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The Rise of Renting in the U.S

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Re: The Rise of Renting in the U.S

#351

Post by restalis »

javanix wrote: post #182
awakeasleep wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Property taxes should basically kill the dream of "and don't pay a fucking thing to anyone" for anyone that lives in the US. Especially city dwellers. I was surprised to see tax for properties I could technically afford cost more per year than I had been paying in rent.

Well, in some areas, but it really depends on the market - the property taxes on my home in a University city of 200,000 are 1/3 of what I was paying in rent - with the interest on my mortgage the amount of "lost" money comes out to roughly the same amount for now. As long as property taxes do not outstrip my interest rate, that ratio should stay in my favor going forward.

"paying in rent - with the interest on my mortgage the amount of «lost» money comes out to roughly the same amount for now"

But there is also the opportunity cost. Having a mortgage may be equivalent financially, but it's a liability when considering your freedom to change or to invest in something profitable that may pop up along the way.

Re: The Rise of Renting in the U.S

#352

Post by goldbrick »

captronrico wrote: post #294
lowglow wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I park it wherever, but mostly try to stick to cities where it's legal to sleep in your van. While I have parked in San Francisco, Redwood City, and San Jose, right now I'm crashing in and around Palo Alto, CA. I shower every morning at my local 24 hour super sport gym. I'm a sucker for hygiene. I don't really worry about my van being broken into because I think I tend to stay in low crime neighborhoods. I'm also not…

Your lifestyle reveals an incredible amount of privileged; it's really hard to think about how this could work for non-white, non-male, non-highly educated white collar workers.

Not necessarily, this lady made it work: http://www.sfgate.com/realestate/article/Software-engineer-l...

Re: The Rise of Renting in the U.S

#353

Post by restalis »

jandrese wrote: post #306
javanix wrote: post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absurdly high taxes (my parents pay half my tax on a non-rural property twice as big about 120 miles north of me), but still, owning a home is hardly a fiscally ruinous proposition around here. My property taxes this year were ~$4200 on an average sized lot and home, or roughly $350/month. My last apartment cost $1050/month for a small two bedroom condo rental.

This is similar to my situation. Renting a crappy 2BR apartment was $1700/month thanks to the tight rental market. Mortgage and taxes on a townhouse in a nicer part of town? $1200/month. And theoretically after 30 years I would have an asset I could sell, unlike the renters. Renting just didn't make sense unless you're highly itinerant and don't stick around any one area for more than a year or two.

"Renting a crappy 2BR apartment was $1700/month thanks to the tight rental market. Mortgage and taxes on a townhouse in a nicer part of town? $1200/month."

So you take a mortgage and you're happy and there is a chance that you'll stay happy because your present reckoning may remain as good in the future as it is now. But it also may not. By mortgaging you become a sitting duck against the change, and that rental business of $1700/month seems attractive enough to invite further involvement and development thus driving the prices much lower not only compared to its current figure but also with the praised rental figure. What would you do then if this happens? Refinance in order to stretch that mortgage for more than 30 years?

Re: The Rise of Renting in the U.S

#354

Post by TylerE »

floppydisk wrote: post #52
brianwawok wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not having your rent increase or being told to move, as are being able to make your home exactly what you need. My home has a 15x15' home gym with all kinds of upgrades I like.. finding a ready made house with my exact ideal gym? Low odds....

That's the way my recent home buying friends look at it. They know they'll be in this metro area for X years and given most landlords raise rents by 3-5%+ in this area depending on demand, getting a 30 year fixed mortgage lets them lock in housing, in a location they want, for a fixed rate per month that never goes up. In fact, if they do it right, they can refinance and get the rate lower. Net result, housing become…

I think that's a bit naive, as owning a home can unexpectedly get VERY expensive (roof repairs, foundation repairs, etc)

Re: The Rise of Renting in the U.S

#355

Post by jazzyk »

pc86 wrote: post #329
bradleyjg wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> This makes me wonder if 30 year mortgages even end up making housing more affordable. Everything the government does to subsidize home-ownership ends up getting capitalized into home prices and so acts as a naked giveaway to incumbent homeowners and either does nothing for or actively hurts non-incumbents. Interventions breed more interventions as the prior ones no longer provide the above general inflation price…

How is a 30 year loan on what is usually the largest purchase of one's life a government intervention? Plenty of banks offer these loans with no backing, support, or encouragement from the government. And what do prepayment penalties have to do with anything? As a consumer I will absolutely not sign any loan that comes with a prepayment penalty. It would be idiotic to.

