Advantages to Renting: Why I Rent

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Before I get to the nitty-gritty of this post, I just want to say that everyone’s situation is different. There is no right or wrong answer in the rent vs buy argument. Watch out for the folks that try to tell you that there is. I know about home value appreciation and all the other so-called pros for owning a house, but I’m 100% for renting right now. There’s a lot of advantages to renting right now for me. Some people understand my take on the topic and others don’t. I even have friends who were homeowners but sold their homes because they realized homeownership was overrated.

In the past, owning a home was a part of the American Dream. It’s 2019, and that dream has turned into a damn nightmare for a lot of people. With rising costs, a lot of folks just can’t afford their mortgages. Others can, but that’s about all they can afford. They don’t have enough money saved for emergencies or for vacations. At 35 years old, I’m content with renting for the next few years while I continue to get my finances in order which means paying off this debt and increasing my streams of income. I want to share several reasons why I will be renting for the next couple of years. Hopefully, you’ll understand and see these benefits of renting.

I am in DEBT!

I’m currently still in debt. I’d have to be dumb as hell to add more debt to my situation right now. I still have over $60,000 worth of debt right now. How could I add another $150,000 – $200,000 to that amount? That doesn’t make any sense to me. Some people say there is good and bad debt. I disagree. All debt is bad in my opinion. At the end of the day, it all has to be paid off. I honestly don’t give a damn what other people ( The Joneses) are doing. My primary goal right now is to eliminate my debt. Adding a mortgage to it won’t help me.

Why be tied down?

Why should I be tied down to a house in a city that I may or may not be interested in living in a couple of years from now? I’m still not sure if I found an area that I want to settle down for the long haul yet. I love living in the city, but it’s getting more and more expensive. Who knows what may happen in the future. I could get a job or opportunity that could require me to work abroad or move. Having to worry about a mortgage would add more stress to the situation. My friends at Rich and Regular recently had a dope post on Instagram about homeownership. Check it out here. Being able to move freely is one of the biggest advantages to renting.

Costs

Because I’m renting, the only thing that I’m paying for is the deposit, rent, utilities and renters insurance. If I owned a home, I’d have to make a down payment, pay the mortgage, closing costs, property taxes, and deal with items that break on my own. For example, right now, if my refrigerator went out, I’d call my landlord and have another within 24 hours. That actually happened a few years back. If I owned, I’d have to waste time looking for a new fridge and pay for it with my own money. Right now, I’d rather let someone else deal with it.


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Convenience

I love convenience. Renting does that for me. If something breaks, maintenance will come and fix it. I don’t have to worry about using my hard-earned money. Right now I couldn’t imagine having to pay for maintenance items with my own money right now. Because I’m using the majority of my money to pay off my debt, that would deplete my emergency fund. I’m trying to grow that amount, not make it smaller. Another thing is that I don’t have to worry about cutting the lawn or doing any other type of yard work. While I have no problem doing it, I’d rather continue to use my time to do other things such as thrifting.

Travel

I’ve said this once, and I will say it again. Travel is my anti-drug. With a house, I wouldn’t be able to travel as much. One of the benefits of renting is that I’m still able to travel without stressing about it. For me, life is about experiences. Travel is one of the best experiences out there. I’m not trying to give that up. In fact, Travel is the only thing I didn’t give up when I started this debt repayment. It’s a decision that I’m glad I did. It means that I have to work harder to make being debt-free a reality. Just this year alone, I had two vacations where I was gone for 8 days each time.

Wealth

Image courtesy of Marcon Marketing Group

In the past, I used to think that homeownership was the easiest path to wealth. Now, I’m not sure. The picture above shows that 15% of millionaires got their wealth through Real Estate. Look at how 50% of millionaires generated their wealth. They did it by becoming Business Owners. That’s my plan. I’m essentially betting on myself. The way that things have been going the past two years, I like my odds.

As I get older, I’m sure my thoughts on renting may change. The advantages to renting may change. I will probably want to own once I get married. Also, as my income continues to grow, it will make buying easier. That is something that I will worry about a little later, though. For the record, I’m not anti-homeownership. I just know that it’s not for me at the moment.

Here are a few posts that I found interesting

Most Millenials Regret Buying

Homeownership Doesn’t Build Wealth

5 Reasons It’s Better to Rent Than Buy A Home

My friend and his wife recently sold their home. They offer a great perspective.

Do you rent or do you own? What advantages to renting do you believe?

15 Comments

  1. I can totally relate to not knowing where you’d like to settle permanently. Although I wish I’d have been a lot more sensible with my money years ago, I’m still glad I didn’t buy a house somewhere I’d later regret. I’m still renting but saving to buy, my thoughts on renting now at 34 are it’s just dead money. At least if I am paying off my own house it’s investing in something. However, if I was I your shoes I certainly wouldn’t add to my debt either, that’s just crazy. I think you’ve chosen right for now.

  2. Great article! I’ve been back and forth on this issue for many years now. I understand the perks of ownership but if it doesn’t fit your current lifestyle, then why put more pressure on yourself.

    1. Exactly. There is no reason to have that extra pressure. People should do what makes them happy.

  3. I much preferred owning a house but I’m that boomer who had one job in one town my whole career and has kept the same house for decades. That’s nothing like my millennial kids lives. One of my hvac units died this week, $8,200 out of pocket surprise, and the other one will likely die soon. That’s a small expense to me but it could wreck a young couple in many cases. Great post, renting is the smart choice for many, maybe most for the reasons you detailed.

  4. We have done both renting and owning for our primary residence and I can see the allure of both. We live in NYC, and in high cost cities, it often makes more sense to rent. We want to spend our time in different places so while we own our primary residence now we don’t plan to buy everywhere that we want to live. That would be cost prohibitive and inefficient!
    That said, regarding your chart of where wealth comes from, my guess is that real estate might be undercounted b/c many people (my husband and I are in this bucket) make our money from business but then hold it and grow it in real estate. We don’t think of our primary residence as a wealth generator, but absolutely count our rental properties as both investment and business. We couldn’t have reached our FI numbers without it.

  5. Great article and I totally agree!

    I am an advice-only Financial Planner in Vancouver, BC and rent. For me, the math (and convenience, etc.) works out better than owning.

    Steve

    1. I understand. Thanks for reading.

  6. I prefer owning a house but the example you gave about the refrigerator that was exactly touched my mind and the expenses of owning a home is much more than renting. I will think twice before buying a house. Thanks for sharing your experience with us!

  7. Great article. Renting offers the freedom to move places. Also, the cost involved in selling a house you own (renovations, marketing and all), may make it a worthless investment.

  8. House on rent is a good option if you have so much debt. You are already in debt and at that time thinking of buying a home is not so good option. Because it costs very much. If you are able to pay rent then going with renting a home is a better option.

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