Living Car Free - Do you rent or own?

I'd be curious to see if a person's CF status on BF is related to their residence status. If we get enough votes, I'll run a chi-square test...

To start things off, I rent, and am CL. Feel free to discuss your reasons for renting vs. owning, and if you expect your status to change in the future...

I rent because I'd rather live 1/4 mile from the ocean than move somewhere less desirable where housing prices are low enough for me to afford to buy. (though give it a few more months of price drops here and i may be able to buy after all!).

I lived car free in Tokyo but when I moved to Pacifica, a town just south of San Francisco, I bought a car and have never looked back. It's just so much easier in this hilly region and with everything so spread out. My world is so much larger than it could ever be if I just had a bicycle and the poor public transportation that exists here. (Japan's is much better: you can get almost everywhere in the country by public transportation quite easily).

uh....other?:o

I own 2 homes and 40 acres free and clear. I also rent an apartment/hotel room when working out of town (most of the time) I drive 40,000+ miles most years due to work, but when at home or in my out of town locations the truck normally stays parked and I cycle every where I can. I also utilize mass transit at every opportunity, but many of my jobs are in small towns in the middle of nowhere. The one I am currently at is 2 hours from the train station, 45-60 minutes from the Dawg and 45 minutes from the nearest commercial airport. It is also an 8 hour drive from home:cry:

My situation is unusual but not unique.

Aaron:)

I own a paid-off home (for services rendered). I own a truck so sick it is for dire emergencies only. It would be replaced if I had full time employment. Maybe with one of the ZAP 3-wheel cars.

Where I live, renting is more expensive than owning. Rather than paying a landlord, I'd rather put the money where I can get some of it out eventually. I bought a few years before prices started to escalate and I've never regretted it. However, if rents had been considerably cheaper, I might not have bothered to buy.

I rent, i did own, I used to have tons of cars now I ride a bike have no cars but will probably get one for family visits and such.

I own, but I struggled between whether to choose drive often or car light. I think I drive less than the average person, but we're still a two-car family. :(

I own and drive less and less. My wife drives to the same place I ride to everyday. something not right about that.

OK, I would like to add that the official definition of "car light" for the purpose of this forum and such polls / discussions should be agreed to by majority, and then posted as a sticky for easy reference. :p

carfree renter here.

If there's a correllataion, I bet the main reason is that carfree people tend to live in central cities, where renting is more common.

Car light, trying to sell the car and I rent.

Pretty small place, but inexpensive. Trying to find room for the bikes.

I own and drive less and less. My wife drives to the same place I ride to everyday. something not right about that.

My ex did that...sad part was I could get to work faster than she could:innocent:

Aaron:)

My ex did that...sad part was I could get to work faster than she could:innocent:

Aaron:)

If roads are wide open it takes me about 30 minutes longer in the morning to get to work. it takes me about 20 min longer to get home. 13.8 city miles. If traffic is bad and I am in a hurry (read traffic laws be damned) I can get home in about the same amount of time as her.

Own, put about 4000 miles on my truck last year, mostly to haul my kayaks and canoes to places for paddling and fishing and to transport my son back and forth to college 300 miles away at the beginning and end of each school year and for holidays...he had no car. My SO drives about 15K per year to her job and other things. Once, between the two of us, we put 60K per year on our vehicles, job requirements.

No car, living in a lucky rent free situation, so I'll say own.

Bike everywhere I need to go but can do everything by foot reasonably as well.

I am car free and am renting an apartment while I am remodeling a house I own. Hopefully I'll be able to live in it by January. :) So I both rent and own.

None of the above.

I dwell in a couple rooms in a house, rent free, as a part of an acquiring-further-education arrangement ... although I do contribute to the household costs now and then. When I graduate, I will be moving into my husband's tiny and rather rustic cabin in the country. :)

I am both car-heavy and bicycle-heavy :D ... although I hope to sell my car toward the end of next summer.

I'm also walking-heavy ... I walk a lot of places. For example, rather than paying a fortune for parking at the University, I park 2 kms away, where it's free, and walk.

Rent and car-ownership-free

I rent. It's too expensive in Santa Barbara for me to own. My boyfriend owns and I live with him, so it's pretty close. But I think paying a mortgage and property taxes is not much better than renting. I'm car lite. I own one but rarely drive it. When I do drive it, it's like I've forgotten how to do it. I am bike lite, too. Mostly I walk.

I would like to have a permanent home base, but property prices here in Australia skyrocketed in the past two years... although they are now plummeting as the credit squeeze tightens.

