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AndyR

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 9, 2005
907
30
Auckland, New Zealand
Just wondering how many of your guys rent where you live or are owning by paying a mortgage?

We used to own in the UK but got screwed by the market at the time and by peer pressure to get a house (bought at the peak, sold when going down etc) as we emigrated to New Zealand. Since being here the housing market is silly and with the fact that most 1st time homes are circa NZ$400k and those are crap quality and you also need 20% deposit, the misses and I are kinda stuck. Everyone we know is in the same boat, all renting with zero chance of being able to save the 20% ($80k) deposit in the time that houses are going up in price like crazy with no more being built. Our current rental has just been put up for sale buy the owner but we can't afford to buy as we would be totally outstretching ourselves which is something we are not willing to do when the housing market is so voliate, and after being bitten in the past like this.

Anyway, just wondering what its like in the rest of the world? Do a lot of you rent and is so why and are you saving for a house etc?
 

Apple fanboy

macrumors Ivy Bridge
Feb 21, 2012
55,097
52,712
Behind the Lens, UK
I'm in the UK and hear your pain. I know a lot of people stuck in the negative equity or the rental trap. Fortunately I bought in London as prices were going up and sold a couple of years later (as we moved to the Midlands for work) for a huge profit. Been living mortgage free for the last 5 years or so which is good for someone in their 30's. Puts me in a strange place of wanting interest rates to go up where most people wan them to stay low!
 

Nermal

Moderator
Staff member
Dec 7, 2002
20,595
3,935
New Zealand
I own mine. It has two kitchens, bathrooms, etc. so I've essentially split it in two, and I live in one half and rent out the other half.
 

SkyBell

macrumors 604
Sep 7, 2006
6,603
219
Texas, unfortunately.
I rent a dinky little one bed/one bath apartment. It is brand new, (I'm the first tenant, apparently) but it's "low-income housing", so you might imagine the amenities it has to offer. :rolleyes:

(It's not great, but it's all I can afford at the moment. Interestingly, rent is $625 a month. My roommate and I work minimum wage jobs because that's all there is in this town, and we were almost turned down in our application because we "make too much money to be in the low-income bracket". We half-jokingly refer to it as forced poverty.)
 

yg17

macrumors Pentium
Aug 1, 2004
15,027
3,002
St. Louis, MO
I rent a dinky little one bed/one bath apartment. It is brand new, (I'm the first tenant, apparently) but it's "low-income housing", so you might imagine the amenities it has to offer. :rolleyes:

(It's not great, but it's all I can afford at the moment. Interestingly, rent is $625 a month. My roommate and I work minimum wage jobs because that's all there is in this town, and we were almost turned down in our application because we "make too much money to be in the low-income bracket". We half-jokingly refer to it as forced poverty.)

Where do you live? I pay $700/mo for a 1 bed/1 bath apartment with washer/dryer in the unit apartment in a nice area of St. Louis. This is most definitely not low income housing.

$625 seems like a lot for low income housing.
 

SkyBell

macrumors 604
Sep 7, 2006
6,603
219
Texas, unfortunately.
Where do you live? I pay $700/mo for a 1 bed/1 bath apartment with washer/dryer in the unit apartment in a nice area of St. Louis. This is most definitely not low income housing.

$625 seems like a lot for low income housing.

A little town in the Texas hill country, northwest of San Antonio. I suppose since the apartments were just built last year, they're trying to quickly recover some of their investment with inflated rent pricing. (And honestly, it's the best place in town to live. It's just... not a good town.)

You get stuck here working a job that barely pays the bills, never being able to save up enough to move anywhere else, because everything is expensive for some reason.

...Sorry, I'm rambling now. :eek:
 

mobilehaathi

macrumors G3
Aug 19, 2008
9,368
6,352
The Anthropocene
I rent, and it is bloody expensive to do even that here.

Incidentally, doesn't the crown own all land in the UK, and everyone is technically leasing it?
 

Happybunny

macrumors 68000
Sep 9, 2010
1,792
1,389
I live in the same house that my Great:great:great grand father bought in 1793. Of course the original house has been completely modernized through out it's history, mostly by myGrand father in 1926. The last major rebuilding was in the 1970's by my father.
 
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twietee

macrumors 603
Jan 24, 2012
5,300
1,675
I live in the same house that my Great:great:great grand father bought in 1793. Of course the original house has been completely modernized through out it's history, mostly by myGrand father in 1926. The last major rebuilding was in the 1970's by my father.

Wow! Lots of collected memories I guess. Was the 70s rebuilding any good by todays standarts? No offense of course, it just happens that I have to remove lots' of stuff done in the 70s and most things from the 20s or earlier is of higher quality in general and also beautifully done.

I for one am renting and just found a nice apartment from around 1900 (which is kind of hard to get in Munich). Since I'm an architect, I normally want to change lots of things, which is a pita if the owner is a tasteless, greedy person. :D
Therefore, I'd like to buy one but, prices skyrocketed here and I'm also kind of picky when it comes to such things as location or built quality so it would be even more pricey. Since I'm still quite young I have other goals in mind atm though.
 

robbieduncan

Moderator emeritus
Jul 24, 2002
25,611
893
Harrogate
I rent, and it is bloody expensive to do even that here.

Incidentally, doesn't the crown own all land in the UK, and everyone is technically leasing it?

Kind-of, sort-of if you mean the UK as England (and maybe Wales). Pretty sure that's not true in Scotland. My current flat is leasehold (and I have 100% equity, go me!). The house I'm buying is freehold. Both have some advantages but I'm very happy to be getting a freehold property as it's closer to 100% control...
 