The government subsidizes housing through:

- low interest rates (reduces interest payments)

- tax deductions (mortgage interest payments, etc).

Low interest rates, in particular, caused prices to rise dramatically, putting a lot of people in a lot of debt and making house ownership out of reach for many others.

Re: The Rise of Renting in the U.S

#356

Post by [deleted] »

melted wrote: post #283
toomuchtodo wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's simple the same way exercise is simple: knowing what to do is easy, having willpower to do it is hard. Being financially independent can be done on a median wage, full stop. https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/ "Is that all too fluffy and philosophical? OK, fine. Here’s how to cut your life costs in half. Start by getting rid of your Debt Emergency if you have one. Live…

>> on about 24k per year Horseshit. A family of 4 will spend about 2/3rds of that amount on healthcare (meaning insurance + deductibles and copays) alone. Then there's real estate tax as well, utilities, food, necessities. I'd say $50K is bare minimum, and $75k could actually be quite comfortable after some belt tightening.

[deleted]

Re: The Rise of Renting in the U.S

#357

Post by toomuchtodo »

flyrain wrote: post #266
toomuchtodo wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I might be able to answer that. My wife and I are early 30s. I spent my 20s in the rat race, working 60-80 hour weeks for material possesions (nice vehicle, luxury townhouse, etc). At some point, I got tired of it and said, "Can we try something different?" I switched to a fully remote job. We disposed of the townhouse (no equity in it). We downsized our lives (1 car! I ride a bicycle everywhere! You would not imagin…

I envy you, man. Just out of curiosity, do you have children? Or are you going to have children?

We have a little one on the way, and intend to sail with him or her. We intend to have another eventually, or adopt when we return to land.

Re: The Rise of Renting in the U.S

#358

Post by toomuchtodo »

prawn wrote: post #279
toomuchtodo wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I might be able to answer that. My wife and I are early 30s. I spent my 20s in the rat race, working 60-80 hour weeks for material possesions (nice vehicle, luxury townhouse, etc). At some point, I got tired of it and said, "Can we try something different?" I switched to a fully remote job. We disposed of the townhouse (no equity in it). We downsized our lives (1 car! I ride a bicycle everywhere! You would not imagin…

What does your wife do? If one of the two of you is freelancing and has a variable income, getting the one with a reliable income to quit is risky.

My wife doesn't work. We're a one income family. We have sufficient assets that no work is necessary for at least 5 years (based on a low burn rate).

Re: The Rise of Renting in the U.S

#359

Post by timje1 »

tomp wrote: post #307
e0 wrote: post #297

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fear of violent crime. I'm not saying it's reasonable (statistically speaking), just that it's there.

Why would women fear crime more than men? Statistically, men are more likely to get robbed, beaten up and killed.

The English crime statistics have violent crime happening to men at almost twice the rate of women.

What I found interesting was a recent study that found rape has a much higher rate of PTSD occurrence than other crimes - maybe it's so uniquely traumatic (and the threat of it so terrifying) that it forces women to be more careful than men even when men are statistically much more likely to be assaulted by strangers.

Re: The Rise of Renting in the U.S

#360

Post by taurath »

jdubs wrote: post #282
taurath wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They put my brother through a bit of school - I left home at 18 on unamicable terms over my sexual orientation. Its a competitive world but spending every waking minute of your time on things that will give you resources will not give you the skillset needed to enjoy the resources you get. If you're trying to climb the socioeconomic ladder make sure you ask yourself whether its really worth it.

Hindsight is 20/20.

Absolutely true. I don't disparage my parents their decisions - their lives conditioned them to react and act the way they did and do. I'm glad to have the perspective relatively early on - things do not buy happiness.
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