I have been renting for quite a while now simply because it gives me the flexibility at the end of a rental period to either renew or move on to new locales. In my current situation, there is no lease, so I could be gone tomorrow if I wanted.

Having an owned abode means you might have to move for work for myriad other reasons, anyway, and end up with the hassles involved with that.

Plus, despite my age, I like experiencing new things and places. Since my first marriage ended quite a long time ago, I have lived in Far North Queensland, Tasmania twice again (my home State), Perth (Western Australia), Canada (for six months), and now the Yarra Ranges north of Melbourne in Victoria.

Interestingly, I haven't lived for much more than three years in any one place, and I am getting itchy feet here again now.

With our plans for cycle-touring or touring generally, having a permanent address really wouldn't suit. Nevertheless, we are keeping our options open. Not owning a motor vehicle means additional savings can give us those options.

I own a very small place (800 sq ft), and the house is partly why I'm car-free. I can afford to live near the heart of Seattle, and I could afford to own a car if I wanted to, but doing both at once would reduce my disposable income to almost zero, so I've decided to live where I want and go everywhere by bike and/or walking. Since I live in a geographically small, highly urban area with decent bus service, and can rent or borrow a car if I absolutely have to have one, which is almost never, it's working out very well for me. It's apparently working out for others around here, too, because I've noticed that a few of my friends & neighbors have either gone car-free or car-lite lately, too.

I rent an apartment near downtown Toronto. I don't have a car and come from a car free family. I'd like to learn how to drive, but I wouldn't bother to buy a car. It's a lot cheaper living downtown without a car since parking is very expensive, and the parking metre people are eager to hand out tickets. Luckily public transit is convenient and I use it when the weather is too awful to ride, or if I'm going far out of my way, or buying loads of stuff (fairly rare. I dislike shopping).

I don't think I'll ever own my home. If I did it would be a house, not a condo since the condos I have seen are incredibly tiny with unusual floor plans. Any house I'd buy I'd convert the garage into a super duper entertainment-study-craft-bike zone. And I'd have at least 2 cats and 1 dog.

I don't think I'll ever own my home. If I did it would be a house, not a condo since the condos I have seen are incredibly tiny with unusual floor plans. Any house I'd buy I'd convert the garage into a super duper entertainment-study-craft-bike zone. And I'd have at least 2 cats and 1 dog.

I'm in a townhouse. It's only about 10 per cent smaller than the house in which I grew up. At this point in my life, it's ideal. I'm close to the centre of town, surrounded by good neighbours and free from most of the yard work and other obligations of home ownership.

My wife and I own our home mortgage free, I am carlite, and I haven't driven a motor vehicle in quite some time. We're glad we made the choice to buy a house since the rent for the cracker box apartment across the street from us now goes for more than what our mortgage payments were.

I've been car-free since '99, and a renter since '96.

Prior to that I owned a home for nine years. Worst nine years of my life. The place sucked up every spare dime and every second of free time. Never again will I own.

I love renting. I can rent a small place. I prefer small places. I'm in about 400 s.f. and am thinking it's a little big.

If the neighbors suck, I can move easily, or have the landlord deal with them. I just had the landlord get rid of a noisy, obnoxious, drunken, party animal on the other side of my living room wall. Peace has been restored. You can't do that when the offending party owns.

When stuff breaks, like my toilet seat last week, I just leave a message in the morning, and it's fixed by the time I get home, just like magic.

I've been here for five years and it's showing some wear and tear. I haven't decided if I'll have the place repainted, or if I'll move. Both cost about the same. (I no longer paint or move myself. I hire such things done.) I have another six months to decide.

Best thing is no dogs. I don't mind dogs per se. I don't like dogs that bark all the time, and every neighborhood of homeowners has at least one. (My house was next door to one.) In a neighborhood of tenants, there are no dogs. The silence is blissful.

No, wait. The best thing is that since repairs and maintenance no longer come out of my wallet or my free time, I have plenty of spare money to spend on bikes, and plenty of leisure time to ride them. Ahhh!

Rent and car-ownership-free

"Car-ownership-free" is a more accurate term for me as well. I still occasionally find myself riding in a motorized vehicle for whatever reason, though of course I prefer not to.

I've been car-free since '99, and a renter since '96.

Prior to that I owned a home for nine years. Worst nine years of my life. The place sucked up every spare dime and every second of free time. Never again will I own.

I love renting. I can rent a small place. I prefer small places. I'm in about 400 s.f. and am thinking it's a little big.

If the neighbors suck, I can move easily, or have the landlord deal with them. I just had the landlord get rid of a noisy, obnoxious, drunken, party animal on the other side of my living room wall. Peace has been restored. You can't do that when the offending party owns.

