Does anyone besides me NOT ever want to own a home again?

[cwilliams]

I do not want a house again. I thought I did, but after trying to keep up with busted water heaters, leaky roofs, broken dishwashers, outlets that don't work, fuses that blow and broken stoves, I'm tired of it. Plus the yard work! No, thanks. I am not a lawn and garden person and neither is my dh. Now, I do not want to rent an apartment. I had my fill of that when dh was in the military. But I would like to rent a small 2 bedroom house with a small yard for our dogs and a postage stamp front yard that can be cut with a weed eater. We can work out painting with the landlord or just decorate with pictures and fabrics instead if we want color. Then if we want to move when the lease is up we can. I don't want anything to hold us back if we want to move. One thing I would love to do is travel. I want to get a camper van and see the U.S. I want to go to Europe and see the Eiffel Tower, Pisa and Big Ben. I don't want to be tied down to a house. I want to be footloose and fancy free

[cleanslate01]

I'm in the same boat as OP. I don't want the expense! We had a home in South Florida. After we bought it, we found out it was a money pit and we wound up so upside down that it was ridiculous. We refinanced and couldn't afford the payments after things kept breaking month on month. We rent now and I love that I can call the landlord to fix it.

That said, we will be saving over the next 5 years for a new house - one that has been recently built. Nothing fancy but not something that I have to worry about every month.

[frogger]

I WAS a landlord and I WAS a pain in the butt!!!

I pray that I will never have to rent.

I'm still a landlord and it can be a big pain in the butt! For many people, renting is a much better deal than buying.

No maintenance, no property taxes, no repair bills, etc.

[oldhack]

...I refuse to pay into something that is not a good investment...

Here's where I differ with many of you -- my home isn't an investment, it's a home! I'm 52 years old, and 23 of those years were on the farm on which I was raised, with another 22+ in the apartment complex I just left. So, you see, I didn't really live and die to own a home either. But, I bought this house 55 days removed from a Chapter 13 discharge because -- in addition to just loving most everything about it -- even paying an additional $250 a month toward principal in order to cut the mortgage term to 15 years, I'm paying no more than I was paying for rent+trustee payment the last 4+ years (granted, utilities are a bit higher). The $100,000+ I paid my last landlord the previous 20+ years? I'm paying it to myself during the next 20. And, I don't plan to move again. (Besides, with the $8,000 first-time buyer tax credit already refunded and banked, I actually bought with NO net cash outlay -- in fact, I came out c. $2,500 ahead! So, quite literally, I have nothing to lose. My mortgage payment amounts to 'rent' on a much larger, nicer place to live.)

[DeadManCrawling]

I will pay cash for my next home, in all likelihood.

If something happens that requires a small mortgage I will borrow no more than 20k or so. My wife qualifies as a new homeower, and can get the 8k credit, which covers almost half of that small mortgage.

We live in a 4.5k sq foot monstrosity right now with pools decks and it is eating us alive.

The next one will be paid for in cash and we will not feel the same.

The question should be:

Are you going to own your home or is your home going to own YOU?

Paid in cash, I think we will do fine.

And you can get a lot of good deals almost anywhere these days.

Here is one good example from our area:

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/12510-Cavalier-Ct_Hudson_FL_34669_1109575185

And there are livable homes all over this area for 40k as well. I used to buy cars more expensive than this, so it seems a no-brainer, if we can own it free and clear.

[Amy26]

Well see... my condo was my "home" too. And 2 years ago... it was all I could afford. It is a nice condo...hardwood floors, granite counters etc... but its tiny... 790sq ft. And I paid 250,000 for it. I wanted to "own" something... to make it mine. I also wanted the tax break! Little did I know that it was the money pit from hell. In less than 2 years it has dropped in value over 150,000. I had a decent mortgage... was not sub prime or anything. My second mortgage was at about 74k with 1,040 due per month (was a 10 year loan) and my first mortgage was 1,190. So, was paying over 2,000 plus HOA dues which were 224. So, like 2,300+ for a little tiny condo... but it was MINE. Sorta...

I am thrilled to be getting out of this condo. It disgusts me that I can go buy a HOUSE in my area for less than half of what I paid 2 years ago for that condo.

I was a perpetual renter up till 2007 when I bought that place and you know I prefer renting. From an apartment complex specifically... you get 24/7 maintenance, pool, clubhouse, trash pick up, garage spot, hot tub...etc etc... for less than my fricken mortgage. I can't do stairs because of my knees so condos/apartments are more my style anyways. But me and my fiancee were able to get a 1600 sq ft apartment (much closer to the city) for less than I'd have to pay for my mortgage and way better benefits.

