Homeowner v Renting, what are people doing?

[Mrs P5515]

Thanks for all the input guys, we've had many long conversations about this and will certainly be staying in our home renting until baby is a few years old, for us we just don't have the time to wait. We've also had a good look around and for the money we would be paying to own our own home it would be considerably smaller than our current home. Whilst it can be difficult to make modifications in rented accommodation we are really lucky renting from my mum and have added an extension and knocked walls down etc having pretty much a free rain on that kind of stuff so whilst it'll be a few years yet for us to own our home I think this is right for us xx

 

[adrie]

We are renters by choice. We have great credit and a large down payment, but we are unsure where we are going to reside long-term. We also live in one of the most expensive cities in Canada (Calgary), and there are many neighborhoods we don't want to live. The homes here are greatly overpriced for what you get, so not ideal. There have been massive drops in sales due to layoffs in our province in the oil and gas sector. There has been talk of a crash, so definitely making us more and more hesitant regardless. We would rather rent in a nicer area than own in a shitty one So we will continue to save and see where life takes us in a few years.

We moved with the intent to TTC again, and wanted more space. We live in a 1000-1100 sq foot home with 4 beds and 2 baths, and a play room; paying about 250$ more per month for more than twice the space and no one living above or below us, a back yard, balcony and a really accessible community. There have been a lot of prospective tenants bartering with landlords for lower rents because of the current economy, job loss, etc.

 

[OhHappyZ]

Currently we rent a home, but our CPA told us we have to buy one this year for tax purposes, so we are looking for one, all of a sudden! It is good to rent and save up. That way if something happens (leaking roof, dishwasher flood, Someone crashes into your home, etc.) you don't have to worry about it too much, as it is on the landlord. So until you have a nice savings cushion built up for down payment and emergencies, I would say stay renting. Once you have that cushion, go house hunting! But this is just how I work and how me and my SO work, every family is different.

 

[arturia]

We are renters by choice. We have great credit and a large down payment, but we are unsure where we are going to reside long-term. We also live in one of the most expensive cities in Canada (Calgary), and there are many neighborhoods we don't want to live. The homes here are greatly overpriced for what you get, so not ideal. There have been massive drops in sales due to layoffs in our province in the oil and gas sector. There has been talk of a crash, so definitely making us more and more hesitant regardless. We would rather rent in a nicer area than own in a shitty one So we will continue to save and see where life takes us in a few years.

We moved with the intent to TTC again, and wanted more space. We live in a 1000-1100 sq foot home with 4 beds and 2 baths, and a play room; paying about 250$ more per month for more than twice the space and no one living above or below us, a back yard, balcony and a really accessible community. There have been a lot of prospective tenants bartering with landlords for lower rents because of the current economy, job loss, etc.

Adrie, I always thought Calgary and Edmonton were middle of the road: best cities you can actually find work in, but cheaper than Toronto and Vancouver.

My husband wanted to own before we had a baby, for sure. We just bought (New construction, likely moving end of May or early June) so that's covered. But I personally didn't care. My parents rented my entire childhood (I have NEVER lived in a place we owned) so it doesn't seem like a big deal to me.

But... I would guess that your decision could depend on how many you choose to have. I had no siblings, (that lived with us) so trying to fit too many into a small apartment never seemed too hard, but if you were trying to do three or more (especially if you ran into issues with your kids rooming together) you might struggle, as it's harder (and more expensive) to rent above 3 bedrooms. At least looking at house prices by bedroom vs rental suites, it seems cheaper/month to buy at that point, in my city. (YMMV)

 

[HappyAnjeL]

We own now but rented until LO was 3. Renting was the best for us at the time. My parents owned it so it was cheap and allowed me to stay at home with DD.. Now we own as our needs changed and it gives us what we need now.

 

[Symphony7]

We are second time homebuyers. We bought a small townhouse four years ago with what we had but we couldn't stand living in an attached house with neighbor noise all the time. We have just sold and are purchasing a single family home on Aril 1 that will be our permanent home.

In our area, rent is extremely expensive. It was the same price for us to buy the 1800 square feet townhouse than it would have been for us to rent a one bedroom apartment with other monthly pet rent for two dogs. With the money that we made off this house, we had enough to get into a larger house. For us, buying was the best option.

I just like owning my own home, I like the permanence...I like that it's mine. I never really considered renting.

 

[MissYogi]

I own my home and I love that I am not paying my parents mortgage anymore. We also used to rent a place from my parents and had a similar set up to what you sound like you have; free to do any modifications and painting, but it felt sad that we would just lose whatever money we put into it. We had planned on waiting to buy until this summer, but then last summer we found a fantastic townhouse and just decided to go for it. For us it made sense then, even though it wasn't what we planned. We live in Alberta and the economy has been quite bad, so most people aren't buying and house prices are going down, but we are teachers with quite high job security so it seemed like a good idea. I am happy about our decision, but I also think that you would have to do whatever makes sense for your lives. You can definitely have a great life in a rented house and be able to save up easier by keeping renting. Whatever makes the most sense for you!

 

[arturia]

MissYogi - Whereabouts? Obviously my location is over here.
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[MissYogi]

MissYogi - Whereabouts? Obviously my location is over here.
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I'm in Calgary. So you must be also feeling the economy and debate about buying property. On the one hand, things are cheap so you should buy, on the other hand, jobs are scary so maybe not. It's such a weird time for us!

 

[arturia]

We just did buy. Neither of us have jobs that are at risk from the oil prices right now, luckily. But yeah, we see it all around us.

 

[Teafor2]

We are renting and probably will be for at least a few years after we have the first baby. Renting with children was never something I really imagined myself doing in the past, but we are an international couple, so buying right now really doesn't make any practical sense.

 

[outdoorgal]

We own. BUT our house is 2 suites, so we rent the upstairs and we live in the basement suite.

We will eventually want to buy our own single family home, but this works great for now and is 2br so will be just fine while our (future) kid/kids are young.

 

[sarah2211]

We are currently renting as we live on an army base. We could buy, but the rent on base is very cheap and the houses aren't too bad.

We do actually own 5 properties. Four were bought as investment properties and the 5th we lived in for a year and a half and now it's rented as well. The first house my DH bought when he was 18 and we've just been adding to the portfolio since.

We're in our late 20s and are WTT for #1.