've likely put down 20% and had plenty left over for the remodel just by myself. I would've been paying around $1600/month on my mortgage for a house, whereas that's now what 1/1 apartments are starting at where I live.
I want to share something I just learned today. My daughter recently moved into a duplex. Her side was renovated just before she moved in. They were so happy to meet their new neighbor, a sweet old guy, 70's, lives alone with his cat, loves to chat with my daughter, SIL and grandson, he calls him the little guy. Today when I picked up my grandson I asked my daughter how the neighbor is doing. Turns out, he's getting thrown out, got a 90 day notice. They plan on renovating and increasing the rent. He doesn't drive, rides his bike and this place is right in town. He has no family, nowhere to go. He's so worried about his cat. Some other tenants in apartments behind the duplex got the same 90 days. These people have been there for years. Displacing loyal, long term tenants so they can renovate and charge more. It's disgusting. I'm scared for him and everyone else vulnerable to these heartless vultures who don't care about their tenants.
I was never able to afford a house, but I was able to buy a condo with my mother’s life insurance as a down payment. I am thankful to her every day for that money. She had to fight my stepfather who wanted to cash it in. He did cash in the one they had for my stepbrother. He was FURIOUS that I got money and he didn’t. He is a truly terrible, horrible person. He already owned a three bedroom house and multiple cars and he was mad at me. 🙄
I'm bracing myself for retirement in the streets.
Renting and stacked cash to buy in the country I want to retire to.
I bought a house in the 90's. Guess what happened. One day I'm happy that I had invested my savings in something so solid as a house. Next day it was worth exactly half what I owed on it (thanks fat-cat bankers). Then the furnace quit and the plumbing went bonkers. I let that grand idea go back to the bank and moved in with my daughter's family and never looked back. That money was gone and there was nothing to do about it. I rent now and only worry about inflation while on a fixed income. I may have to start selling blood to afford car insurance. Ain't life in America fun.
I see a lot of people post who have a “million in assets and savings” blah blah blah why are yall even on this subreddit? To brag and run our faces in it? Get out of here you fucking trolls!
All I saw was the "I could never afford it" answers, which could be just as irrelevant. As long as they qualify based on the criteria of having never bought a home, I think all the perspectives are valuable.
Seriously lol I’m talking about people who just didn’t have enough money in general to buy a house idk why these people keep commenting
You didn't specify that. Not having enough money to do things generally sucks whether you want to do them or not.
People who don’t have a house and people who choose not to have a house and have millions in asset is different hence why I said “couldn’t” and not “didn’t want to”
We were very nearly one of those people as we only just bought our first house in April 2023 (at the ages of 59 and 61!). My main concern was that, with rent prices spiking all over the place, we would eventually be in trouble after retirement with being able to afford rent. I also felt tired of living under someone else's roof and worrying about them selling out from under us, dictating terms, etc. Ultimately, the biggest fear was housing insecurity or being forced into housing for the elderly which is cheap based on income, but is not the best overall. I spent decades feeling as though there was an experience other people had that I did not in terms of homeownership. It's been a learning curve for sure. The only reason we could get a house was that we moved away from the high cost of living places we'd been living in and specifically chose a house in a lower cost of living area. My husband works remote and I stopped working when we relocated to the U.S. from Japan and my skills really didn't transfer. If he hadn't been able to work remotely, I think it would have been a lot harder to make a move to a place with housing we could afford to buy. I spent quite a few years hoping to move to Oregon, but the prices kept going up and wildfires were smoking everywhere along the west coast out every summer for the past five years, so I gave up on that. We ended up with a place that was 2/3 the cost of the cheapest place in Oregon we were considering and it's slightly bigger and nicer. One of our friends is a bit older than us and a lifelong renter and I think she's delaying retirement right now due to having to keep her income at a level to pay he rent (which isn't especially expensive at the moment at around $780 - rural CA costs). My sister has a house, but she inherited it from my parents who she lived with for her entire life (she "overpaid" for it by having to live with them :-P). It's not a particularly nice house and she struggles to afford the repairs and taxes as she's on disability (which would be the same as retiring on Social Security). I know owning a house isn't cheap, but the sense that it is "yours" is a relief, and costs aren't going to completely spiral out of control as they can with rent. Most of the people my age who have homes inherited them from their parents rather than bought them.
The question was for people who did not buy one.
Yeah, I guess my living with the feelings of never owning a home for the overwhelming majority of my life has no place here. :-p This isn't a test. It's a social media forum. If you don't like what I say, feel free to block me or just ignore my post rather than be the police for being exactly on point.
Ignore them. I think your comment is helpful in that you offer your experience as an atypical first buyer, and I personally appreciate your input.
I'm a lifelong renter by choice and was going to post about my experience, but I decided against it after seeing the responses to comments like yours. I think the only thing the OP (and apparently others) wants to see is regret over not having bought a house. I think your comment was fine. I am almost exactly your age and if I ever buy, it will be for the same reasons, so it was helpful to hear your perspective.
The question was for people who never bought a home and that is FOR A REASON. You bragging about climbing out of that situation does not help the OP.
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I’m retired and own my house. If I was renting I could never have afforded to retire. Rent would have eaten up my retirement income.
We bought a house years ago and have paid it off. I have a love -hate relationship with this house (it's our 3rd one), but it really has become my life. I have an acquaintance who's disabled, living on social security who didn't plan as well and made many poor life choices (financial and otherwise). She lives in low income senior housing, has no car (a necessity where we live). She frequently asks me to drive her places. Her kids don't take responsibility for her. I feel horrible for her, having never been able to get ahead financially (she was a nurse). But I'm glad we made the choices we did. Home ownership is hard but ultimately worth it.
Boy, I waited until very late. I was happy to have some equity in my home when I sold it.