Any thoughts on that? If there’s one thing I’ve learned about being a lifelong renter it’s that’s everyone has an opinion on the fact that Nick and I are 35 years old and still rent an apartment. So what do you think? How many of our Dinks friends out there are like us and still rent?
Renting is so easy
It’s truly care free. We aren’t responsible for anything except handing over a check to pay our rent each month. I like the fact we don’t have to worry about hot water heaters, property taxes, eco-friendly windows and land surveys. All we need to do is make sure we don’t lose the keys to our apartment and that’s it.
That being said our new apartment that we moved into last October has taken us a step closer to the feeling of owning a home. After 14 years of paying all inclusive rent we moved into an apartment where we have to pay the utilities. This is a whole other story that I will write about some day when I actually figure out how it works, but for now we have to pay rent plus utilities which is hot water and electricity.
Buying real estate is a good investment
Or at least that’s what everyone tells me, but I wouldn’t know. We wouldn’t be buying a home as an investment. I don’t think paying rent is a waste of money, contrary to what a lot of other people say. I think paying rent is an exchange of service, we pay rent and in exchange our landlord gives us an 1100 sq ft. apartment to live in. I think it’s a good trade off.
Now of course one could argue that instead of paying a landlord we could be paying ourselves in the form of a mortgage payment and that is true but then we would have all the headaches that come along with owning property.
Our own home is the next logical step
We went from living in a high rise building in the middle of downtown to living in a newly renovated five unit historical building. We doubled the amount of floor space and we started paying multiple bills. With more floor space comes more responsibility and that’s been a bit of an adjustment.
We also moved to a quieter neighborhood and after a few years here I think our next step will be a home. We don’t need a big home because we don’t have a lot of visitors. One day we were driving around a neighborhood in the suburbs and got lost. We came across a lovely little corner house and I said to Nick “Wouldn’t it be nice to live here?”
The lot wasn’t too big and neither was the house which means there wouldn’t be too much upkeep but just enough to take advantage of all the things that come with a house like gardens and multi levels.
So what do you think, should Nick and I buy a house?
Kristina Tahnyak
Tahnya is a Certified Financial Planner and former Investment Advisor turned marketing and communications professional She holds a degree from Concordia University, is debt free and currently works in the field of digital marketing.
Hi Kristina, I found your site through the Cash Cow Couple. You’re doing a great job with your site!
As for your question, rent vs buy. I’m glad you aren’t getting peer pressured into buying a house. Just because everyone else is doing it doesn’t mean you have to! My wife and I own our home. It’s the second home we’ve owned, and so far we’ve been pleased with our decisions. We had to get creative with our first home, because at the time we wanted to sell we owed more than it was worth. So we hired a property manager and rented the place out after we found our new home. Wasn’t ideal, but it paid the mortgage every month and now we’re selling for a profit.
I say all that to say this – since interest rates are low right now, it may not be a bad time to buy. And if a tough scenario comes up if/when you want to sell, there are creative ways to make it work financially. Sounds like you’re already planning to stay well within your financial means with the house, which would’ve been the only other tidbit I’d offer.
All the best with your decision!
Thanks Joe. I have the same feeling about interest rates. I think I’m the only person in the world who will save money by buying a house. I’ll keep you posted.
I think you two live in the DC area…right? In general it is cheaper to own than rent in the DC area. Since that is the case I generally think it is a good idea to own in our particular market if you plan on being here more than 5 years.