After this weekend, I don’t think I ever want to own a home.
My girlfriend Tag asked me to help her family move some dirt so they could expand their driveway. I was planning to record my next personal finance song this weekend, but had a little bit of a stuffy nose and couldn’t really sing, so I decided to help her out. I mean, how bad could it be?
Very bad apparently.
I spent the day swinging a pickaxe to cut through ginormous roots buried in the dirt and smashing concrete with a sledgehammer. I also spent time shoveling and wheelbarrowing the dirt to other places in the yard.
Four of us worked for about six hours and didn’t get half of the work done. And once the other half of the work is done, Tag’s dad is going to need to rent a stump grinder to completely remove two massive stumps out of this area. Oh, and did I mention the only reason they were stumps and not actual trees was because Tag’s dad and sister spent a few weekends cutting down two huge trees that were growing right up into power lines?
The amount of time spent on the seemingly simple process of cutting down trees and moving dirt is unreal. The amount of money that will be spent on tools and supplies to do all this work and eventually fill in the space and extend the driveway will certainly be enough to pay for a very nice vacation.
Oh, and I should mention that I’m literally having trouble typing this blog because the muscles in my hands are so sore from swinging heavy tools for six hours.
All that time, money, and energy can be saved by one simple thing: renting.
Renting is So Much Easier!
I’m not saying people shouldn’t own homes. I’m saying I don’t want to own a home.
The amount of responsibility that comes with owning a home seems oppressive, and that’s without even considering big yard projects like the one going on at Tag’s parent’s house. Right now I have weekends free to do whatever I want. With a home, I would have to spend time and/or money mowing the lawn, trimming the bushes, fixing things that break, renovation projects, and more.
I’ll put it this way: have you ever thought you might want to have kids, but then you spend a few hours with someone else’s bratty, unclean child and swear off kids forever? This weekend, Tag’s house was the equivalent of a child who screamed at me, stomped on my toes, punched me in the balls, and then sneezed in my mouth.
I won’t be a home owner for a long time.
Kevin McKee is an entrepreneur, IT guru, and personal finance leader. In addition to his writing, Kevin is the head of IT at Buildingstars, Co-Founder of Padmission, and organizer of Laravel STL. He is also the creator of www.contributetoopensource.com. When he’s not working, Kevin enjoys podcasting about movies and spending time with his wife and four children.
home ownership is painful, and expensive. But isn’t that the American Dream? No one ever tells you about the maintenance you have to put in when you are buying a home. Even if you don’t do the maintenance yourself, you gonna pay for someone else to do that.
One the other hand, I like the affect after the maintenance is done. It’s a love hate relationship.
I’m sure I’ll own a home one day so I can live that “American Dream”. I doubt it’s going to be soon though.
Meh.
Renting can be quite painful, too. Last time my wife and I rented, I had problems with neighbors making odd noises through the night, disturbing my sleep.
It can be financially painful, too. We bought our current house about 12 years ago, and it would cost us substantially more to rent a 1200 sq ft 2-bedroom apartment than the house payment on our 4500 sq ft 4-bedroom house with garage, large den, and swimming pool. Granted, the maintenance is all ours, but even adding that expense doesn’t make renting even comparable.
*Living* can be painful. You have to live somewhere, and depending on your circumstances, the tradeoffs may favor either renting or owning. For me, one of the big factors is control over my environment — which heavily favors owning.
I actually have a great apartment right now. It’s my 4th in four years, but it has enough space that I’m comfortable with it. I can’t hear my neighbors at all. There’s lots of parking. My internet is great. I might be living here two years in a row!
You have to make whatever decision is most conducive to your lifestyle. If you want freedom to do what you want and come and go each weekend without having to worry about yard work, then renting or outsourcing are your options.
I pick renting (the cheaper one)
Dude, it just discovered I have to replace a toilet flusher and my garbage disposal. You bet I wish there was someone I can call to come do it, but I’m my own landlord, so calling myself would just seem weird. On the other hand, I would hate to be at the mercy of someone else and wait for them to get around to fixing a broken fixture.
I’m not really that picky. If something’s broken, I’ll deal until the landlord gets around to it. Much better than paying for it myself (which would probably take me weeks to get around to it anyway)
I own my home and couldn’t be happier. I have great neighbors and personally, I kind of like mowing the grass. I really enjoyed rewiring some of the light fixtures and installing a couple new switches (mostly GFCIs to make the kitchen safer). I even enjoyed putting more insulation in the attic and my wallet has really enjoyed those savings. I know owning isn’t for everyone, but apparently it is for me.
haha. Good point. I am currently renting and it definitely has its perks! However, I do hope to own one day because I think it provides a lot of financial freedom for retirement. If you want to rent, so be it! You know what you want and go for it!
I like mowing the grass..I had a great neighborhood..I really enjoy their company..Hoping someday I buy my own ..
The other perk of renting is that you are not tied down to a place. This frees up so many other decisions. New job halfway across the country? Ok, I’ll just not renew my lease! Wanderlust? Rent somewhere else! Bad neighbors move in? That’s fine, I’ll pick a new spot!
As opposed to owning a home, where you often have a majority of your net worth tied up in non-liquid assets, and selling a home (to go after a job, family, wanderlust, whatever) could take months to years depending on the market.
For me, buying a home right now just wouldn’t make sense. However, I know people around my age (mid-twenties) who are buying or have bought homes already. If you “know” that you’re not going to move for a long time, sure, it can be worth it as an investment. I’ve already moved states once and will likely do so again within the next five years, so buying a house is pretty much out of the question.
I’m definitely taking my time when it comes to home ownership for reasons like these. I remember in our apartment, our garbage disposal broke, and at our townhouse, our landlord reimbursed us for fixing our washer, our shower, and getting new keys. Money we would probably be putting in a home maintenance fund can be spent elsewhere.
There are benefits to renting, however in the long run you will want to own. You can always have someone else do the work.
i really believe this is a good way to earn money.
Owning a home and renting have their own advantages and disadvantages and it’s just a matter of what kind of lifestyle you are living. But personally, I’d rather have my own home – I could do whatever I want with it in terms of design and architecture and it’s nice to have a yard and garden. 🙂
Consider buying a condo or co-op apartment rather than a house. You get the tax advantages of home ownership, without many of the responsibilities and headaches. I have a co-op apartment on Long Island (I think co-ops are more popular in the NYC metro area than most other areas of the country), which technically means I am a shareholder in a co-op association, but practically speaking it’s no different from a condo. I pay a monthly maintenance fee and all exterior work (landscaping, garbage, snow removal, roofing, security, etc.) is included. I am responsible for everything within my walls (including the HVAC unit I recently replaced). This might be a solution for you to look into.