Los Angeles Sweet Digs

April 18, 2008

Ten Things I Love About Renting

I’ve owned homes all my life, but after my last home-buying experience, I find myself appreciating the relative simplicity of renting.  Since many of you renters are pining to own your own place, maybe my list will help you feel better about hanging in there until prices come back to Earth.

10 Things I Love About Renting

1. Instead of forking over every last cent I have for a down payment, I can enjoy the security of ready cash in the bank.

2.  If I end up with crappy neighbors, or get a job in a different city, I can give 30 days’ notice and move.for rent sign Ten Things I Love About Renting

3.  If the roof starts leaking profusely during a rainstorm in the middle of the night, as happened in my apartment last year, someone else has to pay to fix it.

4.  I don’t have to own a lawnmower, a weed whacker, a hose, an extension ladder, or a shovel.

5.  If I don’t love the floor plan, the countertops, or the bathroom fixtures, so what?  I don’t own the place.

6.  I don’t have to pay real estate taxes, Mello-Roos, HOA fees, private mortgage insurance, or homeowner’s insurance.

7.  I get to live in a neighborhood that I couldn’t afford to buy in.

8.  I never have to go to Home Depot.

9.  I don’t have to pay for exterminators, gardeners, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, painters, appliance repair people, garage door repair people, air conditioning repair people, heating repair people, carpet cleaners, window cleaners, chimney cleaners, duct cleaners or stucco cleaners.

10.  If a sewer pipe ruptures under the house, or the foundation cracks, or the place ends up full of mold, I’m not responsible!

Yes, there are many hidden costs and risks to owning a home.  And it can be stressful!  On the other hand, if you can afford to not only pay your mortgage (and maintain and upgrade your house), but pay down your mortgage so you can own your home outright, then homeowning is definitely a better deal. 

Until I’m able to do that, I’m quite content throwing my money away on rent.  You can be, too.

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Posted by Cindy Allen on April 18, 2008 8:51 AM | del.icio.us | Digg

  • Aartvark, I would like to live in the Fairfax District, where a two-bedroom fixer will run me at least $850,000. My mortgage payment, including taxes and insurance, would be much higher than the rent I pay on my beautifully remodeled two-bedroom on a tree-lined street.

    I'm guessing you are an agent. But if you're not, you need to check your facts. Either that, or come here with a real-life example of how renting in a desirable neighborhood of L.A. costs the same as buying.
  • Red, you make an excellent point. Even with the tax benefit, there are just so many hidden costs to owning. And you're right: People do take on payments much higher than rent for the "privilege" of owning a house. I hope you're right about prices coming back to Earth; I don't see how they can't.
  • Tim, very interesting. I hope your landlord doesn't read this blog!
  • AArtVark
    In descent areas of Los Angeles, if one is not in their 20's able to rent a room or hovel, rent for a acceptable place in a safe area is close to a mortgage.

    => 7. I get to live in a neighborhood that I couldn’t afford to buy in.
    - Really? With the rent gouging going on? Maybe 10+ years ago, but not in the rental market of 2008.
  • Red
    Realistically, it should cost LESS to own than to rent. There are huge advantages to renting - no risk from fire, earthquake, termites, sudden increases in HOA assessments; No 6% Realtors commission if you decide to move - on and on. And owning a home is WORK.
    But people have been paying nearly twice what rents cost for the "investment" of owning. Now this has turned out to be a high risk, highly leveraged disaster for so many.
    The last time around, prices slowly sank from the highs of 1990 down to values roughly near rental costs in 1996 - the foreclosures may do that in some neighborhoods this year alone.
  • Tim Hebb
    I've discovered another almost unknown but extreme advantage to renting particular properties. If you are renting a guest house in L.A. (90% or more are probably not legal as a dwelling on R1-zoned lots because they were permitted as "Recreation Rooms") or some other unpermitted addition - garage conversions also fall in this category - and you have a landlord dispute, you are in luck. The Dept. of Building and Safety aggressively enforces the building codes and will inspect properties if tipped off to such violations. The downside is that you may tip yourself out of a home: they will give you a 30-day notice if your residence is not legal, in addition to issuing a Notice of Compliance to the owner to remove the offending structure or features like bathrooms, kitchens, etc. that were not permitted.

    I consider this a "nuclear option" and would prefer to use it as leverage, a bargaining tool, rather than cutting right to the chase. However, if all else fails, pulling the trigger will set off an irreversible chain of events. Just ask my former landlord, who now has a lovely guest house that she can no longer rent for income: it's not very appealing to renters with a boarded-up shower and the kitchen pulled out.

    So, guest houses are my rental of choice in L.A., knowing that, should I turn out to have the landlord from hell, I can issue him a ticket back to where he came from.
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