Anyone else not interested in buying a home?

Honestly, if there is one solitary message I could send back to myself in my 20s, it would have been to keep on renting. My choice to be a homeowner before I was ready was the worst financial decision I ever made, and every smaller bad financial decision I made for the next 10 years was directly influenced by having a house I wasn't prepared to own.

Am I missing something by being perfectly fine with renting (for now)?

No. I'm on my third house. They are just money pits. If you do not want one or deal with its hassle, do not ever feel guilty about renting something reasonable.

There is no shame in renting on a TEMPORARY basis.

The push for a mortgage/owned home is it's a piece of your LONG term wealth. For most people, their home is their largest expense. So paying off prior to retirement gives a massive advantage in that regards.

You mentioned two other things.

First, keeping an apartment near your daughter's school. If you aren't the primary parent then perhaps an address in the right school district isn't as important, especially since it sounds like she is nearly driving age. Family dynamics will shift. She will get a job, become more dependent on friends, drive, etc. Definitely being close would still be important but perhaps a more affordable neighborhood is possible.

Second, you mentioned buying a car and how that may create some additional strain. I believe paying half the car value helps her but also teaches her about money. Having that large of a sum does something emotionally that creates a different sense if ownership and pride. Also, it allows her to set goals and reach then with your guidance. My parents did this for me and it taught me a lot of responsibility. I plan to do this for my children as they reach the age, regardless of my wealth level.

Anyhow, good luck in your journey.

BS3b here, renting a townhouse.

I'm not NOT interested, but I'm also not in a hurry to get into one, either. Building a down payment so I'll be ready for it when it happens, but unless my property manager kicks me out of this house, then I'm fine in our current situation just stacking cash. As low as the rates are here, the prices of the homes themselves are ridiculous.

DR would say you should always buy a home once you have finished BS3. The main reason is to bring a measure of financial stability to your life. Once you get a mortgage, you are locked in at the same monthly price (except of course insurance and property taxes), but as a renter you become subject to the whims of the market. And of course, some day you will pay off the home, bringing even more freedom in your budget.

However, that financial stability also comes with risk. For example, if the roof needs to be replaced, you pay for it, and so on. It's not all roses and peaches.

In addition, in some areas the cost to buy is considerably more than the cost to rent. Mr. Money Mustache wrote a pretty eye opening article showing how cheap renting could be, and I'd recommend taking a look at it. https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2015/07/27/rent-vs-buy/

Personally, I'd say there is nothing wrong with renting for many years or even forever.

Me, my rent is dirt cheap, plus maintenance is landlords problem not mine, he even hires someone to mow the lawn, I’m close to the beach, close to work. I am saving all the money so if I had to move out I could pay cash for something. But right now I’d pay more in taxes than I do for rent in a year. Been here 4 years and hopefully forever more.

Sounds like you're perfectly fine renting for now. Once you finish BS3, move on to BS456. That means saving for retirement, saving for your kid's college funds, and 'paying off your mortgage'. Think of BS6 for you as saving up for your house you'll buy once your kids have graduated and you've got more freedom in picking a neighborhood.

Full disclosure- I work as a property manager for an apartment building (not owned by me).

I would likely still be renting if my wife wasn't already a homeowner when we married. Also, if I stayed single, I was more likely to downsize than up-size my home. I already had moved from a large two bedroom to a one bedroom to a studio. It was a nice studio, though, so there was still room to have less.

Right when I moved in with her, we financed (before I started listening to Ramsey) a brand new HVAC to replace an aging problematic one, and also an upstairs shower that had holes in it, so the advantages of renting were quickly apparent. If you live in a professionally managed apartment, you usually get same or next day repairs and even bigger stuff can still happen while you are at work. They also usually have established relationships with contractors to handle tasks outside of their purview.

Being a homeowner now, In the last 3 years I've benefited from completing these DIY tasks:

Removed toilet x2 / Install toilet x2
Replaced bathroom faucet
Replaced bathroom pop up drain
Re-screened two windows
Installed bedroom window blinds - via Dave's sponsor ;)
Painted small bathroom
Removed and installed under cabinet microwave

I learned some new skills which is good (and I get props from my wife). However, if you really don't like spending your free time repairing your home, it would be a burden. It is usually expensive and always costs money to live anywhere. You can never escape property taxes, maintenance costs, etc. You usually have to deal with or answer to someone, if it is not your bank anymore, you still have taxes and repairs.

Working as a landlord and now owning a home and knowing others who own homes, I would like to say there is one thing that may very well not go away like you think it will moving from an apartment to your own house: Problems with neighbors!

Now that we are focusing on our net worth, yes, owning a home is a better way to do that. First we have create a foundation (like by following Dave's baby steps to get ourselves to a place where it makes sense to start focusing on that net worth number, and a good way to do that is by renting a decent apartment.

