Comments on: 7 Non-Financial Reasons Why I Love Owning A Home

By: dakboy

dakboy — Fri, 25 May 2007 02:20:45 +0000

I can’t really disagree with anything here. #6 though is a double-edged sword. While I’m responsible for everything and don’t have to wait on the landlord, I’m also responsible for everything and can’t call someone to come fix the leak that sprung at 2 AM in the bathroom.

Seems like a very strong split on #3. My renting experiences were filled with bad neighbors. There’s nothing quite like being woken up by the kids next door every weekend morning at 5:30AM. Or having the neighbors downstairs complain that your CATS wake their kids up. Or the inconsiderate jerks who leave their stuff in the laundry machines for 3 hours. My wife, when she had an apartment, had smokers next door and that smoke made its way into her closet, stinking up all of her clothes.

I think on #3, the experience really depends on the area you live in and the type of neighborhood you move into.

#4 – The house came with all the appliances except the stove. The dishwasher is good, the fridge quite inefficient, the laundry machines old, small & inefficient. We replaced the laundry already with mid-range gear, and the fridge will be replaced with a more efficient model within 5 years. Replacement means a good chance to upgrade.

By: Moneymonk

Moneymonk — Mon, 21 May 2007 20:05:42 +0000

I think in rent vs buy both have some advantages. I have to say that owning is definitely an upgrade to where we was before. For the mere fact the house payments never increase is enough reward for me. Satisfaction!

By: jim551@gmail.com

jim551@gmail.com — Mon, 21 May 2007 18:51:41 +0000

If you have someone who can fine you and put a lien against your house for painting it the wrong color or having too many cars in front of ‘your house’, you really don’t own it.

By: Kate

Kate — Mon, 21 May 2007 17:22:09 +0000

Reason #3: Not where I live.

They’re persnickety, selfish, anal retentive jerks who always whine when I do remodeling that will INCREASE their property value along with mine….

By: Brad

Brad — Mon, 21 May 2007 17:02:34 +0000

My experience jives with Reason #3. Apartments, everywhere I have lived, are seen as temporary residences. The effort to make friends with neighbors just seemed, to most people, like a waste of time. Plus, you spend all of your home time in your apartment. I spend a lot of time outside working in the yard, sitting on the porch, etc. That causes much more interaction with my neighbors. I think Reason #3 stands, for many people, as a reason buying a home is better than renting an apartment (but not necessarily renting a house).

I’m a relatively private person like plonkee, but you can be private in a house in a subdivision if you so choose; even more private in many ways since you share no walls or corridors.

By: Nigel

Nigel — Mon, 21 May 2007 16:29:07 +0000

Agree with Cami on Reason #3. I think I had better neighbors when I was renting. Also with renting, if you don’t like the neighbors, you can just move. With owning, you are stuck (more or less).

By: plonkee

plonkee — Mon, 21 May 2007 16:27:51 +0000

I’m with you on numbers 1, 2, 4 and 7. Not sure about 6, I’m probably lazier than the landlord.

Re: 5
My new (first) house purchase actually has worse parking than my flat. Thats what you get for moving to a house that was built before ordinary people could afford cars.

Re: 3
I’m not a speaking to the neighbours sort of person, I prefer to keep myself to myself. I hope they don’t want to be too friendly.

By: Madame X

Madame X — Mon, 21 May 2007 15:03:57 +0000

I agree with all of these, except in NYC we don’t usually get parking, and oddly enough, when I rented, I was closer to my neighbors than I currently am in my condo, though hopefully that will change.
But it’s true, you can do all the rent vs. buy calculations in the world, and it won’t change certain satisfactions that only come with owning your home.

By: cami

cami — Mon, 21 May 2007 14:10:11 +0000

Reason #4, If your problem with the appliances in apartments is that they are efficient or have a high replacement cost, that seems like a financial reason to me. While some landlords don’t replace items, there are others that do put in very nice ones (I have a great refrigerator).

Reason #3, I think that makes certain assumptions about the personalities of people that rent versus those that own, which I personally have not found to be true. People will often rent first in a neighborhood to get a sense of the community. Personally, if I had neighbors who didn’t have any interest in me just because I didn’t own a home, it would definitely make me think twice about living there. I know plenty of people who own homes and barely know anyone on their block.