Is renting an inevitable waste of money?

[wiss19]

It can be avoided of course. There are many ways if you don't want to rent on your own. You can first stay in your parents house or friends house and then save up to built your own house. It doesn't need to be huge or gorgeous at first but only enough for a person to sleep peacefully and have a shelter when the weather isn't good outside. Renting is not a waste of money as long as you don't have your own house.

Why will it be a waste when we are living on our rented house? Unless only if that house isn't good enough, I mean if there are a limited water supply and the roof are also faulty where the rain drops enter when it's raining but you can always look for another one.

[Cryptomultiplier]

In some instances, renting could be preferred option to manage funds. Ask the craftsmen who have to rent tools and equipment for work on site. Also, renting a house in some area either for convenience of just storage purpose could be economically rewarding if the plan in the long run is to change.
Investment that yields profits can fund buying or owning property, that one would have previously rented to save cost.

[erep]

Having a house is like another investment, but it is heck of a worth of an investment in the end. I had rented before in the short term and it is almost like throwing away money just to survive and have a roof temporarily. I would just rent if my workplace was like really far from my home, but if transportation could handle it anyway, I would prioritize that first.

Owning a house is everyone's dream and actually no one wants to rent a house even though the offer is cheap if he already has a comfortable place to live, OP should already have a house from the accumulation of rental fees for 6 years but that doesn't mean he has wasted money on necessities a place to live but because he doesn't have enough savings to buy a house for the down payment. Before he decides to apply for a loan, he must ensure that he has a stable monthly income for living expenses and sufficient expenses to cover the loan.

Me and my partner have a plan of having house first before being together. Not sure why living with parents is looked down in other countries, while in here, it is technically fine.

Everyone has different reasons why they don't choose to live with their parents, the reason might be that he already has a partner and is more comfortable choosing to live in a different location. But if the financial situation worsens, the main option is to live with your parents instead of staying at a friend's house.

[South Park]

If you're young and haven't inherited a property from your ancestors, chances are that you're forced to rent. Personally, I've been renting for over 6 years and have been living with my girlfriend for the last 4, sharing rent and utilities. Overall, we've both spent over €25,000 together, and after spending all this money, you're practically left with nothing and may be subject to looking for a new house at any moment.

The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is between €300 and €400 at best; thus, I was thinking that taking a loan is as costly as paying rent per month, but after 15-20 years, you end up with a house. My main concerns are the following: First, if you're in a long-term relationship like myself, you can never be 100% sure that you'll be with that person in 20 or 30 years from now, which might prevent you from opting for a loan. Secondly, you need to be certain that the location or city of the property to be bought is convenient for future job offers and so on. Thirdly, because a loan is a many-year commitment, there's no guarantee that you'll be able to afford the monthly payment 15 years from now.

On top of that, finding the ideal house as a renter is almost impossible; there's a lack of housing, and rents are extremely expensive and unreasonable at the same time. We had a difficult time finding a house recently, and it's far from ideal. There is now a new government-funded loan program that is about to start, funding up to 75% of the loan interest-free while the rest is funded by private banks and is subject to a relatively low interest rate. This led me to think about taking a loan and purchasing an average two-bedroom apartment, but I have the concerns that I voiced earlier.

The right move always depends on your specific circumstances, for many people to rent makes sense as they travel a lot, they change their jobs frequently or their job security is low, however if this does not hold true for you and you are ready for the commitment of buying a house then without a doubt renting may seem like a waste of money, since you are literally helping someone else to pay their house instead of paying for your own.

[Fortify]

If you're young and haven't inherited a property from your ancestors, chances are that you're forced to rent. Personally, I've been renting for over 6 years and have been living with my girlfriend for the last 4, sharing rent and utilities. Overall, we've both spent over €25,000 together, and after spending all this money, you're practically left with nothing and may be subject to looking for a new house at any moment.

The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is between €300 and €400 at best; thus, I was thinking that taking a loan is as costly as paying rent per month, but after 15-20 years, you end up with a house. My main concerns are the following: First, if you're in a long-term relationship like myself, you can never be 100% sure that you'll be with that person in 20 or 30 years from now, which might prevent you from opting for a loan. Secondly, you need to be certain that the location or city of the property to be bought is convenient for future job offers and so on. Thirdly, because a loan is a many-year commitment, there's no guarantee that you'll be able to afford the monthly payment 15 years from now.

