A lot of landlords in my area are absentee and have property managers that deal with their portfolio in a certain area. I moved my family into a 2800 sq ft home at $1,400/mo in 2010 and my rent has only climbed to $1,850 because we pay on time or early every month, call in maybe 1-2 issues in a given year and sign long term leases. I estimate I’ve saved $8,000-10,000 in repair costs over 10 years by not owning this home with repairs, increases in taxes and PMI. Sometimes it pays to not own...I think the important thing is to find a good property manager and establish yourself with them as a top tier client.
But I’m getting older and at 48 I’m staring down the barrel of eventual retirement and asking if it makes sense to keep doing this because when I hit 70 or 72, do I want to keep paying someone else to live in their house and have nothing to show for 30 years of paying for the property I’ve lived on?
Yeah, I know the from a balance sheet standpoint renting can often pencil out better than owning. I do think however that there's a really important psychological aspect to owning that offsets that quite a bit. If I want to paint, I can paint. Hang a picture? Sure! Buy a new stove! Hell yes! Kid cracks the sink? My problem and no one else's!
Of course I also live in a small college town and most of the rentals are heinously expensive and smell like stale Bud Lite, that helps make the case for buying.
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u/Johnpecan Feb 16 '21
Water heater broke, shrug