Tag Archives: Renting

Renting Cool? No Way!

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rent-or-buySo it’s been no surprise that my wife and I have decided to rent, we’ve been renting the last year since we moved out of our condo that has continued to drop in price since we sold.  I’ve been keeping an eye on the old location and it’s hurting.  It was a smart decision and based off checking out the market, listening to people we trust and checking out a lot of people who are in tune with the housing market like Garth Turner. Check out his latest blog post about renting and how people that tell you “you need to be a man and own”, or “renting your throwing your money away”. http://www.greaterfool.ca/2011/07/03/renters/

Maybe renting isn’t for everyone however with the way the economy is headed, interest rates that will rise, you’ll see more and more people starting to rent.  Garth has a great example in there that may change our mind, or not.  Check it out, get all the info and come up with your own opinion but don’t be blind to it. 

I like some of what Gath says in his blog.

“If the goal is to become financially independent and build net worth, renting can beat the pants off owning.” – Just proves it’s not only World Wide Dreambuilders that teaches this success principal.

“…Most importantly, a renter would have lived in an identical (maybe better) house while building net worth and taking no risk on a seriously wobbly housing market. Zero debt. Total liquidity. Unfettered mobility. Net worth would be greater, not less. Options enhanced.”

Garth also refers to a few links that may give you some other insight.  I agree 100% with this link – http://www.moneyville.ca/article/1015893–why-i-sold-my-house-and-rent-instead

And then for the older people – http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/budget/personal-finance/why-renting-can-be-the-right-choice-for-aging-boomers/article2077874/

My wife and I are very happy renting for the time being, it’s allowed us to be 100% debt free, has given us a heck of a lot more flexibility in so many ways, has allowed us to donate more of our income to charities, and because of being debt free has allowed us to put money back into savings at a MUCH faster rate then what we had before.  Lastly like Garth said we are not tied to a “wobbly hosing market” which means when we decide to move to Kelowna, we can do so without the headache of selling something that may or may not sell.

I’m not saying that everyone has to rent, but if your in debt up to your ears and want to start moving towards financial independence, you may want to think again.  Don’t take my word for it, there are many others stating the same. Thoughts? Comments? It’s open for on topic discussion.

Got Our Keys!

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house-keysWe got our keys after our walkthrough of our new home.  I could not be happier and more excited about  it as we start a new chapter in our lives.  This is pretty much the last home we will ever occupy here in Edmonton.  Our next step will be Kelowna which is the feature picture in my blog header.

Our landlords are amazing and we cannot wait to work with them on where 15% of our rent will go to charity.  Who does that?  I still cannot get over that.  Sure they will probably get a tax deduction but big deal, they are doing what most wouldn’t do.  Most would just keep the rent money and spend it on something probably less giving.  The new grass around the whole place looks awesome, and the house is just in perfect shape for an older home.  They really put some work into it and it shows.

I’ll try and keep this updated as we move into our place this weekend! OH YEAH!! 

Packing Isn’t Fun

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Packing isn’t fun however it’s a means to an ends.  This week we started to go hard on packing up the condo.  It’s quite a change for us going from a place we owned to a place we are now going to rent.  Which by the way is a great place with great landlords.  Landlords that want to donate 15% of our rent to a charity that we get a hand in helping pick.  Who does that these days?  That is quite impressive.  I think it’s a sign that we are doing the right thing.

So renting isn’t a bad thing.  I’ve crunched the numbers and we will save more money then our condo will ever appreciate in value and for damn sure more then we will ever pay off on our mortgage in the first 10-15 years.  Almost all mortgages are front loaded where the bank will get all their interest at the beginning.  I’d rather give someone who is going to donate part of my rent to a charity then give it to some money hungry bank that doesn’t give a rats ass about us. 

I also have to give a shout out to a friend who rented before they purchased or are purchasing their house.  I used to bug him so much about renting, saying why don’t you own, why are you renting, blah blah.  He had it right, he was doing what successful people do, save up BEFORE getting a mortgage.  I don’t know if he saved up enough to buy the whole house in cash however I do know he’s FAR better off then most people.  I have to give him credit because he did the opposite of the masses and despite ridicule he stuck to his guns.  Same idea for what we are doing, sticking to our guns and doing what we know is right and what most are not willing to do.

We will rent for the next few years debt free.  We will only have the car payment for another few months and then we will be 100% debt free. The stress that will be lifted with that will be unreal.  I cannot wait for this.  Being in debt is NOT something we will repeat.  So we will be renting here in Edmonton for the next 2-3 years and then move out to Kelowna where we have been wanting to raise our family.  As we move out there we will rent for a few more years, get an idea of where we want to build or buy a place and build it in cash.  Mock me, say it won’t happen, say I’m crazy, but I will do it.  The more you say I cannot do it, the more it will just fuel my fire to do it. So bring it on ;)

Kelowna here we come…

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