On top of that, finding the ideal house as a renter is almost impossible; there's a lack of housing, and rents are extremely expensive and unreasonable at the same time. We had a difficult time finding a house recently, and it's far from ideal. There is now a new government-funded loan program that is about to start, funding up to 75% of the loan interest-free while the rest is funded by private banks and is subject to a relatively low interest rate. This led me to think about taking a loan and purchasing an average two-bedroom apartment, but I have the concerns that I voiced earlier.

You've given a picture of one scenario, but there are so many different variations it is impossible to give a definitive answer to such a question. You mention the level of rent, but you don't mention the salary you're on. There is a suggestion that housing costs should be around a 3rd of your income maximum, but if you're making 3,000 euros a month (a random example) then you'd be way ahead on such a low rent. You could put that money into other investments, to make your money grow, or simply save for a deposit to eventually buy your own house. Renting is not always a waste, it can give you a freedom to move around which can be especially useful when you're younger and allow flexibility in following jobs.

[isaac_clarke22]

~

Yeah, having a loan just because you need it and have nothing to guarantee that you will be able to pay back is going to bite one in the ass. Imagine having that piece of land that is truly yours and you will have no landlords nagging you every day about your rent.

Staying at a friend's house is quite a little bit of a different story depending on the family situations sometimes. There would be those that do not want to burden their parents further, so they would choose to be at their friend's house instead.

[stompix]

Actually more and more look for the cons too, plus usually the first wage, by far is not big enough for the bank's liking.
The bank looks for stable job, hence at least 6 months there... the reality is not exactly like the newspapers depict it 

The fact that there are so many homeowners here is (also) caused by the fact that soon after the old regime was abolished, the people was able to buy the flats they were living in, and the prices were extremely low. Else the percentage would look awful, actually.

Yeah, I looked a bit at the statistics and the whole thing becomes less and less rosy

In 2021, the highest overcrowding rates were observed in Latvia (41.3 %), Romania (41.0 %) and Bulgaria (37.9 %),
At the other end of the scale were Poland and Romania (both 1.1 rooms), Croatia, Latvia and Slovakia (2020 data) (all with 1.2 rooms on average per person).

So ownership but overcrowded and small apartments, having almost 1 less room for each person compared to Spain does look really bad, but it the end it all comes down to money probably not to taste and life planning.

Let's assume the house you want to buy has mortgage of 600 dollars per month but the rent for same house is 400 so here is what you should do, just choose rent and think you have to pay mortgage every month which means you have 200 dollars extra and you have to keep investing the amount every month into something with decent returns and low risk as long as you can, so at the end of 10 years you may not own a house but the investment you made all those years along with the compounding effect you will have much more money than the worth of that house.

You see that's the problem with scenarios, when you set them so that the result points to what you want to achieve, one might ask himself, is the scenario actually true? What if the rent is 550 and the mortgage 600? What if your investment fails completely? And more importantly, what if the price of the house goes up?
In 2010 the price of an sqm in London was 4500, not it's above 7000!

So even with your scenario, you would have to turn every single of those $200 into $900 in order to keep up just with the housing price!
Do you think is doable for everyone?

To somebody who wants to change environment every now and then, though, owning a place might not be his/her cup of tea. That's probably me. Owning a house is not worth it if you're away for weeks or a month every now and then, or if your work requires you to travel and stay in different places for longer periods of time.

Simple solution, rent it while you're away!
You move to a different city, rent the house and with the rent, you pay the current one, it's pretty simple!

[mvdheuvel1983]

Renting is a waste of money. I pay rent annually I know this for a fact. Your rent can never decrease rather the landlord will always inform you of an upward review of the rent.
And if you cannot pay of have a problem with it you are served with a quit notice. Every year you pay higher for rent.
If you have you own house, it will cost a lot of money to build or buy one, but once you do, you have peace of mind for the rest of your life.
I have concluded and agreed with the OP that renting is an inevitable waste of money.

[erep]

Yeah, having a loan just because you need it and have nothing to guarantee that you will be able to pay back is going to bite one in the ass. Imagine having that piece of land that is truly yours and you will have no landlords nagging you every day about your rent.

Relating to the OP's statement, he really needs a long term loan for a solution to owning a house instead of having to pay monthly rent, technically he's just switching from rent to loan but he already owns his own house, but it's important to note that the loan repayments are worth the cost monthly rent then there is no reason he can't pay off the loan because he can pay off the house rent for 6 years.

