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folklaur
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| Posted: Jan 02 2008 at 2:05pm | IP Logged
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What do you think? I am guessing most on list own their homes, but does anyone rent? If you do, can you tell me a little about why you came to that decision?
I have to say, the real estate market here has been devastating, shooting up and then plummeting...and I am very worried that when we put this house on the market that it will just sit....for who knows how long...
I also know that the only reason I am not with my husband RIGHT NOW is because we have this house.
We plan to rent when we first get to Vegas....but I am really wondering if I really want to buy again anytime soon. It feels very...burdensome...right now. That could just be separation and worry talking though...
I would love to hear some thoughts on this.
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Carole N.
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| Posted: Jan 02 2008 at 3:02pm | IP Logged
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I am in the same situation as you. We have always owned our own home. And fortunately, we were able to sell our home in the states (well, it is still in process, but it looks good). Currently, we are renting a lovely home here in Wales, but my dh informed me that in the UK people purchase homes with a 5-year note, and then refinance when the note comes due.
Now, I used to work with mortgages (the Federal Land Bank and dh lived in Houston during the downturn). This sort of financing makes me somewhat ... uneasy. The word is that housing values here climbed very rapidly, but are now leveling off if not flattening out.
Having never made any money on the sale of a house (until this time, St. Joseph willing), I am hesitant to invest in a home here. Our lease is for 6 months, but I tend to think that perhaps we should rent again until we know a little bit more about the housing market here. I know that I am not a housing expert ... this is just my reaction to having bought and sold houses for not much more than we paid for them.
I am curious to hear what others have to say. I can honestly say that since we have been married, we have always owned our home. And it does have so many advantages (painting, owning pets, etc), but for some reason, I just feel that it might be wise to wait a bit and see how things turn out.
Best wishes in making your decision!
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 Carole ... in Wales
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guitarnan
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I think (having done both) that it is often a good idea to rent for a year or so before buying in an area you don't really know - unless you have access to good and unbiased advice. (Realtors don't count.)
I have lived in several neighborhoods that looked nice but turned out to have unexpected problems (noise, gunplay). I am very glad we didn't buy those homes!
But...buying our home in MD (even though we didn't know too much about the area) is the best investment we have ever made.
Were I moving somewhere new for a long period of time (more than 2 or 3 years), I would probably rent first and then buy. The IRS gives you time to roll any home sale profits over (I think two years), so you don't have to pay capital gains tax instantly.
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Barbara C.
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We rented for the first six years we were married (4 apartments in three cities). We had good experiences and bad experiences. Some places were very prompt and repairing and replacing broken things. Others would try to pretend you were making it up and put the responsibility on you to take care of it.
We really liked our last apartment as far as size and promptness of service. (I didn't care for being on the fourth floor.) However, the rental company decided to do a major renovation of the buildings and apartments. They were raising the rent four times the normal yearly increase rate, and basically forcing everyone to move out or into a previously renovated apartment once their lease was up.
We were going to have to move either way, and decided that it was good time to invest in a home if we could. We don't have the greatest loan in the world (or home for that matter), but we do get the tax break for the interest on our loan. Our house payment is fairly consistent; any changes are based on property tax increases. And since we are in a townhome, we do have an association that handles all of the lawncare and snow shoveling (for a monthly association fee of course).
Just thought I would, throw those thoughts out there.
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mavmama
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We have owned, until this move.
Since I was not able to be here and look at houses, dh picked this one. We didn't know for sure how long his company would have the contract with the gov't. so thought renting would be a better idea for us. Also, we lived here for 11 months before we sold our house in Iowa. It was rented part of that time but we really struggled to make both payments at times. Now we are glad we rented because of the market and because the company didn't get the longer contract. We'll be moving again in about a year, if not before.
I don't like not being able to paint or decorate as I'd like and waiting for repairs can be frustrating, so those are the parts about renting I don't like. All in all I'm glad it turned out this way because I would not want to own this house--too many issues and the location is not my favorite. Just my 2 cents...
We are hoping to buy next time and stay put for a while.
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Kathryn UK
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Carole N. wrote:
Currently, we are renting a lovely home here in Wales, but my dh informed me that in the UK people purchase homes with a 5-year note, and then refinance when the note comes due.
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Carole, that would make me uneasy too! The standard mortgage term here has usually been 25 years and I'm not aware that has changed. However, in recent years there has been a trend towards taking out mortgages with the interest rate fixed for the first few years ... I think that may be where the 5 years comes in? People do then often look for a better deal and refinance at the end of that fixed rate term, but it is just an option - they can still keep the original loan if they prefer.
Property prices here have risen very fast over the past few years, which makes sitting on the proceeds of a house sale seem a bit scary to me. However, it does look as though the housing market is slowing right down so renting for a while could well be a good option for you.
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lapazfarm
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I think conventional wisdom is that if you are going to be an a place for 2 or more years, you should buy. Right now it is definitely becoming a buyers market, IF you can get a loan, which is getting harder to do since all the high risk mortgage issues have come up.It is a terrible time to sell in most markets, so if you think you will be moving relatively soon and have to sell again, I'd think twice about buying.
When I was renting I hated throwing all that money away that could have gone toward a mortgage, but we moved so often it didn't make sense to buy, and when we did, we either didn't make much, or lost money. Now we own our own home, and guess what... were gonna move again. Luckily the market here is pretty strong and we should be able to sell fairly quickly.
I think the advice to wait a year to buy is sound, but gosh I hate the thought of moving twice!
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Lisbet
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FWIW, We own. We bought this house 8 years ago in a hot market. Now we REALLY want to move, but we simply can't sell. NOTHING is selling, houses are sitting on the market for 2+ years in our area, then when they do sell, owners are breaking even. It's awful. We feel like we made a huge mistake buying this house. We thought when we first bought it we'd live here 5-10 years and have no trouble selling - now we're stuck. 
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folklaur
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| Posted: Jan 02 2008 at 5:24pm | IP Logged
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lapazfarm wrote:
| but gosh I hate the thought of moving twice! |
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Oh, me too!
I have boxed up so many books. I can get rid of most other stuff. But we have invested so much $$$ in books...and I have a really hard time getting rid of books....I love books....
But the thought of unpacking all these books to only re-pack and unpack them AGAIN in 6 months or a year....aaaggghhhh....
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folklaur
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| Posted: Jan 02 2008 at 5:31pm | IP Logged
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Lisbet wrote:
| now we're stuck. |
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See, that is my worry. Right now, I am feeling stuck already, just hoping and praying that it will sell soon.
And I just don't know that I am ready to take that back on up there. So we have started looking into house rentals.
We have pretty much owned our whole marriage....first a condo, then a house, then a move across town to this house, where we have been for 5 years now....we did rent an apt for a short time but that was more of a logistical/timing thing.
Thanks everyone for all your input - it is appreciated!
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: renting vs buying a home
