That's great for you, Amy but I suspect some people are born renters and others born owners. I got really tired of a garden full of potted plants, moving every two years. My rental experience was a bit different, rents go up 10% every year when the lease comes due. Also, I'd sooner shoot myself than go to France for 2 weeks. I'm a homebody. I'd rather be home working on preojects and amassing a Sanford and Son/Delta Burke pile of garage sale junk.

I think a big part of the problem was that we had a lot of born renters who got pushed into owning for the wrong reasons. Good post, I like that you are de-stigmafying renting, too many owners these days who have no right to look down on renters.

That was my intention, to take the stink off renting instead of owning. I would buy if I could, but I love living in L.A., near the beach, and unless my book is a huge best-seller, I'm not likely to be able to buy anything bigger than a doghouse, with a several-inch patch of grass around it.

I went from being a renter to an owner back to being a renter again. I love renting. If something breaks I pick up the phone and it is fixed within two day for free (to me.)

I don't mow, rake, paint, etc... My free time is mine. Instead of putting money into a new roof I go on vacation. If I get tired of living where I'm living I don't have to pay someone 6% in commission to get rid of my place so I can afford to go elsewhere. I can be out in less than 30 days.

And for those who think by renting you aren't getting ownership is something...well thats technically true but not necessarily bad. In a typical 30 year mortgage one generally pays 3 times the purchase price of a home. At my current rate of earnings I will put away enough in 10 years to buy a home outright if I choose. If I don't want to purchase then I still have the money.

Most people think of homes as an investment. They are a lifestyle choice. When I did a comparison of the cost of living in a home vs renting (including appreciation, tax refunds, maintenance, lawn mowers, etc, and everything else I could think of) it was clear that renting was the best choice for me financially. I think most people think they will, in the long run, make money on their home. Some will but when you count all that goes into one I'm not convinced that it is always the best option.

"I don't mow, rake, paint, etc"
Yeah that's really what it comes down to for me, that's exactly how I want to spend my time. I can't wait to re-roof in a year or 2 (New compressor and nail gun, yeah!)

I somewhat agree on your cost analysis. Most people convieniently forget to factor in things as basic as interest when they talk about making money on your home. Where I disagree is in the savings department. If I saved $400 a month by renting, I would own a new car. I don't think i am rare in that department.

I really wanted a dog, and since I already had 2 cats, I maxed out all the pet requirements for renting. So I decided to buy a house so that the dog could have a yard to run and play in and I could have the freedom to have the pets that I wanted.

Amy, I, too, had to make an accommodation for my dog: buying a bigger purse.

Having been both, I have to wonder at the tiny rent Madden pays. What a deal!

That was beautiful to read. I intend to look at her book.

As for me, I have a little gypsy in me, too, the eternal touring cyclist. Yet I love the place I call home, and always want to have it to come back to. My solution is to pay for my condo, which only cost $120K to begin with, and which I only owe another $80K on. When that's paid off, I'll turn my IT career in a contractor direction, so (without a house payment sapping my cash flow) I can take 3-month-plus cycling tours, since I won't be limited to a company's 3-week vacation plan.

I have no interest in retiring full-time. There's always going to be some code that I can make money writing. And really, how much is the dollar going to be worth in another ten years? I only want to work as much as I need to. My first trip is going to be to, yes, the South, to ride the Natchez Trace Parkway, and it'll take as much time as it feels like taking. Then it'll be back home, pick up some more work, and start saving for the next trip.

Being a condo, my place will still run me $105 (current rate) in association dues and $170 a month (current rate) in property taxes. Not too bad. I should be able to swing that, take some sweet cycling trips, and still have my book-filled cubbyhole to come back to, when it's time to sleep in the same place every night and earn some more money.

None of which would be possible if I'd saddled myself with a McMansion payment.

"Amy, I, too, had to make an accommodation for my dog: buying a bigger purse."

HAW!!! Good one.

Dale says "Most people think of homes as an investment. They are a lifestyle choice."

Right you are. When my wife inherited some money, we bought the land where we live now. the timber was ready to harvest, and that sale gave us enough money for a down payment to have a house built. Everybody figured we were making a good investment, and we agreed, but not in the monetary sense they meant. We knew we could heat our house with the timber, pick berries and shoot grouse and deer to eat, and make a garden. We hate maintaining the house, but we can hire workmen to do that as well as a landlord could.

However, we also enjoyed the place we rented before we bought this one--an old farmhouse in a river valley with good hunting and fishing. But that house was badly insulated, had an oil furnace, and began to cost an outrageous amount to heat when oil prices went up beginning in '73. It was also deteriorating at a pace the landlord was having trouble keeping up with. This place gives us the illusion (if nothing more) of greater independence. But we recognize the advantages of renting, too.

What you should do certainly depends on your situation and each person needs to evaluate for themselves. People might want to consider a condo. I don't do yardwork etc. (at all the rental homes I have seen, you are responsible for the yard upkeep). When I ran the numbers, buying was cheaper in the short run (if I lived there less then 18 months it was cheaper to rent) and super cheap in the long run. My mortgage is still $800/month - my rent was $1100/month - 8 years ago - I have no idea what it would be now.

Personally, I love owning, but I recognize the value of renting, particularly those who don't subscribe to the "work-40-hours-a-week-and-I-deserve-a-mansion" mindset.

If you rent, and something goes wrong, you don't need separate numbers for electrician, plumber, carpenter, etc., you call maintenance. At no additional expense to you, I might add, until the next rent increase. These multi-talented professionals are also the ones who keep your grass cut, as opposed to dark-complected foreigners who seems to have misplaced their green cards and refuse to learn English.

I am an owner. I like to be able to paint whatever color I want, and knock down a wall should I choose. However, I do not intend to make money off my house. The money I pay for it is what I pay to live here, and hopefully I get that back when I sell, but as someone pointed out, once you factor in the interest you paid on the place (we'll end up paying double the price of the house, all told), you're probably never going to make a penny. I also like that my payment will never go up. And I won't ever have to move because the owner sold the out out from beneath me. We are selling our house, and cleaning it for the showings is a bitch, I can't imagine doing that so my landlord could sell!

I also enjoy home maintenance. Cutting the grass is zen for me.

I rent, and I despise investing money on beautifying a home that I won't be living in two years from now, or in my case, even 7 months from now. There are some things I need to be comfortable, and it sucks that I don't get to take that with me. Living in a house you own (that my mother owns, actually), you get to do all these fun little projects that give me, personally, a huge amount off gratifcation.

On the other hand, unless you bought a long time ago, owning in my area means you have to work all the time to make ends meet. Renting, I get to run off to Brazil for 6 months. It's clear for me what's best at this time, but I want my own home in the long run.

"Amy, I, too, had to make an accommodation for my dog: buying a bigger purse."

While Lucy is just about the cutest thing ever, I wanted a big dog, and I ended up with 2. Paige is about 65lbs and Daisy is about 75lbs. I would not have had the freedom to rescue Daisy if I did not own. Also, I live in an area of the country where buying is very affordable. If I lived in California, I would probably rent, too.