As with everything, there are pros and cons (and always will be) with the whole rent vs buy debate. Some of those points in Web's link tho should be considered carefully and adjusted for the Australian context, not the US. Zargor
Yes there is probably an advantage to renting in some respects but that article is completely jaundiced towards renting. What about the risk of being evicted, the feeling of no control to hammer a nail where you like or install whatever you want? But worse than all those things is it doesn't say that with buying there is an end to the slavery. Once your loan is paid off in an average of 10-15 years you don't have to pay anywhere near the cost of renting ever again. You get to do what you want. The suckers who are "saving" while they rent are having their money inflated away so are suckers twice over. They'll never save enough to buy a house outright anyway. My advice is to buy but not overstretch.
http://www.bobdylan.com/#/songs/subterranean-homesick-blues Johnny's in the basement Mixing up the medicine I'm on the pavement Thinking about the government The man in the trench coat Badge out, laid off Says he's got a bad cough Wants to get it paid off Look out kid It's somethin' you did God knows when But you're doin' it again You better duck down the alley way Lookin' for a new friend The man in the coon-skin cap By the big pen Wants eleven dollar bills You only got ten Maggie comes fleet foot Face full of black soot Talkin' that the heat put Plants in the bed but The phone's tapped anyway Maggie says that many say They must bust in early May Orders from the D.A. Look out kid Don't matter what you did Walk on your tiptoes Don't try "No-Doz" Better stay away from those That carry around a fire hose Keep a clean nose Watch the plain clothes You don't need a weatherman To know which way the wind blows Get sick, get well Hang around a ink well Ring bell, hard to tell If anything is goin' to sell Try hard, get barred Get back, write braille Get jailed, jump bail Join the army, if you fail Look out kid You're gonna get hit But users, cheaters Six-time losers Hang around the theaters Girl by the whirlpool Lookin' for a new fool Don't follow leaders Watch the parkin' meters Ah get born, keep warm Short pants, romance, learn to dance Get dressed, get blessed Try to be a success Please her, please him, buy gifts Don't steal, don't lift Twenty years of schoolin' And they put you on the day shift Look out kid They keep it all hid Better jump down a manhole Light yourself a candle Don't wear sandals Try to avoid the scandals Don't wanna be a bum You better chew gum The pump don't work 'Cause the vandals took the handles Bob Dylan in 1965.
The article acknowledges the 'financial' scope of it's arguments. as above, this 'emotive' scenario noted specifically. The article touches on this by suggesting investment of the savings etc. The article scope is financials of "buying" vs financials of "renting". Introducing subsequent investment strategies of those savings is irrelevant, probably why a baseline cash rate was included in the attached calculator. I'd rather own, but having been through these calculations continuously of late, it's beyond sense to commit at present. later i hope, as the emotive arguments are the very real motivators.
I hammer nails in wherever I want. I built a work bench in the garage and put in an extra power point without asking, also did the gardens to my likeing. I do keep it in good nick as I have to live there and the land lords couldn't be happier. I couldn't be happier either as I could now buy back my place for less that what I sold it for and my high interest account pays me more than the rent. I would say that a double win for me not a double loss.
The more of these graphs I see the more I worry. I have suggested sell + rent to my partner but she nearly died at the suggestion. I don't think their is any possible way I can explain to her that we will end up much better off.
You have to do your own due dilligence here and not listen to the thickheads who will give you free 'advice' on what you should and shouldn't do without knowing the first thing about you or how your financial situation is set up. There are some VERY pro buying types here who will dole out the usual advice of buy and hold, no matter what. Ignore them. You need to decide what works best for yourself and your family and certainly not let the 'advice' of randoms who don't know you from a bar of soap to dictate what you should and shouldn't be doing with your personal finances and state of living. This thread will show you clearly there are VERY clear divisions of opinion with the pro buy - pro rent - pro just live within your means camps. I am not afraid or embarrassed to admit I simply cannot afford a home AND maintain a decent standard of living to raise a family. So I simply chose the lesser of two evils and remained a renter, but having a better quality of living for myself and my family. I honestly find your ignorance disturbing mate. Things ARE changing here in terms of cost of living if you can sit down and just look at the figures... (data & images care of Hobo Jo) I take a particularly dim view of those who wish to harp back to the assumption it was 'always' difficult as a means to dismiss claims the current environment is not 'as' affordable. It's a common myth that's been continuously debunked, disproven and put to rest many times but the old school crowd (because they've done it successfully) still refuse to see beyond their own front yard. The old adage of 'if I can do it, then ANYONE can and if you can't, you're just a whinger'. It's this level of ignorance which has drawn so much angst out of me in the part here on the issue. Not just the snide and derogatory attitude of the haves, but the sheer ignorance on display when looking at the facts.
Wow, that is a really interesting comparrison. Lets discard gambling and pets because they're totally optional Lets also discard phone as well because phone in 1960 didn't mean the same thing as phone in 2011 Housing, health and education... Ever get the feeling you're being screwed...
I am constantly dismayed at the last place that education gets in any debate. It is the single most important thing next to home and hearth. If the world were better educated it would be a better place of that I'm sure.
The older I get the more I realise that the best education that anyone can have, is generally achieved outside of the education system!
Peekay, do you see selling to rent as being the same as choosing to rent instead of to buy? 2ds, in the 60's you bought an empty unfurnished 2 bedroom 1 bathroom house without a garage or carport. House expectations are a lot higher now. Similar for health, in the 60's go to doctor and say you don't feel well, you got a packet of aspirin (which is probably cheaper now) and then died in 6 months from colon cancer. These days you get a colonoscopy, followed by a CT scan, followed by surgery, followed by chemotherapy and live for another 30 years. As for education, have teacher wages increased anywhere near in line with the figures on the chart?
Provided you have a basis to start with. Good teachers give good education. Closing a school means opening a prison - Mark Twain (or words to that effect).
But see, that's where it'd require an effort from parents to give their children the education actually needed to succeed in life and which they are actually interested in. 99% will prefer to remove the responsibility from their shoulders and relocate it to the gov-ent agency, called "school"...
Think someone here on the forum has a signature, also by Mark Twain: "I never let the school interfere with my education" or something to that effect.
I agree with you 100% on that Boston. Silver, I think Mark Twain said "I never let my schooling interfere with my education".
We had our son at a prestigious private school and were totally apalled at his progress. So we removed him, and I took on the task of home schooling him. It was unorthodox to say the least. From the age of 14 he travelled with me on business to Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Germany, Switzerland, Italy etc. Accepted into computing at the local Tafe and was the youngest student in Vic at Tafe. Had his own business at 15, lived overseas for a few years from the age of 21 and hobnobbed it with top sporting personalities etc and now has another business. Somehow, I know that if he had been left to the machinations of the education system at the time, he would just be another one of the sheep.
Good on you Boston. I wish my parents were more open minded like you. Sounds like your son had one of the finest educational experiences possible, far superior to what 99%+ of people receive. You should be proud of yourself. I'm sure your son will thank you one day if he hasn't already.