Sep. 6th, 2009 09:18 am
My thoughts on home ownership
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johnstonmrIt isn't necessary.
A lot of folks seem to think it is. There's a saying, that renting is basically throwing your money away. I've never understood that. Renting a home is no more throwing away money than is paying your electricity or phone bill--you're paying for a service, in this case a place to live.
This nation, however, was in part founded by a few wealthy landowners and a lot of folks who were renting from bastards back in the UK and other parts of Europe, and they wanted to become the landowners. And they've passed that down to us. People think you're a Nobody unless you live in a nice house. And I find that destructive.
The truth is, I own a house partly because it was important to my wife. Personally, I don't think enough of the concept to care terribly whether I own a home or rent it. Ownership has it's good side, to be sure--I like being able to do anything I want to the house without calling for permission, and I do like my neighborhood and knowing I don't have to live at the mercy of other people's whims (which is rare in renting, but happens).
On the other hand, for this privilege I have a yard I have to take care of (to be fair, I had to mow the lawns in the last two places I lived, too), I pay $1700 a year for Homowner's Insurance (and, to be fair, even if it wasn't required I'd have it--the fire made it very clearly a good thing to have) and a Home Warranty (which, yeah, it saves money in the long run, but yeesh!). My property taxes are something like $3500 a year (which is better than some). I pay more for my home by far than I did for a rented home.
All in all, I do enjoy owning my home. But the idea that it is inherently better than renting bothers me. It doesn't make me better, or more respectable, or anything like that.
Of course, I'd be happy to still own my old home in Napa, but I'd probably have to sell the damned thing, so never mind. :)
A lot of folks seem to think it is. There's a saying, that renting is basically throwing your money away. I've never understood that. Renting a home is no more throwing away money than is paying your electricity or phone bill--you're paying for a service, in this case a place to live.
This nation, however, was in part founded by a few wealthy landowners and a lot of folks who were renting from bastards back in the UK and other parts of Europe, and they wanted to become the landowners. And they've passed that down to us. People think you're a Nobody unless you live in a nice house. And I find that destructive.
The truth is, I own a house partly because it was important to my wife. Personally, I don't think enough of the concept to care terribly whether I own a home or rent it. Ownership has it's good side, to be sure--I like being able to do anything I want to the house without calling for permission, and I do like my neighborhood and knowing I don't have to live at the mercy of other people's whims (which is rare in renting, but happens).
On the other hand, for this privilege I have a yard I have to take care of (to be fair, I had to mow the lawns in the last two places I lived, too), I pay $1700 a year for Homowner's Insurance (and, to be fair, even if it wasn't required I'd have it--the fire made it very clearly a good thing to have) and a Home Warranty (which, yeah, it saves money in the long run, but yeesh!). My property taxes are something like $3500 a year (which is better than some). I pay more for my home by far than I did for a rented home.
All in all, I do enjoy owning my home. But the idea that it is inherently better than renting bothers me. It doesn't make me better, or more respectable, or anything like that.
Of course, I'd be happy to still own my old home in Napa, but I'd probably have to sell the damned thing, so never mind. :)
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