I owned a home for seven years, but I was happy to be a renter again because I lived in a luxury apartment community for a year and loved it. Now, I’m back in a home due to life circumstances, but I’m renting this house instead of buying it.
Sometimes, I’m tempted to buy when I look at the home prices in my location, but then I remember that one of the things I like about renting is the fact that fixing issues around the house is someone else’s responsibility.
What Will You Have to Take Care of in the First Year of Home Ownership?
We bought the home new-built way back when, so there weren’t many problems to worry about. However, others aren’t so lucky. According to HomeAdvisor, a home improvement marketplace, some of the most frequent emergency projects reported within the first year of homeownership include:
- Blocked pipes and toilets
- Clogged drains
- Water leaks
- Broken cooling or heating system
Some of the issues, such as clogged drains or blocked toilets, can be cleared up on your own. Investing $20 to $30 in supplies from a hardware store (including some sort of liquid to clear the drains) can have the job done in no time and at very little expense.
Other projects can be costly, though. You probably can’t fix your heating system on your own, or repair serious water leaks. Calling in professionals can mean spending hundreds — or even thousands — of dollars to repair your home. And that cost is probably on you.
And, of course, the longer you live in your home, the more it will cost you in terms of maintenance and repairs. I was glad we ended up moving after seven years because we had already replaced some of the flooring and other minor issues were starting to crop up. I’m glad I’m not my parents, who are almost due to replace their roof.
Having a Landlord to Take Care of Everything
One of the reasons I love renting is because I love that someone else is responsible for routine maintenance and repairs. I don’t have to worry about replacing the roof. When I completed the walkthrough for the house I currently rent, I found several issues, including a faulty bathroom fan, an improperly anchored dishwasher and some other minor problems. The property manager made a note of everything and sent someone over to fix all the issues within a week.
I know that if something else comes up, I’m not on the hook for it (unless I do something negligent to make it happen). That’s worth quite a bit to me. I don’t like the inconvenience of being in charge of these items.
It’s a good idea to take into account your lifestyle preferences when deciding whether to buy or rent. The home you live in is very much a lifestyle choice. Think about the lifestyle that most appeals to you, and then make it a point to arrange your living situation in a way that makes sense.
Not everyone enjoys renting like I do, but I find it suits my needs perfectly.
{ read the comments below or add one }
Hi, Miranda
We have been both a house owners and renters. There are pros and cons of both types. We are now living in rented housing. We really enjoy much carefree live – no need to worry about to fix anythiing in the living space. But we will miss out the profit if the price of the housing increased.
– Stella
I actually had a terrible run renting previously I ended up moving 5 x in two years. It was really just a string of bad luck but I am now looking forward to owning. If you have a good landlord renting can be great.
Landlord is the one who has spent a great amount of money of the house “In the name of wealth” and subsequently doing a caretaker job in it.
*Note advice may not apply to SF bay area.
I rented for three decades in silicon valley from the time I started as a grad student until I retired. I chose to rent mainly for the much lower costs, at the low end it was possible to find small studio apartments like converted garages at less than one third the median rent. Even back in the 1980s the price of a house there was high, around ten times my starting salary. And cheap small studio places simply were not available for sale anywhere, they only existed as rentals.
So my plan was to collect the local wage premium, live/rent small, invest the resulting savings in stocks, and retire to a cheaper resort-like location where I could buy a home to settle down. This is pretty much how it worked out for me.
We just sold our house and are renting. We LOVE it. I love not being worried about something happening to our house. Of course, I’m still careful, but at least I don’t have to budget repairs in.