How important is location to you?

[janie1234]

I live in a beautiful area a small city with less than 3,000 people. Rolling vinyards, quiet place, a bird watchers paradise, hiking trails, the kind of town where when you take a walk most people say "Hi." Thing is we rent. We could probably buy a a home in a neighboring town but the area is NOTHING like where we live now. Crime is deffinitely on the rise there, it is busier, noiser, and way more crowded. So would you rather rent and live in a beautiful place or own a home in a not so great place just so you could own a home?

 

[Fit_mommy]

My DH and I bought our current (first) home in a not so good area just so that we could buy instead of rent. He refused to rent. Yes we now own a home to sell when we go to move but in the meantime we've spent 7 years in a crappy town. If I had to do it all over again I think I may have rather rented in order to be in a nicer area...especially now that we have a school age son. We are hoping to put the house up for sale this spring so that we can potentially be outta there before my DS starts kindergarten...I doubt it will happen that quickly for us with the market the way it is today but we won't know until we try....

 

[Pearlstrand]

Rent, rent, rent!

I would rather rent and love where I live than own and hate it! These days renting isn't such a bad idea, and you can get a good deal from desperate sellers who are willing to take a renter just to help cover cash flow.

There is nothing wrong with renting. I wish my sister would get out the horrible house (Money Pit) in a terrible neighborhood that she owns and go rent in a nicer place. Her kids would be in better schools, and they'd be living with less crime and traffic.

The place where you live is so beautiful!

 

[mspina]

No brainer - stay where you are. Seriously, I wouldn't even consider living in a crappy town if the only upside was home ownership. Owning your own home is a serious pain in the ass! Sure, you get some tax breaks (depending on your situation, those could be decent, or minimal to non-existant), and you could make some $$ upon eventual sale, but .... that doesn't always pan out either, as the current market situation in many areas is showing us. You have a lot of freedom with renting that you simply don't have with home ownership.

 

[NY25]

Renting in a great neighborhood, hands down. Ownership is no real "dream." It's more expensive, more work, subject to market fluctuations, and you have no ability to "get out" the way you do with renting. I rent and have no intention to buy anytime in the near future. Something breaks - I don't have to fix it or pay for it. I just tell the super!

 

[ldy_solana]

was just discussing this with dh. i love my house for sure but i am really not loving being a homeowner anymore. i can't complain to anybody about trash around here, rotten misbehaved kids, and believe me the tax breaks weren't all that this year. i love the schools though which is why we moved here to begin with but as far as owning the home, i would rather live in the same complex as my mom and have free access to a pool and now that same complex is building a FITNESS CENTER. currently our YMCA membership costs us $75 a month and we have no space for a pool and besides rotten misbehaved kids would love to hop a fence and jump in my pool if i did have one.

me i kind of wish i kept renting at least i would be further away from this crap job neighborhood.

kassia

 

[syzygy314]

Ideally for us at this point, we want to own as we do now, but in a better neighborhood and in a condo. I think we've decided the whole yard, house upkeep is way more than we want to have to deal with. We're too active and fun-loving to spend our weekends doing yard work and home maintenance!

We do own a house in what used to be a decent neighborhood in the City. I didn't have any problem with walking after dark by myself, but now, no way I'd do that further than the Chinese restaurant up at the corner!

 

[Gayle]

Location, location, location!!!! Your description of where you live now sounds wonderful.

I'd definitely rent in a great place, than buy in a crappy one.