Renting vs. buying a home....So difficult coming up with a down payment!

Here

Let the numbers speak for themselves

[link to www.nytimes.com]

It's stupid to buy a home while the economy is still crashing.

Just rent and be happy that you aren't going underwater.

You aren't 'throwing money away'. That's realtor propaganda. Most times renting cheaper than owning, do the research, see for yourself.

move somewhere cheap until you can save up enough?

But it's cheaper to buy a home for $140,000 plus interest over the next 30 years and OWN A PLACE TO LIVE FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE than to pay $1300 a month in rent over the next 30 years and then have to shell out MORE rent in years 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 etc etc etc etc..........

Look for an opportunity where you can rent with an option to buy.

That is when the owner of a house allows you to put a certain percentage of rent that you have paid to live in the home toward the down payment that is part of the purchase of the home.

That way you can become home owners with a smaller mortgage and faster.

Last Edited by Biochemky on 12/31/2011 03:07 AM

what if you only live another 3 years?

But you would pay $114,000 in interest over 30 years!! (at 4.5%) Add in the ever-rising property tax (you NEVER 'own' the house, it ALWAYS belongs to the government) and house maintenance and from a financial standpoint renting comes out ahead.

Put down 10%, take out a 30-year mortgage on the remaining purchase amount. Make 13 payments a year instead of 12 with the 13th (nonrequired) payment being paid directly against the principal (rather than the interest) only and own the house free and clear after 20 years instead of after 30 years.

Ok, help me with the math on that. I don't follow...

That's right, rent the cheapest, sleaziest dive you and find. Then you sell the late model SUV and buy a shitty old $1000 beater, no more movies at 12 bucks a pop, stay home and watch tv. No more McDonalds, take your lunch to work in a lunch bucket and for sure no more fucking $8 Starbucks coffees. If you really want a house you'll do it.

This is excellent advice....thank you!!!

How do property taxes work in Canada?

In the UK the person renting pays property taxes and not the landlord. But in the USA the landlord pays the property taxes and not the tenant (well not directly).

Do you have any family you can borrow a deposit from interest free?

When you buy, what about getting a lodger to help pay with the bills?

I'm an American living here in Canada, so not sure. We are currently renting and not paying any taxes, so I assume that's the way it is here in all cases.

How is she gonna save money by eating a bucket of KFC every day? If she eats that much chikkin, she'll get FAT!!!

[link to www.bankrate.com]

Play around with the calculator and check out the tables.. The interest is obscene.

Just wait until the feds planned depression kicks in, houses should drop another 80% from here over the next couple of years. Then you can buy the same house for around 30,000 and pay it off in 7 years.


Ask someone who bought a house in America 4 years ago whether they would have been better off renting or having their house foreclosed, losing all their deposit and still owing the bank a hundred grand.


wait for the engineered federal reserve bank depression to kick in.

The other positive, you know that the powers that be want to reduce the population to 500 million people. Assuming your still alive, there will be a lot of empty houses which you can have for nothing.

Instead of buying another house I have been thinking of buying one of those huge recreational vehicles; and living in that. I am single, have no kids but three cats. I have been looking at houses on the net and the property taxes are running between $4,000 and $5,000 a year on them. In an RV most parks only charge $10.00 a day. You can live for free if you are over 62 in any national park during the summer and fall season. During the winter you head for Southern California or Arizona. You do have to pay a lot for gas. but I figure you only have to do this a few times a year. I do not know what the registration fees are on these huge vehicles.

OMG... don't bother...are you kidding me?

Thanks for the advice.

Not only would the registration probably cost a pretty penny, but OMG the gas!!! I don't know how we'd afford that for a vehicle that huge.

Ok, maybe the interest is insane, but it still seems like buying is a better idea than renting.

Either I'm right (and there are benefits to buying that are being overlooked here, or I've been brainwashed by the banking industry my entire life).

and that would be because why?




Yes, you have. It's called chasing 'The American Dream'. There was a brief window where is was possible for most. That window closed long ago. Now, it's far better to be debt free than owe money to anyone, and that includes mortgages.

Housing will continue to decline. Don't try and catch a falling knife.

$10 x 365 = $3650 per year.

Thank you.

But what if the newly-built complex we are looking at are offering an incentive of only 5% down and a low price of only $140,000.

Isn't that a deal?

PLUS the gas, insurance, registration and maintenance on a major vehicle.

Live with family for a year and save the $$$ on rent towards your house.

Property taxes, repairs, insurance, lawnmower, gas for the lawnmower, water, sewage and a thousand other expenses drive the price up. It's not just the monthly mortgage payment you have to consider. When your furnace goes that's 5 grand to replace it. Refrigerator, another grand. There aint no landlord anymore to cover all that.

You will live in a house, but you'll live poorer than you are now. It all depends on what you want. Equity for the future is nice but you'll be giving up part of today to get it. That's what people who can't afford houses find. When you have lots of money houses are great. When you don't, they keep you up at night. You can do it, but your life is going to change, not necessarily for the better.

OP if you WANT to buy a house, then buy one. If you want to rent a house, rent one. Don't worry too much about the money, do what you WANT to do.

I know. I'm just trying to make an informed decision. I don't want to screw up and do the wrong thing.

Most mortgage lenders today require 20 - 30% as down payment and very few will lend anything below 100 grand because they can't make any money on it.