Op had said 75% of the loan would be government funded interest free and the rest would be handled by private banks for low interest so it was logical to apply for a loan. but I don't know the specific economic conditions of the OP and but if you don't have a stable income it's better not to apply for a loan.

[Smartvirus]

Not everyone are fortunate enough to have some left behind properties to inherit and make for themselves an easy life from it. Some might not even get to have it in a location that makes the property have a high value. Therefore, many have got to struggle for everything, to build their fortune from the bare floor.

Hence, with renting as a necessity to your survival and an easy life, I won't really term it a necessary waste. You are getting the value for your rent at least and that's of the most importance or that's what the money spent on renting is meant for. One otway or the other, your bound to spendsome of your earned funds on something and a house is definitely worth it. Shelter is a need and until you've got enough to build yours, you've got to do what you must to have a roof over your head.

A good question.

Renting only works if it lets you save on the side to have enough to buy a house.

This is where I becomes of the most importance. If you've got the leverage to set aside something for later. If your salary or wages and rent isn't giving you that leverage to set some funds aside for later, then you might just be biting more than you can chew.

[Coyster]

Renting is a waste of money. I pay rent annually I know this for a fact. Your rent can never decrease rather the landlord will always inform you of an upward review of the rent.
And if you cannot pay of have a problem with it you are served with a quit notice. Every year you pay higher for rent.
If you have you own house, it will cost a lot of money to build or buy one, but once you do, you have peace of mind for the rest of your life.
I have concluded and agreed with the OP that renting is an inevitable waste of money.

Well, the thing is that everyone would wish to outrightly have their own house, or maybe even houses and still be able to comfortably cover every other expense they have, but i'm afraid only the rich can actually afford that luxury. I feel between rent and purchase depends on the individual, their income and their area of residence, if you have a steady/stable source of income, then you could buy a house through paying the mortgage on it in installments, it is going to take quite a long time to pay up, but you eventually will if you manage to keep that steady source of income coming.

Having said that, i don't think there is anything wrong in renting a house, if you get a suitable location whilst considering proximity to your workplace, then you can go on and continue paying rent. I basically believe that before one should consider taking a loan to buy a house, or paying a mortgage on a house, they must have drawn out a long term plan as well as analysed their long term income and mobility, but rent on the other hand somewhat affords flexibility and ease of relocation.

[stomachgrowls]

~

Yeah, having a loan just because you need it and have nothing to guarantee that you will be able to pay back is going to bite one in the ass. Imagine having that piece of land that is truly yours and you will have no landlords nagging you every day about your rent.

Staying at a friend's house is quite a little bit of a different story depending on the family situations sometimes. There would be those that do not want to burden their parents further, so they would choose to be at their friend's house instead.

But you cant really make yourself staying into your own friends house for too long or even on years.Arent you that having the feeling on being shy on making yourself lived into someones house?
No matter how close you are with your bestfriend but you are living on a place that you wont really be that comfortable because you would really be keen in towards your actions because you do know
that it isnt your house.

This is why i cant really blame out other people on thriving their best on getting their own unit or houses even if its that risky to take up some loan.
Just be sure that you would be able to pay up those monthly amort for long years.

[Rengga Jati]

Well, in this case, everybody has a different condition and reason for renting.
I live with my family (4 people including me), still renting a house with two bedrooms and other main rooms, which costs only $670 per year. This is the average price in my area here and the house is really enough for us, much better with the environment here that is very suitable for me, my kids and also activities. With that cost, I am sure that many people around me will also talk about "why not buy or build a house? Why don't live with your parents?", This is always heard in my ears. But, this is our decision not to live together with our parents because we have our family with our responsibilities.

Who doesn't want a house? I am sure that most of us want a house or apartment or other names for living permanently, not renting. I am also having a target to buy my own house. But, not everybody is able to do it. So do I? We are still trying our best to save money and collect more money to buy a house someday. This expectation is one of the lists in my targets.

If we are calculating the money, how much money we have spent on renting, this sometimes hurts because we have spent so much money. But, once more, we sometimes have no choice, and renting is still the best way to do it for now. Why not? As long as we can still pay for it and try for our best life.

[Doan9269]

We have to rely on someone or leverage on things for a particular time in other for us to make some achievement while we set out goals and targets in place, this will be part of the procedures in life that will be required of us to take and trod  through in becoming whom we are meant to be, you pay for what you rented unlike when you lend them, it's never a waste of money but rather a way to conserve money when the time comes for you to acquire yours after you must have gained experience.

