Does it really matter if you never buy a house?

Question

We're all told of people being "desparate" to get on the property ladder. But does it really matter? Is the quality of your life really affected if you rent property all your life? Am I missing something?

Answer 1

No. Some people just want to own a house. That doesn't mean you have to.

The reason that people want to own a home instead of rent is instead of the rent going to someone else, all the money goes into their own piece of property (less the interest to the bank) and then they eventually will own that property and be able to sell it and get that money back (provided property values stay the same).

But when you own a home you a responsible for all upkeep, repairs, etc. Whereas when you rent your landlord has all those problems.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both.

Answer 2

Your probably missing money from your wallet. All renting does is pay for somebody else to own the property your living on.
That to me doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Especially when you consider that if you do your home work you can get a mortgage payment that is cheaper than most any rent that you are paying for any given piece of property. I don't believe that hardly any property owner charges rent that is less than their mortgage payment. Not a smart one anyway. I think the quality of your life can for sure be effected especially when you are retired but are still having to pay a large part of what ever income you have in order to have a place to live instead of living in a bought and paid for home.

Answer 3

It does not matter if you own or rent a property, some people just hate the thought of paying rent out for life as it is considered 'dead' money and you have nothing to show for that money no matter how long you rent a house for, some people like to buy property as assets for either their future or for their children's future, its a sort of pension/saving plan for a lot of property owners, but you know no matter if you own or rent you can't take it with you when you go can you.

Answer 4

The only thing you are missing are the headaches caused by repair bills etc . If you rent then everything is down to the landlord. When we first bought our property I thought it was great, something to leave my kids, now I find that will not be the case. Should I die and my husband needs to go into a residential home then the house has to be sold to pay for his care in the said home. If you rent your property the government pay for your care in the same home. nope you are not missing out....

Answer 5

Some people say that renting makes better sense for them, but a young person is much better off buying if possible and if it doesn't create a great additional burden. It's the best investment you can make if you can afford to make it.

The timing is important, as the market might be cooling off a bit now and bringing about some buying opportunities. If you buy a house right, you can acquire an equity profit immediately.

Answer 6

I don't think so. My husband and I bought a house in late 2005 and sold it by May 2006 and decided to rent again. A lot went into that decision, but we are neither missing anything nor gaining anything by renting again except for the fact that we're saving a lot of money by doing so.

You're not missing anything. If you choose to rent for the rest of your life, then so be it! Don't let society rule what you do as far as your place of residence. We're not sure as to where we're going to actually "settle down", so we'll probably not buy a house until then... and then again, we may never.

It's just up to you! Do whatever feels best for yourself and screw what others think/say/do.

Answer 7

Do you want to pay rent the rest of your life. The whole point of buying property is that its paid off when you retire and thats one less bill you have to pay.

the other reason you buy instead of rent is that instead of paying a landlord and getting nothing but a place to stay, when you own you pay the mortgage company and your making an investment. Later down the road you might make a nice profit when you sell your place. Renting is stupid and should only be reserved for those who have terrible credit.

Answer 8

buying a house, however small is a good investment, because the asset is going into your pocket instead of someone else's. when you get old, you can use what is called a 'reverse mortgage'. you can take a good percent of your equity to use for old age expenses.

my cousin and husband when young bought some land. then they built a 3 car garage/w sink, cabinet and toilet facilities. they lived in it, purchasing materials for home, paying as they went. when home was finished, there was no debt and had paid no interest.

these days, tho, you need walls of 2 x 6 in order to get good insulation.
\buy land, put down pad/w plumbing, etc. then build your own 1 stick at a time. if you plan well, you can build small and add on as your needs change

things you need to consider:
-% of interest on loan
-property taxes. different locations have different tax bases.
-big expenses such as light, heat, and air conditioning.
-mowing, pruning, upkeep of home and fence.
-these days--good police and fire protection.

Answer 9

When you buy you are investing in the property because you could sell it at a later date where as when you rent you get nothing out of the property at all

Answer 10

It is better to buy house when your are young and as early as possible.Loans will have low monthly instalments.After several years of service I have realised "not buying house'was foolish.Now my pension or interest on investments cannot pay rent.My life has badly affected by not buying house early.Please donot become a fool like me.