I guess maybe rich people who could afford to buy but choose not to, like to rent. I live in Sydney, don't know anyone who owns their house or even dreams of it one day. Saying there are people who like renting, sounds to me like saying there are people who like pain, or a terminal illness, or a death sentence. But hey, at least our money is going every week to people who already own more than one house?
I prefer to rent, and am not rich. I live in a large metro area in the US where rent is not insanely high, though. As someone who is single, it comes with a lot more freedom and less to worry about. Probably not the best long-term, but it's less stress in my life in my opinion, so the trade off is currently worth it.
Ok, well, if not rich, it sounds like you have the choice of buying or renting. Lucky you! I don't know anyone who has that choice. The person I responded to initially only meant, I guess, that some people who have the choice, prefer renting. Hm..but they were also talking as if people without the choice, like renting:
> it would be nice to live in a world where everyone is wealthy and capable enough to own and maintain their home. But there are actually people who like to rent
It just sounds like landlord's rationalizations. Also, the landlords here don't "take care of building..the house"—that happened 100-150 years ago or so.
I strongly doubt GP has a choice. Not rich + insane rent means he's probably building up saving too slowly for a house near where his social group is.
It sounds like you've been burned by a landlord in the past and are taking it out on all of them unfairly.
I hate the concept of a landlord, paying a lot without building any equity, unlike a mortgage on property. But I've never had one that does absolutely nothing.
Between tenants, my landlords vacuumed, repainted, sometimes re-carpeted if needed, removed old tenants belongs left behind, etc.
I've had landlords be good about replacements of major appliances too. One thing I learned is you need to be assertive and advocate for yourself. Persistence and following up until they do something is key.
But I've had multiple washing machines, laundry machines, and garbage disposals be replaced for no charge to me, without me doing anything but letting them into the house.
I'm still getting a bit ripped off with inflated rent, but that type of convenience takes a lot off my plate.
I rent, and am plenty fine with it. One thing I like is that we get a yearly home inspection. Some people surely dislike the thought of people trouncing through their inner sanctum, but what it means is that every year they find things that need fixing, and fix them. Last year we got a new (and better) stove out of it. The year before we got our washer/drier dismantled, fully cleaned, and rebuilt with a few new parts, and a new water heater.
They want to keep their units in good condition, and I don't have to do much of the hard work to keep it that way. Air filters are pretty much the only utility maintenance we have to do.
Also, if you have rowdy neighbours, there isn't a whole lot you can do about that if you own and they aren't actually breaking any laws. Our landlord has been rapid at addressing neighbour complaints. However, I have rented a number of different places, and this particular landlord is the first and only one I've had that actively tries to maintain peace and order as well.
I don't think we really disagree, I think we just live in very different places. My point was that renting has benefits in some places, whereas you implied it does not.
I've lived in many countries and while I own a home in my original country to retire to (should that happen), I need places to rent when I don't want to be there. And my home is rented at those times, sometimes for years.
> Where would I, or some other temporary migrant, live if not in someone's house who rented it to me? My owning a home is irrelevant.
Why does the housing need to be supplied by private landlords? There are places that have a lot of social housing, like Sweden. Let the government build and own property, it works well. It also means people from different backgrounds and occupations can all live together, instead of e.g. redlining, which devastates minority communities.
As it stands now only the rich are able to move into cities, with low-wage workers having to commute from far outside the city, which is a pretty disgusting shift if you think about it. Imagine having a crappy cleaning job, cleaning offices at night, and you have to travel hours for your job because you live so far out [1]. It's a reality for more and more people, as the assault on labor intensifies.
I have a residential realtor friend who rents their family house. Yes, he earns his living selling houses, and rents his own house to live in, and they have lived there a few years. good schools, friends, like the neighborhood, etc.
I've never met any. Have you?
I guess maybe rich people who could afford to buy but choose not to, like to rent. I live in Sydney, don't know anyone who owns their house or even dreams of it one day. Saying there are people who like renting, sounds to me like saying there are people who like pain, or a terminal illness, or a death sentence. But hey, at least our money is going every week to people who already own more than one house?