The kids are back to tomorrow, Steve and I have another week off together. This is probably the longest time I have ever taken off in a single stretch in years. What have I accomplished? Nothing of real consequence. I have had a lot of time for reflection, however- I am feeling quite positive about this new year.
I have entered a sweepstakes for the HGTV dreamhome, that just so happens to be just outside my our hometown of Albuquerque- I have been dreaming about what it would be like to live in a house just like that...amazing.
www.hgtv.com/dreamhome
http://www.hgtv.com/dream-home/sunrise-room-photos-hgtv-dream-home-2010/pictures/page-5.html
We have determined that it would be too much home for us, but that it would be an amazing bed and breakfast, company retreat, or weekend getaway- again, we are only dreaming and have our feet firmly planted in the reality that is Tucumcari, NM.
If you have ever seen the animated movie "cars", you have seen Tucumcari- the store shaped like a Tee-Pee and the Blue Swallow are real places nestled in this town that time has seemingly forgot.
So here is my point, to rent or to own... Right now we rent our house, a small 3BR on a corner lot. It is actually better to rent rather then own in this town because real estate in this town is very slow & there is a good chance we would not be able to sell it if we choose to move. I rather enjoy being able to call my landlord when things break, but we don't have any benefits of homeownership... This is one of the topics that I will investigate throughout this year.
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Hi Amber!
ReplyDeleteI am Walt's son, Jeremiah. We have never met or spoken, but we are family! Weird huh? Anyway, I came here by way of your Facebook post, and thought I would put in my 2 cents:
We are renters as well, and have been married for 5 years. We have 2 children, 3 and 4 years old. We are a family who lives on a single income, as we decided early on that we wanted my wife to stay home with the little ones. I think our family situation, and by virtue of the fact we live in the U.S.A., puts us in that category of people that should logically be looking to own. In fact, when we were 1st married, we had a strong desire to own, and did the necessary research to understand what we would be getting into if we did. It is also worth noting that this was the same time the real estate "bubble" was starting to grow; real estate was growing so fast that banks were going out of their way to give home loans, and people were snatching up houses left and right. All of this under the assumption that real estate would continue to grow for some time, and all would get a great return on their investments. This of course backfired, which is a big part of why we find ourselves in our current financial situation as a country. But I digress...
Had we acted more on impulse at that time, I think we would have purchased a home and paid interest-only for a while, or some similar short-term solution, as financially that is what we could have realistically managed.
What kept us from it was not being 100% comfortable with 15-30 years of mortgage payments. So we held off. Meanwhile the housing bubble burst, and we watched family and friends walk away from bad loans, or work multiple jobs to maintain their "American dream".
As you mentioned, there are alot of advantages to renting:
- Repairs are taken care of. If you owned you would need to add this to your monthly budget.
- Flexibility: If you want / need to move, you can! We recently had to move last minute due to my job, and this was not a problem. We just gave notice.
- You can explore different areas before putting your roots down and figure out what neighborhood is a good fit for your family.
- A clear conscience that you are not in debt!
I think the advantages of owning are that a home is a tax shelter, and you are in a permanent situation, which is nice when you have children to raise. And you can knock down a wall, or make other major changes if you so desire. Where we are, long term rentals are hard to find, as most owners are using their rental home as an investment to be sold when the market is good.
The main reason for us to continue to rent is not wanting to be in debt. We have struggled to pay off debt for some time, and believe it is God's will that we be in debt to no man. While home ownership is not really seen as debt by alot of people due to it being an investment, we have not yet come to a place where we can accept that on out consciences.
So we wait for the day we believe the Lord is calling us to own a home, believing He can and will provide the right place and the means to maintain it. Until then, we enjoy the advantages of being renters!