Rent or buy - buy house or condo??

**disneysteve** · 11-25-2012, 04:46 PM

I think you need to consider your needs and preferences. Do you like having a lot of extra space? Do you enjoy housework? Do you have the free time and skill set (and wish to spend it) to take care of a single home? Do you value your privacy? Are you bothered by hearing others coming and going or knocking around next to, under, or over you?

Also, you need to get an idea of what housing options exist in the areas where you would want to live. Are there nice condos as well as nice single homes in your price range?

With a condo, you want to do your homework regarding the condo association. What do they charge? How invasive are they? Of course, with a single home, if there is an HOA, same questions.

How about renting? That depends. Do you think you may not stay in the area for at least 5-10 years? How stable is your job? What if you get into another serious relationship? You might want more space or your new partner might already own a place that you could move into.

Some of these questions may not be answerable but they give you some things to think about.

If I suddenly found myself single again, I think I would rent for a year just to let the dust settle. Just as you always hear that you shouldn't spend an inheritance right away, I think the same advice holds after a divorce. Don't make a major life and financial decision when the separation is still fresh. Let your emotions settle and see where you are a year from now.

**Ramose** · 11-26-2012, 03:52 AM

I also think renting is the way to go, if only for a while.

It's probably not a good idea to make too many life changes at once.

**RickLeibo** · 12-05-2012, 09:06 PM

Buy

There is no question here. Always buy real estate as it is the most stable investment you will have. Condo's unfortunately are hard to liquidate and always a bad investment.

**GrimJack** · 12-06-2012, 01:41 PM

Originally posted by RickLeibo View Post

There is no question here. Always buy real estate as it is the most stable investment you will have. Condo's unfortunately are hard to liquidate and always a bad investment.

Well, right now the market for buying homes is pretty good because of all those people who thought "it does not matter what the cost, real estate is always the answer". I do not understand why people consider their homes an investment; that is a pretty recent change in perception. I know people who live in houses designed not for themselves but for the person who will buy it from them sometime in the future and that is no life to live. My original post should have included the fact that I am 64 and do not plan on 'investing' in a home; I just want to find a place to live that I can live with.

A friend of mine has a house that she has not lived in for about 20 years as she is living with her partner. I went to her housewarming when she moved in and I helped her when she had it remodeled. I am thinking of contacting her to see if it is for lease or for sale.

Thanks for the comment and I am sure that my heirs would be more interested in value than I. I remember back in the 1980s here in Seattle parents were buying their children condos to live in while attending the UoW and selling for a profit when they graduated. A co-worker bought a condo before it was built and sold it at a 10,000 profit before it was habitable. Condos in cities are a viable option.

**Jimhassel** · 12-11-2012, 03:36 AM

I would also say that you should go for buying real estate as it is a stable investment and you will gain benefits in the long run as compared to the other options that you are considering.

**disneysteve** · 12-11-2012, 05:07 AM

Originally posted by Jimhassel View Post

I would also say that you should go for buying real estate as it is a stable investment

Really? Real estate is a stable investment. I'm sure millions of Americans would disagree with you based on events of recent years.

**rossmel** · 12-12-2012, 12:28 AM

You can rent for the a while until such time you can buy a house of your own.

**ValQue** · 12-16-2012, 11:37 AM

You can always buy a condo for now and once you are ready to make more major life decisions, rent it out and buy a home. It seems you have been through a lot of stressful life events and if you buy a house where you think you want to settle now, you may wish you could be somewhere else in the future. A condo is a great investment if it's in a safe area and in a young community. Younger couples, I have found, generally look to rent condos first before they buy a home. Good luck!

**GrimJack** · 12-16-2012, 07:32 PM

Originally posted by ValQue View Post

You can always buy a condo for now and once you are ready to make more major life decisions, rent it out and buy a home. It seems you have been through a lot of stressful life events and if you buy a house where you think you want to settle now, you may wish you could be somewhere else in the future. A condo is a great investment if it's in a safe area and in a young community. Younger couples, I have found, generally look to rent condos first before they buy a home. Good luck!

Yeah, and some people buy condos because they are older and don't want the hassle of keeping up a house. But I do want to set up a kiln and cast some glass and that is not very acceptable even if you own the condo.

Plus, I have problem with procrastination - I gotta do something about my situation pretty soon.

**YLTL_Dan** · 12-17-2012, 05:15 AM

Are there other places you can go to practice your glass hobby? I'm not sure if you can join a club or anything so you don't have to keep the equipment at your place.

I could be mistaken, but it doesn't sound to me like you want a house and all of the work that comes with it. Also, I wouldn't feel pressured to purchase real estate right away because it doesn't sound like you know what you want. Renting isn't always throwing money away, instead it allows you flexibility to do what you want! I didn't realize how expensive home ownership was until I bought one.

**GrimJack** · 12-17-2012, 07:20 PM

Originally posted by YLTL_Dan View Post

Are there other places you can go to practice your glass hobby? I'm not sure if you can join a club or anything so you don't have to keep the equipment at your place.

I could be mistaken, but it doesn't sound to me like you want a house and all of the work that comes with it. Also, I wouldn't feel pressured to purchase real estate right away because it doesn't sound like you know what you want. Renting isn't always throwing money away, instead it allows you flexibility to do what you want! I didn't realize how expensive home ownership was until I bought one.

I had just come up with that myself! Years ago I wanted to go to the Pratt School of the Arts; they have hot glass classes and once you are enrolled, you get free access to all their equipment. They even teach stuff other than glass-blowing like casting, slumping, fusing, et c. It just would be so much more convenient to do this in my slippers and bathrobe, sigh.

**snafu** · 12-17-2012, 09:36 PM

I'm not sure what equipment is used for kiln hot glass casting but if renting or buying a 'villa' style condo with attached garage would suffice, that may be an option to consider. I'm in a 4 story townhouse condo and several occupants in the complex operate businesses from their basements or from their garage. The work they do must comply with HOA rules and not cause problems for other owners.

**GrimJack** · 12-18-2012, 04:27 PM

Originally posted by snafu View Post

I'm not sure what equipment is used for kiln hot glass casting but if renting or buying a 'villa' style condo with attached garage would suffice, that may be an option to consider. I'm in a 4 story townhouse condo and several occupants in the complex operate businesses from their basements or from their garage. The work they do must comply with HOA rules and not cause problems for other owners.

Yes, when I was sharing a house with a couple friends (one of whom became the former Mrs. Grimjack) someone loaned me a small (1.5 cubic feet, I think) ceramics kiln and I use that in the basement. I still have a couple of the 'candy dishes' (you know how all your shop projects used to become ashtrays as a last resort - no longer cool) that show off my fusing and slumping skills - they are actually pretty cool and I show them off. People think they are nice enough to sell.

Since utilities were included in the rent of the house, I have no idea what an electric kiln did to the bill - though the landlord came over one day wondering if something had changed, the bill was worrying him. I can imagine that it was pretty bad. I would prefer to use propane like I did back in the 1970s when we had a bronze foundry.

Rent or buy - buy house or condo??