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The rise of the forever renters

wsj.com

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Re: The rise of the forever renters

#2

Post by paulcole »

I’m not wealthy by the standards discussed in the article but I’m a forever renter (a different kind than those in the article).

I like living in dense cities, I dislike large living spaces, and I dislike being responsible for anything or doing any maintenance. Renting a small cheap apartment is something that fits my lifestyle and lets me do quite well financially.

Re: The rise of the forever renters

#5

Post by consp »

paulcole wrote: post #2

I’m not wealthy by the standards discussed in the article but I’m a forever renter (a different kind than those in the article). I like living in dense cities, I dislike large living spaces, and I dislike being responsible for anything or doing any maintenance. Renting a small cheap apartment is something that fits my lifestyle and lets me do quite well financially.

> I dislike being responsible for anything or doing any maintenance

Unfortunately so do a lot of property owners who rent out the spaces.

Re: The rise of the forever renters

#8

Post by inamberclad »

The problem with renting is that it's so expensive that it's hard to stop renting. How, in this market, do you save enough to buy when you can't afford to pay less rent? Most people are being squeezed between a rock and a hard place.

Re: The rise of the forever renters

#9

Post by whateveracct »

skadamat wrote: post #3

Renting is underrated, especially in the US I feel where people are constantly encouraged to buy a house. https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/renting-is-not-a-waste...

Maybe in the market this very moment it's tougher to buy, but I bought in 2020 and my mortgage + other expenses pretty much match what I was paying in an expensive city (Seattle). I didn't buy in Seattle but it's an easy drive away.

And my house is 3k sqft vs the 800 I had in the city. And that space is put to work: Proper office, guestroom, gym room, much larger and nicer kitchen (which in turn saves me even more money because I cook more), charcoal grill outside, room for more guitars and drums, proper dining room for hosting family gatherings, a porch I can sit and smoke on. The list goes on.

Grocery store is walkable and the neighborhood is nice to walk in for exercise. City experiences are 20-40 min away depending on which city I wanna hang out in. I guess I have to have a car but I had one in the city anyways since I liked to drive to destinations around Seattle. It's an old Civic still kicking so it's pretty cheap all told.

For the same money per month, locked in for years. If I renewed my lease in 2020 during the pandemic instead of owning, I'd be materially less well off.

Re: The rise of the forever renters

#10

Post by bnchrch »

skadamat wrote: post #3

Renting is underrated, especially in the US I feel where people are constantly encouraged to buy a house. https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/renting-is-not-a-waste...

I agree with Ramit that it shouldn’t be characterized as throwing your money away.

But.

What it leaves out is by purchasing you’ve essentially fixed your cost of housing.

Which is important when you consider.

1. Inflation

2. The ever increasing wealth divide allowing landlords to charge more for rent knowing their tenants can never qualify for the alternative of buying their own home instead.

This is something I wish I understood earlier.

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