Posts with tag renting vs. owning

Almost a third (31.4 percent) of homeowners with mortgages are underwater, according to the 2012 first-quarter Zillow Negative Equity Report, yet 90 percent of them are current on their mortgages and continue to make payments. Deciding whether to "stay and pay" on a home that's worth less than you owe is a tough financial... Continue Reading »

Home ownership, long a central pillar of the American dream, seems increasingly unattainable for a growing numbers of households. Yet old views die hard, and nine out of 10 Americans still consider homeownership "an important part of the American dream," according to a June poll by The New York Times/CBS News. Indeed,... Continue Reading »

A headline-grabbing article last week suggests that after three years of flat growth, apartment rents are poised to spike and may jump 10 percent by 2012. The piece, from CNN Money, bases its prediction of double-digit rent increases on pent-up demand from twentysomethings who were forced to move in with their parents... Continue Reading »

Warren Buffett knows best when it comes to financial matters, or does he? When it comes to understanding the housing crisis we often rely on the advice of financial experts, and wading through it all can be as hard as rowing upstream. And why not when you consider that experts like personal finance guru Suze Orman, and... Continue Reading »

Renting has long had some advantages over buying a home. One of the biggest may be that late rent payments don't ding your credit score like late mortgage payments do. But in 2012, that will change, as Lynnette Khalfani-Cox reports at our sister site, WalletPop.com. For years, renters who got behind on their housing... Continue Reading »

Renting has always had its advantages over buying, but then this past summer, interest rates fell to an all-time low. However, home sales remained dismal at best. According to an article published by the "Washington Post," the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage tumbled to 4.69 percent, falling from an already low... Continue Reading »

Renting is too often considered a stepping stone for people busy saving up for that prototypical American dream: homeownership. But what if we looked at renting as a sound investment choice, rather than a runner-up prize? There's a new school of thought doing just that. With the disillusionment brought by the recent... Continue Reading »

Unbeknown to most consumers, there is a seismic shift coming in the American real estate industry. The Obama Administration is contemplating fundamental changes to the national housing policy. As yet, this is something for various think tanks, government officials, lobbyists, and academics to argue over, but it will come... Continue Reading »

Is buying always superior to renting? Not always, and in a down market, not when it comes to selling. Writer Sutton Stokes recently shared his saga with The Washington Times Communities. He and his wife went from renting to owning, to selling -- and waiting. In his words, "our decision to 'stop throwing money away on... Continue Reading »

Author and urban-studies theorist Richard Florida has some "tough love" advice for Americans. First, we need to lose our obsession with real estate. In his web-based video produced for The Atlantic titled "The Burden of Homeownership" he says that we need a "more flexible rental system." And when he means "more... Continue Reading »

Wake up, Pittsburgh! Hello, Phoenix! Pick yourself up, Detroit! It's a brand new day. According to the New York Times, these are just a few of the lucky (though relatively downtrodden) U.S. cities where buying a house has recently become substantially more affordable than renting one. That means home ownership,... Continue Reading »

Why buy when you can rent? Furniture and appliances, that is. Rental companies use that ploy - and enticingly cheap rates - to sucker consumers into leasing everything from sofas and bedroom sets to washers, refrigerators and televisions. Their usual prey: lower-income people who don't have ready cash (credit is easy,... Continue Reading »