Comments on: Don’t Overpay For Rent

By: Sandy

Sandy — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 13:02:42 +0000

Disclaimer: I’m a Realtor.

Renting vs Buying is a personal lifestyle decision along with being a financial decision.

Currently rental rates are skyrocketing – due in part to the large numbers of foreclosure properties already on the market and the elusive ‘shadow inventory’. Landlords are using the demand for rentals as a means to increase rates and really make a profit. And they can pick and choose their tenant.

It comes down to where you are in life, what you want and how many hoops you are willing to jump through to purchase or rent.

By: brettski

brettski — Tue, 24 May 2011 15:29:36 +0000

I was assigned to live in New York city for 2 years; since I knew I’ll probably never be back I bit the bullet and paid ~$3,700 in rent to live right on central park and broadway.

Not at all a smart thing financially (I’d argue having anything to do with living in manhattan isn’t) but it’s an experience few people will ever have and something I’ll treasure always.

By: thunderthighs

thunderthighs — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 05:27:16 +0000

I’ve always gone for the cheapest rent possible. In college, I could never understand why some students were blowing (or their parents were blowing) upwards of $1000 a month for rent in a student ghetto.

By: IMMI-RENTER

IMMI-RENTER — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 22:06:28 +0000

My family and I have immigrated into the US recently. A former colleague of mine had introduced me to her friend who needed help. She had a 2 bedroom 1st floor of the house empty and as she was alone living upstairs she wanted to rented it out. So we came looked around the place and it was an okay house which was about 30 minutes away from NY; Wanting to find a job in NY we settled temporarily in the house and negotiated a rental price of something between 6 and 7 hundred US dollars. The first month we were without a sink in the toilet as she would not fix it. The second month she actually fixed it with a negotiating upstairs with her plumber friend. Our ears were unfortunate witnesses of the negotiation and the next day we had a miracle. Hoping for best we had already registered out kids into school and boom it turns out that she did it to demand more money from us.
Conclusion: Renting in this current economy is cheaper, however, make sure you have an agreement that safeguards you.

By: Peter

Peter — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 23:45:00 +0000

This is an old thread and topic but somehow Mr. Wangs’ thoughts are even more significant to me now than when this topic got started.
I am 69 years old, married, divorced. have a Son who built his own home in the last 5 years..
I have NEVER owned a home because of most of what Jim Wang sez here, I see the idea of owning a home as something which is out of reach for most people if they are very honest with themselves. Very few of us can afford to buy a house..
People say they have equity in a house…. instead of ‘throwing’ their money away renting; baloney.. You don’t have any equity at all in a house for many years, you don’t own anything, the BANK owns it….and You!
If you are one of those folks who still think the american dream of a house is important, that is your business and you are entitled to think and act as you wish; it’s your money and your life certainly..For me, With the economy as it is now, it will be many years before we ever get back to any stability, if we ever had any to begin with. People by the thousands are still losing their jobs, foreclosures around 97,000 last month and the market for existing home sales is down by the largest margin in our recent history; something like 38 percent..From my point of view, you must be kidding to go in debt for a house.

By: Frugal

Frugal — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 19:15:43 +0000

I agree that purchasing a home is a great investment and well worth it in the long-term. However, it depends on your current situation and lifestyle. I graduated from college less than two years ago so I’m young and would like to remain flexible. One thing I do hold myself too though is that every dollar I pay in rent, I also pay towards my student loans. This means that when I’m done paying them off, I can start saving this amount for a downpayment on a house. Renting allows me to get my finances in order before making the committment of owning a home.

By: Rummy

Rummy — Tue, 19 May 2009 20:25:54 +0000

I’m a stingy renter too! Glad to know I’m not alone. I pay $715 and that includes parking and electricity. It’s a small place and not heavily decorated but I don’t care. It’s just a place to sleep and store stuff.

By: tina

tina — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 01:03:37 +0000

I recently rented a one bedroom with a den in an apt. complex. When looking in this sunday’s paper i saw an adverstisement for the same apt. in my complex for less money. Should i confront the landlord and ask why i am paying more? I HAVE A LEASE. WHAT SHOULD I DO.

