‘Tis the Season… to Rent?
I’ve shared on here before that I’m a renter. I’ve been renting for years. My grandma rented for her entire life; they never owned a house. The only place that I ever lived that was owned by my family was the house I lived in from age 8 to age 18. Now, I was originally considering buying a house next year. Then, I started looking at my yard and thinking about all the stuff that I’ll do to it next year. I realized that I don’t want to leave… and honestly, between the country’s credit being downrated and the economy’s instability, I shouldn’t.
Now, I know this differs from the advice that I gave earlier this year. I talked about renting only if you had to, and trying to buy a house. That’s because the economy and house market are changing quickly. Here’s a couple things that are going on that have made me change my advice a bit.
- Interest is going to go up. Even though the Federal Reserve is going to attempt to thwart this, they can’t fully stop it. Sorry to burst your bubble if you thought they can totally halt that.
- Banks are being pickier with giving out loans. If everyone is struggling, then it’s going to be harder to get a loan in the first place. Banks are struggling too, and don’t want to take any risks right now.
- Rental demand is up. Wait, why would I tell you to rent when the demand is higher? Doesn’t that mean it’ll be harder to find a rental in my price range? Maybe, maybe not. But, if people are more willing to rent, that means that the people doing the renting (whether companies or private owners) are more likely to keep their rent cost the same. I’ve been paying the same price for this apartment for the past two years, and it doesn’t look like it will be changing anytime soon.
What if you’re already in a house? Here’s a few of my thoughts on that.
- Stay there if you can. If your mortgage is paid off and/or not causing you financial hardship,
- If you decide to stay and have an extra room or area that you can rent out, consider doing that. It will help with the current rental demand and put a little
- If you’re worried about the possibility of foreclosure, you may want to consider putting your house on the market and finding a more inexpensive rental.
- If you need to relocate for job reasons or whatever, consider renting in the next area you live in, especially if your already owned house is going to take a while to sell.
I know, some of this sounds like common sense, but in all honesty, people are asking these kinds of questions. They’re wondering what to do with investments, with accounts, and with everything they own, just in case the United States goes into another recession, or at worst, depression. Like I suggested a few weeks ago, don’t panic, and continue spending smart and saving smart!
