@Linden
Own a house and then come back and talk about it. I drastically underestimated the true cost of homeownership before I had my first house, and am shocked at how expensive things have gotten in the last 5-10 years. Yes, a few of these costs are every 2-3 decades….but there are 100s of things that need fixed in and around a house, so you are paying for something pretty much every year, and many years require multiple things get fixed. Many of these things cost thousands of dollars more than they did a couple years ago.
@Avery
Owning gives you control over your living space and can be a more financially sound choice in the long term, especially if you’re able to maintain the property yourself.
Avery said: @Kit
Except renters do pay for all this via massive increases, extra fees, cheaper services. Ect
Yes exactly….renters are paying these and still somehow comparing rent increases to monthly mortgages without adding them back into that side of the calculation.
@Kit
We always had to pay water/sewer/garbage and electric separately from rent, it’s pretty standard where I live.
10 years ago I was renting a 3br 1200 sq ft duplex for $1100/mo and that same duplex rents for 3x that now and if things keep going the way they are here could be 6x that in another 10 but my taxes and insurance aren’t going to send my mortgage that high in 10 years. And I’ll have 10 years’ worth of payments under my belt, and my house should be worth more. I live in an area where the value of homes have doubled over the last 10 years and aren’t showing any sign of stopping.
Paying someone to repair or maintain your home is insanely expensive, but I can (and have) DIY most projects. Materials will go up, but most of what you pay for to have someone do it is labor and overhead. I’m lucky to have four Habitat for Humanity ReStores within a convenient driving distance and can source things like cabinets, fixtures, flooring, and more at a super cheap price there. It all depends on how much grind you want to put into the house!
@Marlowe
I didnt include utilities in my statement for that exact reason. I had a few places where it was included, but most of the time renting you are paying them anyway.
Owning a home for 10 years vrs renting in a hot market for sure makes a difference….its just not guaranteed to work out that way for everyone.
I also DIY almost everything except major projects. It saves a ton of money….but it takes a different commodity from me, time. I realized long ago that if I just worked overtime at my job instead of spending the time to do these tasks myself, I would come out ahead financially. Turns out I actually like mowing the lawn, trimming bush’s, painting walls, unclogging sinks, updating the kitchen, etc more than I like working more hours. How do you value your time?
Highly doubt your taxes and insurance has gone up 400 to 500 a month like my rent has every year the last 4 years… 1400 to 3000 since 2020. I’d take that increase you are talking about over mine.
@Marlowe
Mine went up 300$ in last year. Mainly because our insurance company dropped us after being bought out and the new company wanted us to pay a 450% increase…so we had to switch and had to get new current rates which is about 150% higher than what we got 4 years ago when we bought. In 4 years our mortgage has gone up about 600$ and it’s mainly due to the insurance. Crazy stuff
@Marlowe
My mortgage was $1110 in 2020 when we purchased at a 2.75 rate. Now it’s $1475. I’m sure it will be $1550 come next year when I get a letter in the mail saying my escrow is short again.