By: james

james — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 09:20:35 +0000

I agree 100% — Dont overpay for rent. I have a question though.

Is it better to rent an apartment or buy a manufactured home? I found a good location where they are selling a 2 bedroom manufactured home for $170K. The mortgage calculator says, for a no downpayment for 30 years at 6.12% interest, I pay $1,032.39 monthly.

Today, Im renting a studio at $1,000 a month. So I thought would the mobile home be better? I mean in 3 years, I would have paid out 36,000 (more if the rent goes up). That money goes away. But I buy that mobile home, I can sell it in 3 years for a super discounted deal, say, 80,000. I would not be only be able to regain the 36,000 but also would have made money.

Will this approach really work?

By: cad

cad — Sat, 12 May 2007 15:42:55 +0000

For me, it’s a choice between diversified investing in the stock market, which I do, and investing in real estate, which I don’t do. I like knowing that my invested money is semi-liquid instead of being tied up in the home I live in, which I’d have to sell in order to get at the funds. My rent is probably what you’d consider high, but all utilities, repairs, package deliveries, security, trash pickup and recycling, gardening, painting, pool maintenance, etc. are included/done for me at no extra fee or trouble. (My least favorite things are choosing contractors and repairpeople, waiting around for them, and paying them!) My renter’s insurance is under $200/year. I enjoy watching my investments grow.

By: Disgruntled

Disgruntled — Thu, 10 May 2007 05:33:46 +0000

A lot of people don’t have the money for anything better than “el cheapo” apartments.

I have a dream, that one day, the ability of our children to live in decent neighborhoods will be based not on the content of their pocketbook, but on the content of their character.

Several years ago I thought I was clever because I found a great deal in an obscure neighborhood with good value. (Cheap rent but without the usual neighborhood negatives.)

But now the gangbangers and illegal aliens are moving in because they’re getting displaced from gentrifying neighborhoods.

By: Master Allan

Master Allan — Thu, 10 May 2007 04:13:39 +0000

Flexo has a good point. I pay almost $800 in rent for a well maintained unit, high fence, and security here in Denver. Some “el cheapo” apartments very close are complete disasters but hundreds less a month. No way would I consider trying to save a few hundred dollars in exchange for noise, poor parking, crime, and otherwise unbearable conditions. But paying $900…$1000…$more would be throwing money out.

invest4life – In some cases renting is throwing money out. But I am the front page photo of renting is better sometimes. I was working a miserable tech job in Dallas hating every minute. Rather than buying a home and putting down the 20% downpayment, I continued to rent. A fantastic opportunity in Denver opened offering nearly double salary but I had to act fast. I left Dallas June 3rd, instructed to report to work June 5th…..my apartment lease expired on June 4th!! Relocation was a breeze with me jumping into the car and leaving that miserable place behind. No house to sell, paperwork to deal with, just walked away and forgot all about it.

By: invest4life

invest4life — Thu, 10 May 2007 00:28:32 +0000

I agree with you that renting is temporary and the real test is purchasing a home. Renting to me is throwing your money into a black hole, the return you get is a roof over your head for a month (valuable no doubt). Compared to buying a home, which is an asset you will possess for as long as you live or until you sell. Real estate is one of the most sound investments there is (it may not appreciate as much as say a killer stock). Regardless of how bad the real estate market gets, it can never go to zero! No one can take your land/space away from you if you own, that cannot be said if you rent.

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 09 May 2007 22:15:47 +0000

were you live plays an important role psycholgoically. If you are focused on building wealth for yourself, I believe a nice place to live is essential.

It is the intengible factor which makes the difference.

By: Minimum Wagec

Minimum Wagec — Wed, 09 May 2007 20:19:40 +0000

As a boomer with no hope of buying a home, I long ago resigned myself to being (and viewing myself as) a permanent renter.

This has led me to obsess on finding and keeping the most affordable housing I can find. (Took me four months of daily pavement-pounding one time.)

Most people don’t know this little tidbit about low-rent housing: A large proportion of low-rent units are occupied NOT by renters with the lowest incomes, but by renters with average incomes who have ferreted (or in some cases networked) out the cheapest deals. The resulting “mismatch” forces many with the lowest incopmes to pay much higher rents than they should be paying.