Those who went from renting an apt to buying

Is it really hard adjustment, responsibility wise? We dont do anything in our apt The management handles the landscaping, painting, repairs, snow removal. I'm so afraid that when we buy something whether its a condo, co-op or house, we will have unexpected stress and money issues and we'll have to put a lot of time into the upkeep. Any experience, advice?
TIA

Re: Those who went from renting an apt to buying

We went from an apt to a house, and yes it is a lot more responsibility. They don't call them money pits for nothing.

BUT, owning a home can be very rewarding. You get to landscape how you want, you learn how to make repairs etc. Plus, you can claim a home on your taxes. That is a big benefit.

It was not a hard transition for us. I was already paying our rent, plus putting away $1000 extra a month into savings so I knew we'd be able to afford the monthly mortgage payments. Then it was just a matter or prioritizing needs so that the oil bill, water bill and extras could be paid.

Good luck!

Re: Those who went from renting an apt to buying

To me, buying a home is a part of the "american dream." Not all people feel this way, and I understand. Some people aren't house people; they prefer apartments/rental houses/condos/townhouses/co-ops, as they don't need to pay for the extra stuff, like landscaping and such.

I always wanted a home. DH did not. He is from the city, used to apartment life, never mowed a lawn, never had a backyard, or a drive way, etc. He was used to that.

I grew up in the 'burbs with a huge amount of property. I always knew I wanted a house. A co-op/townhouse or even a starter-home was out of the question. Even a fixer-upper was out of the question, due to limited time we have.

One day I was computing how much we blew on rent.. it was around 50k. It made me sick we had spent that much and not have anything to call our own. I wanted to build equity in something, to OWN my own digs.

We had no issue transitioning in our home. DH was scared the entire time until we walked in the front door. Then he got excited. A walk-in closet, a basement he can have to himself, a garage to tinker around in... a big deck to BBQ on.. he was sold.


With that choice, comes the responsibility of paying for anything that goes wrong, or any extras.

I personally do not feel houses are money pits. To me, it is a great investment.

If you decide to purchase a house, you have to think and consider all the factors and make choices based on not what you want just now, but 10 years from now.

Do you want to buy small and upgrade later?

Would you rather pay less and fix it up yourself?

If you plan to sell the house in 5 or 10 years, are you willing to take a potential loss on your home?

It's all about priorities. There is nothing wrong with apartments or co-ops, etc, and some prefer it because it gives them more disposable income....sometimes this means more vacations, more money in savings, more money in general.

It's tough to decide sometimes.

Re: Those who went from renting an apt to buying

Its a lot more responsibility from going from a apt to a home. its actually kinda rediculous!

Re: Those who went from renting an apt to buying

We went from renting an apartment to owning a house. If you had asked me in the first 6 months I bought the house, I would've given the house back in 10 seconds and ran back to my apartment. The oil burner broke, we had flooding in the basement, it was a nightmare.

7 years later we have renovated the entire house, but we knew we would have to. We bought a fixer-upper becaue it was all we could afford. I have no regrets now. We have made it our home.