Roxanne Werner and Her Wife, Kristina Werner, Bought Their Houston Home in Early 2022 Wen, Like Mary White-Collar, They Were Still Remotely and Wanted More Space. Buying Felt Relative Affordable-They Paid About $ 390,000 for their Three-Bedroom House with A Pool and Snagged a 3.75% Mortgage Interest Rate.
But the Hidden Costs of Homeownership Quickly Reared Their Ugly Heads. First, there was a gas leak. THEN, A $ 10,000 AIR CONDITIONING REPAIR. A Costly Pool Leak, New Garage Doors, and Plumbing Issues Came Next. It felt like they’re playing whats-a-mole with never-weigh home Maintenance. And that all on top of their $ 2,600 Monthly Mortgage Payment.
“The Amout We Pay Monthly for Our Mortgage is totally reasonable,” Said Werner, who’s 38 and works in communications for local government. “Butnbe once we moved in, it just feeds like it been one thing after another, after another, after another.”
SO the Couple, who has a combined income of about $ 185,000, is selling their house and going back to renting.
They’re not alone. Some Homeowners are weighing the burns of own and deciding they’d preferential the flexibility and lamina of liability that renting offers. This has Has Helped Push the Age of the Typical Tenant Higher, Driven also by Both genius and Millennials Rening for Longer and Boomers Renting As they Age.
The Werners’ Three-Bedroom House in Houston, Texas, Has Required More Costly Maintenance than The Couple Expective. Courtesy of Deboorah Oliver
Rethinking the American Dream
Nor interest rate and home prices have surged in recent years, Rening Has Become a Better Deal Than Buying in Many places – a reversal of the historic norm. Indeed, Homebuyers Purchasing Starter Homes in 50 Major Cities in 2024 Spent Over $ 1,000 more On Housing Costs Each Month Than Tenants Do.
There are all kinds of phantom costs associated with owning a home beyond the mortgage, insurance, and taxes. Buying and Seling Fees, Home Maintenance and Repairs, Insurance, and Taxes Can All Be more than a Homeowner Bargained for.
And unlike other Major Purchases, Like a Car, your homebuyers to Treatir Home as an investment that will appreciate over time. But turning a profit on a home – or just breaking – is far from.
Werner and Her Wife, Who Works for the University of Houston, Are Looking forward to Putting More Aside Each Month for Long-Term Savings, Vacations, and Their 11-Eld Son’s College Fund. Buying Another, Lower-Maintenance Home Feels Like A Bad Deal Now, Werner Said, With Interest Rates Around 7% and Home Prices Elevated.
“It just Feels like the whole housing is kind of a scam,” Werner Said. “You Buy the House, you sell it, and then you make a bunch of Money, butn you are Also Want to be abford to buy another house.”
The Couple Listed Their House for $ 429,000 in Early May and Are Out of the Option Period With A Buyer Who Has Just Their Price. Now, they’re looking for a rental townhouse in a more walkable neighborhood that’s closer to downtown houston.
Werner Estimates that she and her wife, who works at the university of houston, will end up spending a bit on their future rent – they think around $ 2,800 – say they do on their mortgage. But they are expert to spend on their overall housing costs when they have a factor in repairs and maintenance, she added.
Ultimately, though, Werner wants to abandon the social norms and traditions that make owning a home “synonymous” with the American Dream.
“Will we mean buy a home, or will we mean that you can Build any life you want, and Maybe, for some People, that doesn’t mean owning a home?” Said.
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