Happybunny

macrumors 68000
Sep 9, 2010
1,792
1,389
Wow! Lots of collected memories I guess. Was the 70s rebuilding any good by todays standarts? No offense of course, it just happens that I have to remove lots' of stuff done in the 70s and most things from the 20s or earlier is of higher quality in general and also beautifully done.

I for one am renting and just found a nice apartment from around 1900 (which is kind of hard to get in Munich). Since I'm an architect, I normally want to change lots of things, which is a pita if the owner is a tasteless, greedy person. :D
Therefore, I'd like to buy one but, prices skyrocketed here and I'm also kind of picky when it comes to such things as location or built quality so it would be even more pricey. Since I'm still quite young I have other goals in mind atm though.

In answer to your question

The house was damaged in the war of 40-45, and because during and shortly after the war building materials were of an inferior quality the roof of the house suffered water damage. In the very cold winter of 1963 a portion of the roof got more damage, this was repaired in 1964 .
In 1969 my father wanted to rebuild the servant quarters which were in the attic, by inspection it was found that the whole roof would need to be replaced. So in the summer of 1970 my parents moved into a hotel, and the house was fitted with a new roof. The attic was modernised from six rooms to three rooms and a bathroom toilet. The ballroom was remodelled into a living room, and one of the 6 other bedrooms was remodelled into a proper master bedroom.
The central warming system was brought up to date, and the kitchen was modernised.

All the building work was well done, but my father was not a man who great artistic tastes, so the style was very minimalistic.

I have only had a new central warming, one of the smaller bathrooms removed, and the space used to make a bedroom bigger. The kitchen was the last to be completely re done in 1997, the old scullery floor was again visible this dates to the house before this one so around 1725. The kitchen hallway floor has the original tiles from 1793.

All this on a street first laid out in 1376, my house is by no means the oldest on the block.

I do hope that this goes some way to answering your query?
 
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hallux

macrumors 68040
Apr 25, 2012
3,437
1,005
Rent. Now to make some of you jealous..

$770/month gets me 2 bedrooms, almost 1100 sq. ft., a good-size kitchen, in-unit laundry, central air and a 1-car attached garage. This is an apt. complex, not considered low-income housing.
 

twietee

macrumors 603
Jan 24, 2012
5,300
1,675
I do hope that this goes some way to answering your query?

I hope my question didn't offend you?! :eek:
That wasn't my intention at all. But thank you very much, Happybunny. Must be quite an interesting building and story.
 

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,419
43,307
The wife and I own our house - it's no where near the age of Happybunny, it was built in the late 20s/early 30s. It was a bungalow style house to which we added a second floor about 8 years ago. Thankfully we did as my wife found out she was knocked up about 6 months into the construction.

We needed the extra bedroom for our twin girls :D
 

Mr. McMac

Suspended
Dec 21, 2009
2,968
363
Far away from liberals
I own my house. Mortgage was paid off 11 years ago. Still have to pay $8000 a year in property tax, and $1300 a year in homeowners insurance. I rent the basement to a single guy which pays most of my bills.
 

sammich

macrumors 601
Sep 26, 2006
4,304
268
Sarcasmville.
One of the most expensive places to buy property, right here in Sydney.

My parents bought ages ago, when it was 'low'. This is a 2nd property and I take care of it with some 'rent' that I contribute to my parents. The mortgage is still 5+ years away from being paid off.
 
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Mr-Kerrse

macrumors 6502
Apr 1, 2011
273
0
United Kingdom
I have always rented, i like the flexibility of being to move when ever i want, mind you i have been in the current house for 4 years but it's perfect so no reason to want to move yet.
 

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,419
43,307
I own my house. Mortgage was paid off 11 years ago. Still have to pay $8000 a year in property tax, and $1300 a year in homeowners insurance.

I have 20 years left on mine - I wish we could have it paid off, but we refinanced a couple of times. The first refi was for the construction and the interest was rather high. The last refi brought the interest rate down into the 3s and It appears the house will be paid off around the time I retire which is my plan.
 

Mr. McMac

Suspended
Dec 21, 2009
2,968
363
Far away from liberals
I have 20 years left on mine - I wish we could have it paid off, but we refinanced a couple of times. The first refi was for the construction and the interest was rather high. The last refi brought the interest rate down into the 3s and It appears the house will be paid off around the time I retire which is my plan.

When I bought my house in 1999. I put $50,000 down on a house that cost $196,000. My mortgage rate was 7.25%. My monthly payment $1750. When my father died in 2001, he left my sister and I a sizable inheritance in which I was able to pay off my mortgage even though my accountant told me it wasn't a good idea for tax reasons. Glad I didn't listen to him. Just not having the stress of making large payments each month was worth it.
 

ejb190

macrumors 65816
...I was able to pay off my mortgage even though my accountant told me it wasn't a good idea for tax reasons. Glad I didn't listen to him.

Accountants who try to keep people in debt for "tax reasons" scare me. Yup. Avoid paying the government $1000 by paying the bank $6,000 in interest. Makes sense to me.

We own. Just refinanced to a 15 year which should be paid off in under 10. Mortgage payment is a bit over $400, but we're paying $500+. I see a new roof and driveway in the very near future, so that might need to slow down.
 

mobilehaathi

macrumors G3
Aug 19, 2008
9,368
6,352
The Anthropocene
Kind-of, sort-of if you mean the UK as England (and maybe Wales). Pretty sure that's not true in Scotland. My current flat is leasehold (and I have 100% equity, go me!). The house I'm buying is freehold. Both have some advantages but I'm very happy to be getting a freehold property as it's closer to 100% control...

Ahh, I didn't know if it extended to all of UK or just England...:)
 
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