[Hamphser]

Ive known some rich people who doesnt have an own house but they are living on condominiums which i could say that they do really love on living a life where they cant be able to put themselves on a hassle.

I have realized for myself that if i were that rich then building your own house would be ideal but there are ones who do much prefer the accessibility on various venues and relevant places for you to deal
and live with on everyday.

There are really that differences for those people who dont have much money which leaves out on the option on having that renting for so long.Somehow its impossible that you wont
really be having in mind that on having your own and this is why we do go into certain options.

[coupable]

I don't understand why rent is a waste of money.  If you do not own a private home, you pay the accommodation price on a monthly basis, at least until you own a home.

It is because of how expensive the rent is when compared to loans. This assumption is unfortunately flawed because not all of us can get a loan. You need a high paying, stable job to get a decent loan.
That said, most of us have families and I know a number of people who received help from their families when they got married and could afford their first apartment.

This confirms my idea that paying the rent debt is a life necessity imposed by certain circumstances. This is one of the basic expenses that everyone spends in their daily life. You know in advance what you need to pay monthly as a rental value, and therefore set a budget and divide your monthly income accordingly, which helps you save money and enjoy your life. Perhaps I am one of the few who believe that rent is a good thing and makes people's lives easier. It certainly has flaws, but it's not that bad compared to its advantages.

[Little_Sister]

But you cant really make yourself staying into your own friends house for too long or even on years.Arent you that having the feeling on being shy on making yourself lived into someones house?
No matter how close you are with your bestfriend but you are living on a place that you wont really be that comfortable because you would really be keen in towards your actions because you do know
that it isnt your house.

Owners of people will not be comfortable with our presence at home to stay for a long time, unless you are traveling and staying temporarily at your best friend's house for less than a week. I'd rather live in a rented house than live in a friend's house.

This is why i cant really blame out other people on thriving their best on getting their own unit or houses even if its that risky to take up some loan.
Just be sure that you would be able to pay up those monthly amort for long years.

Someone takes a loan if the conditions are needed to buy or build their own house, he also has an income that can afford to pay the rent for the previous house, so it's okay to apply for a loan for low interest.

[samcrypto]

We have to rely on someone or leverage on things for a particular time in other for us to make some achievement while we set out goals and targets in place, this will be part of the procedures in life that will be required of us to take and trod  through in becoming whom we are meant to be, you pay for what you rented unlike when you lend them, it's never a waste of money but rather a way to conserve money when the time comes for you to acquire yours after you must have gained experience.

Renting serve its purpose, it smore flexible than owning a house on a specific area and yes, this is our way to conserve money and use other resources to slowly achieve your goals. We've been renting for years now, and I can say that its not easy to achieve your own property but I know in time, we can make it and that can be a sweet achievement for us. Be wise with your rentals, if its located in a good area where you can earn more much better.

[Oceat]

You and your partner should talk about it and what are your plans that both of you should agreed.

Having a house is like another investment, but it is heck of a worth of an investment in the end. I had rented before in the short term and it is almost like throwing away money just to survive and have a roof temporarily. I would just rent if my workplace was like really far from my home, but if transportation could handle it anyway, I would prioritize that first.

Me and my partner have a plan of having house first before being together. Not sure why living with parents is looked down in other countries, while in here, it is technically fine.

Well, I couldn't disagree with you on that since living with parents can save you enough money to buy your own before leaving with your parents house. I can't tell exactly what are the reasons about that but I guess it's just the way how they were being raised or maybe it's hard to have your own house on the other countries that's why most of them just rented a house or maybe it's just too far away from the city that's why most of them risk to rent even though they were just working to live and not to earn.

Perhaps, I would take the advice on the top of this post and consider downgrading their standard of living and by this way they can earn plenty of money that would be enough to buy their own house.

[Darker45]

To somebody who wants to change environment every now and then, though, owning a place might not be his/her cup of tea. That's probably me. Owning a house is not worth it if you're away for weeks or a month every now and then, or if your work requires you to travel and stay in different places for longer periods of time.

Simple solution, rent it while you're away!
You move to a different city, rent the house and with the rent, you pay the current one, it's pretty simple!

It can't be that simple. When you've got most of your stuff in your house, you just can't rent it to somebody else. Not only are your furniture and appliances the only things left, you also have your precious collections and paintings, books, PC, bicycle, and so on. You can't guarantee everything will still be in perfect shape when you come back.

My brother has a house of his own. He sometimes thought of moving to another place for a while, but he can't entertain the option of having his house rented for the same reason.