
Are you a homeowner or a renter?
Believe it or not, not everyone is meant to own a home. And that’s ok! Its good to know these things about yourself. I know me personally, when I was an ‘adult’ and renting an apartment or a home, I constantly heard from well-meaning parents, friends, family members, co-workers, etc., how I was ‘throwing my money away’ and ‘had nothing to show for it’ so I should buy a house. This caused feelings of guilt, incompetency, irresponsibility, childishness — take your pick, or add your own! News flash… not everyone is meant to be a homeowner!
I know this sounds crazy as Realtors where our entire job is based off of buyers and sellers but we have probably talked as many people OUT of buying a home as we have helped people purchase their first home. To be honest, both of these options have pros and cons and neither should engender feelings of inadequacy.
You have to realize that there is so much more to owning a home than the responsibility of fixing broken items. No more calling the landlord to fix that broken dishwasher! You have to have some sort of savings account or back up plan for those emergency items like heat/ac, water heater, roof, etc (they are endless) but there is ALWAYS something you want to change, add or take out. There are more bills. No more inclusive rent for your electric, gas or water. You are paying for everything. And I mean everything. Geez, it doesn’t stop. I know when we purchased our first home, we had to stop going out of town and vacationing as often — we simply didn’t have the money. or the time.
Oh the pros though. Now, I don’t know about you, but when I lived in a apartment, I missed the simple things…. a grill (a real one), the privacy, the quiet, the storage space, so many more things and strangely enough? Mowing a yard! I know, so many people would have gladly let me come mow their yard and get that one out my system! Haha. Not the same. At. All. Thanks anyways. :) When I rented a house? Ah geez. the landlords just randomly stopped by to ‘get something out of the garage’ or ‘do maintenance on this or that’. The whole prior notice thing? Hahahahahaha. Not my landlords. The thing is? When an individual rents a home and they own less than 4 units (in VA), they are not subject to the Landlord/Tenant Act and all I can say, is good luck! :) So owning my own home? No worries about that stuff. Don’t like your kitchen? Change it! You want to install a pool and destroy your yard?? Go for it! (I did). To be quite frank, that whole ‘good investment’ thing everyone likes to trot out? Not always the case… many people lose money on their homes. Whether because the market changed, the home is in disrepair due to not having the financial backing to fix up, the neighborhood went downhill… the reasons are endless. It can be! I am not saying that you can’t make money on a home at all, I’m just saying you can’t depend on it. Although I do like checking the box on applications that says ‘Rent or Own’ to Own. :)
The whole point of this is, make your own decisions and decide what works best for YOU at this point in your life. Maybe down the road you’ll be ready. Maybe you won’t ever want to have that responsibility/freedom, that’s ok too! Don’t ever let anyone guilt you, make you think one way is better than the other, or even more ‘grown-up’ than the other. Do what is best for you and enjoy it! Whatever makes you happy and full-filled.
For more real estate advice, follow us on Twitter @emckeerealtor, Facebook, or email us at either todd.mckee@hotmail.com or erica.mckee@outlook.com. We are always here to answer questions, offer advice and/or be Your Realtor! :)
