Saturday, January 24, 2015

Renting v. Buying... for us

I don't know if I've ever mentioned this before, but we don't own our farmhouse.  It is a rental.  I know a lot of people feel this is just a waste of money, however there are valid reasons for choosing this option. 

Let me say first off, that we are fortunate to rent from reliable and considerate folks.  I've  personally never had some of the horrible experiences that I've heard from others.
We will eventually buy a home.  We absolutely have nothing against home buying it's just not for us at the moment.
Let me give you a little background.  We got a late start.  My husband and I met when we were 32.  We both had been married before and had children.  I had a 10 and 12 year old, he had a 12, 4 and 2 year old.  Yep, 5 kiddos if you kept up with that.  We didn't get married for another 4 years.   We weren't working on the same kind of 25-30 year time line that we would have if we had started the process before children.  The boys were then 16 and girls were 14, 8 and 6.  Three of the kiddos may only be around on the weekend, but their stuff is PERMENANT and we were busting at the seams.  We started looking for a house and were approved for a small amount.  We had to search foreclosures and short sales to find enough house to accommodate all of us.  We also had to stay in our school district, limiting us further.   If you've ever dealt with FHA or HUD home loans, you'll understand the frustration.  My student loans were a constant issue during the process as well.  We had 3 different houses under contract and each fell through for different reasons.  It was extremely emotional and trying.  Each time I was sure this would be the one.  After failing an inspection or the seller not meeting certain standards, we were back to square one.  Again, living out of half packed boxes and spending hours online and peaking in windows.  Exhausting.
We finally decided that our nerves couldn't take anymore.  When I say "we" I mean my nerves couldn't take it and my husband couldn't bare my disappointment. 
We would wait until we could afford a "normal" mortgage.

We live in a home that suits our needs.  It's large, updated, has lots of character and is full of love.


At this point, the boys are both in college and Emily is now a senior in High School.  We no longer have to consider school districts in our home decision and though we still need a good bit of room, in a couple years we won't.  So you see, very soon our needs will change again.   Additionally, our current home has required about $4000 of repair and maintenance in the last 3 years.  The latest plumbing and sewer issues were just last week.  These kind of repairs would have put us in a hole bigger than the one in the yard.


Through these decisions, we've always managed to find money to invest in our children.  The time we've spent together through endless practices, recitals, concerts, games, trips, pageants (and FEES) has given our children a quality of character that's of far greater value than whether we owned the walls that surrounded them.

     

       

      


Renting isn't the answer for everyone.  Buying isn't the answer for everyone.  Doing what's right for your family without regret will always be the right decision.

Thanks for reading, friends and relations.






2 comments:

Marvel Harris said...

This is very interesting. We are in the position right now of planning a move hopefully to TN. My son just graduated college and he will be moving to Huntsville, has been living with us and paying part of the rent. We won't be able to afford the whole rent hence the move. We haven't actually looked at any houses except online or applied for a loan but am familiar with the hassle of HUD etc. We wouldn't qualify for a very big amount either and for sure don't want to mess with foreclosures (and there are SO many). I question why foreclosures are so complicated to buy and yet they say banks aren't in the real estate business and just want to get rid of them...then they need to make them possible for people to get! Now we don't know if we want to rent or buy..and why is rent SO expensive...?? We want an old house out in the country. I can most definitely identify with your past experiences and like reading of what others go through. Sorry to hear of all your troubles, will you be opening your shop later on?

Unknown said...

Marvel, you do understand! It shouldn't be so complicated. Good luck with the move. I won't be reopening the shop at the moment, I have something else in mind. :) I'll let everyone know very soon. Thanks for your support and your comment, it means so much to me.