Also, I've seen folks with the wealth to justify it still rent a home because they wanted to live in downtown or in an exciting part of some city for a couple of years, without as large a commitment. If your net worth is millions, it's not as big of a deal if most of your millions are in mutual funds vs real estate. You are living large with appreciating assets either way, and rent isn't debt any more than a hotel rate is, as long as you are cash flowing it.

Home ownership only makes sense in a handful of situations. If you’re transient, starting a new chapter of your life, likely to move in a few years, single, not sure if you’re going to stay in the area, etc., then home ownership doesn’t make much sense. I made the mistake of buying a house a couple of years out of grad school because it is what I thought I was supposed to do. I didn’t have anyone in my life telling me I was out of my mind as a single guy with no clue of the future, and I didn’t have Dave in my life. I spent so much time and money on that house when I should have been renting. It was an albatross around my neck when I wanted to move and sell it during the Great Recession. I’m lucky I made money on it when I was eventually able to sell it. Overall, it could have been financially devastating for me. I’m grateful Dave doesn’t advocate home ownership for all. He does a great job of explaining the types of people who are better off renting, and dispels the Myths of throwing money away. I wish I followed Dave when I was younger because there was absolutely many years of my adult life where I had no business owning.

DH and I don't have any desire for a long while. We don't want to live in our current city long enough to justify a house here and even if we did, I would be concerned about the "money pit" aspects. There'd be all these rooms needing furniture, we'd have to buy a lawnmower, and all the random crap I see our friends needing/wanting as they buy homes. Not today, no sir.

Buying is a better investment in the long run. Renting is so much easier and less expensive in the short term. Our ultimate goal is to become homeowners eventually because it makes financial sense, but it's not something that excites me.

I am single. Debt free. In BS4. And I make 95k with a 900$ rent. I am not hurting from my housing situation. I could care less about space since I don't need it. So I am not in a hurry to buy a house. If I never buy one , I'll be fine.

That being sad. There is a draw to having your own place. It isn't worth it so much that I will take out a 30 year loan. But it is something I want eventually. I also disagree that "you need to have a hosue to build wealth". That depends, esp. since houses don't really go up in value , over inflation, that much.

The housing market is crazy right now, we are under contract luckily so that stress is over. Depending on your kids age I would just rent until they are done with school. That would give you time to save up for a down payment and maybe the housing market won’t be on fire like it is currently. As for the car, 10 years old isn’t that old for a vehicle. I drive a rotting Civic that is 19 years old. I bought a 17 year old Accord l but has slightly less miles and the body is in great shape. I would hold off on a vehicle as long as possible. Since money is tight I would suggest your daughter pay for her own car or you do a 50/50 split or something of that nature.

EDIt: As you said it’s okay to rent for now but it’s not a long term play. The maintenance is a nice amenity but lawn care, snow removal etc isn’t too bad. Repairs are free in a rental vs a home. But you are working the Baby Steps so you will have an EF in place by the time you buy.

Yes. I live in a HCOL area and the price of homes just doesn’t seem worth it (average home price in the SF Bay Area is $1m). I have a good deal on rent for a simple apartment in a good location, and giving it up to spend 2-3x as much on a mortgage, plus all the risk and maintenance, just doesn’t seem like a smart move.

We keep saving and saving do that we’ll be ready to buy when the moment comes, but I just can’t do it.

You've got a lot going on. Buying a home doesn't sound like its in the cards right now. So don't fret it. Home ownership is a way to build wealth and provide a place to live. By not buying your home, in the long run, you lose control over you housing expenses.

I will take you to task though on buying your daughter a car just because you gets her license. She can get a car when she can pay for it. Even then, I'd question the purchase. We have 3 kids and the 1st two never got cars while in HS. #3 benefited only because #2 needed a car one summer while in college. Even now #3 is in Grad school driving a 12 year old car that I paid cash for all those years ago.

The math difference is that rent goes up usually year over year while mortgage payments are locked in for the life of the loan. You also keep the house in the end.

Can’t speak for myself as I am excited to move forward and own a home but plenty of reason not to. Renting is easier let’s say your heat/ac breaks you just have to make a phone call rather than all those steps if you own it. Could also not know if your place of employment is long term and being in a house ties you down so there is plenty of reason.

I'm going to save until I can afford enough to put down so I only have a 15 year mortgage

I am not in a rush either

When you purchase on a 15 year you build equity pretty quickly. So I don't think it's always fair to compare the monthly cost of renting vs buying.

There is nothing wrong with short term renting but long term purchasing a property and getting it paid off needs to be the goal.

I'd be working towards the 20% and then buy.

I would say home ownership is very expensive at times. However, you probably don’t want to still be paying rent when you get old. I would just think about alternative options for old age.