So, I agree with the OP... home ownership is overrated to me. Just my personal opinion and I know some people treasure owning a home and that's perfectly fine. But I don't look at rent as "throwing away money"... I get so much benefit out of it, for less and I get a much nicer place closer to my job.

Back when I wanted to buy... I had to move further and further away from DC just to afford the prices. I think it also depends on where you live... certain areas of the country are more desirable and practical to own a property. I really don't understand how this has happened... I don't see how I can go from having 60k in equity 2 years ago to be over 150,000 in the hole. I'd probably have to pay the damn mortgage off before it even goes back up anywhere near to what I pay on it.

So to me, personally, keeping my property would be wasting my money. Because I'm putting money toward a mortgage that isn't worth the paper its printed on with no hope of splitting even within the next 10-15 years at least. And I'm stuck with a tiny place. I also like the freedom of renting... if I don't like it in a year or 2... I go somewhere else... easy.

[runforcover]

Over the past few years in an effort to save money and to stay current with cc's. I have lived in my car off and on for 2 years. For me, owing so much money over rides home ownership. But if I won a lottery, sure, why not. I will say this though...Whether you rent or own, having your own bathroom is the bottom line.

[shabam]

Well see... my condo was my "home" too. And 2 years ago... it was all I could afford. It is a nice condo...hardwood floors, granite counters etc... but its tiny... 790sq ft. And I paid 250,000 for it. I wanted to "own" something... to make it mine. I also wanted the tax break! Little did I know that it was the money pit from hell. In less than 2 years it has dropped in value over 150,000. I had a decent mortgage... was not sub prime or anything. My second mortgage was at about 74k with 1,040 due per month (was a 10 year loan) and my first mortgage was 1,190. So, was paying over 2,000 plus HOA dues which were 224. So, like 2,300+ for a little tiny condo... but it was MINE. Sorta...

What area of NoVA was your condo in?

[shabam]

I don't think there is anything wrong with owning a home but the key is to live within your means. The dumbest thing our generation (boomers and beyond) did was to move to the outer outer outer burbs and then build 9 trillion sq ft homes. In any other country you will find that people are quite comfortable with reasonable sized homes and are moving inner city. People also tend to enjoy life more than gloat about their vehicles and 7,000sq ft home. Then we fell into a keep up with the Jones craziness.

Through our own actions we have turned the American dream into the biggest nightmare. We are now a slave to $$$$. Black, white, leprechaun, we are all slaves again. Quite honestly, I am sick of debt and anything associated with it. I am also sick of landlords considering us consumers have little protection against unscrupulous behavior. Anyone who has traveled with will realize it is a completely different ball game overseas. Probably why neither them nor their country is anywhere near as bankrupt as we are. lol

[Amy26]

What area of NoVA was your condo in?

Loudoun county.

[oldhack]

...My wife qualifies as a new homeower, and can get the 8k credit...

Not unless you also qualify for it. The rules for the credit are specific that spouses may NOT purchase singly -- if married, both names must be on the title, and both must meet qualifications to receive the credit:

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=206291,00.html

[moneytrouble]

I totally agree with username1223. Everything in her post I agree with. Being in debt again is just scary, and even makes me feel guilty. I try to pay everything in cash now. Rarely use debit card for anything. I live in Michigan, and putting a down payment on a home is not something I ever want to do again, as my last home was waaay upside down. I lived the American dream, and it turned into a nightmare. For me bankruptcy has been life altering, and I don't ever want to come close to something like that again.

[oldhack]

While I understand the concept of "upside down" -- owing more than a property is worth -- I don't understand why it's a factor unless your home is an investment, not a place to live.
If my house loses half its value tomorrow, I still have a mortgage I can afford to service, a place I like, and can consider the payment 'rent'. It isn't an investment account; the lender can't hold a 'margin call'. So, as long as my home is worth what I'm paying TO ME, whatever value the rest of the world places on it (other than the tax assessor, I mean) is just so much trivia.
(Okay, did some homework, and realize that my impression of 'upside down' doesn't take into account the growing negative equity. To which I can only state, I hope I'm smart enough never to take out a second mortgage, equity line of credit, or ARM. The deal I have is pretty darn good, and at a low fixed rate.)

[moneytrouble]

Yep. Never get a second mortgage unless it is for improving the value of your home.

To which I can only state, I hope I'm smart enough never to take out a second mortgage, equity line of credit, or ARM. The deal I have is pretty darn good, and at a low fixed rate.)

[Rahaton]

Oldhack, one thing that would matter to us, even though we are not upside-down on our mortgage, is having to move to follow work. We just lost all our equity when the value of the house dropped, if it lost half its value then we could never move. We would have to get that extra $150k to pay off the note.