When stuff breaks, like my toilet seat last week, I just leave a message in the morning, and it's fixed by the time I get home, just like magic.

I've been here for five years and it's showing some wear and tear. I haven't decided if I'll have the place repainted, or if I'll move. Both cost about the same. (I no longer paint or move myself. I hire such things done.) I have another six months to decide.

Best thing is no dogs. I don't mind dogs per se. I don't like dogs that bark all the time, and every neighborhood of homeowners has at least one. (My house was next door to one.) In a neighborhood of tenants, there are no dogs. The silence is blissful.

No, wait. The best thing is that since repairs and maintenance no longer come out of my wallet or my free time, I have plenty of spare money to spend on bikes, and plenty of leisure time to ride them. Ahhh!


On the other side of the coin, owning our own home, we no longer have to worry about getting an eviction notice because the owner decides to sell the property, no more losing our personalized touches to the rental should we have to move, no more downsizing our belongings to fit a smaller rental if we can no longer afford the same square footage.
The big plus, is that when rent prices went up, we always matched our contributions to the house funds to equal the going rate of a similar size rental, and we would both negotiate when the increase would take place, and not by the whim of a landlord or property manager.


Just curious tsl, what is the going rate for that 400 sq ft apartment you now live in?

Just curious tsl, what is the going rate for that 400 sq ft apartment you now live in?

I don't know about tsl's situation, but around here monthly rents are now about one dollar per square foot, and add about 10 or 20 per cent for utilities. This is for a nice unit in a good location.

Up in Edmonton, an individual bedroom in a house (with shared use of the bathrooms, living room, and kitchen) goes for anywhere from about $550 to $750/month.

Sofas are going for $295/month.

400 sq. feet? Wow, I don't know if I could live in a place that small.

Personally, I own a car that I am not entirely sure is still functioning - battery is dead, and weather seals went bad last fall... has had water pooled in the drivers side foot well all summer, so I don't consider it safe to drive. So, basically car free. I am just keeping the car for insurance purposes as I understand that if you go with out insurance for some length of time, insurers will put you in the high risk group and charge you outrageous rates.

I also rent. I have an awesome "bungalow" style apartment, 2 bedroom and about 1,000 sq. with large privacy fenced walk out patio I share with one neighbor. I am about 2.5 miles from work, half a block from a strip mall that has a grocery store, doctor, optometrist, liquor store, dry cleaners, Chinese, Radio Shack, and hobby store. Maybe a mile towards work is a mall with all the rest, including a theatre. It's a great location, and rent is pretty reasonable... about 625/mo.

I have considered buying a property and aggressively paying it down, but the condos in the immediate area are quite a bit more than I want to spend. I found a pretty nice place maybe six miles from here (on the other side of work... that would be a 3.5 mile ride), but it's in "another" small town and the location is not nearly as ideal.

The thing about owning a home is that as far as I can tell, most home owners seem to go for a 30 year note, where you will often pay more in interest than you do for the actual home over the life of the loan. And while my rent will increase, I do not have to pay for new appliances or repairs to the property like I would if I owned. That is not to say owning a home is a bad idea, but people who simply ignore renting because they think they are "throwing their money away" are probably not making the great financial decision they believe they are.

Really, I would like to move to the pacific northwest... Portland in particular. My employer has a location out there, and I have been keeping my eye out for an opening. The main reason I would like to move to Portland is A) no icy-snowy winters like we have here in Iowa and B) the Zip Car service makes car ownership a thing of the past. I really wish we had that here. Also, it seems like it would be a nice place to live.

Up in Edmonton, an individual bedroom in a house (with shared use of the bathrooms, living room, and kitchen) goes for anywhere from about $550 to $750/month.

Sofas are going for $295/month.
Is the reason for the high prices that there's a housing shortage caused by people flocking there to partake in the oil boom?

Is the reason for the high prices that there's a housing shortage caused by people flocking there to partake in the oil boom?

Yep.

The thing I find a bit odd is that housing prices (to buy a house) actually went down a bit, but I was watching the bulletin boards for housing, and last month was the first time I saw a room advertized for $750. Last year they were going for $500-600.

I just had a look, and it's possible to find rooms for a bit less than that, but I find several of them rather questionable. Last year there was one posted for about $400/mo. ... the lucky resident would live in a room in the basement and be a maid to a guy's three daughters in exchange for the reduced room rent. Another one was a guy who had rooms (@$450/month) for 6 or 8 girls ("females preferred") and his selling feature was a hottub in the backyard.

Though its been a while since I lived in a small space...my current home has 2200 sq ft, though 5 adults and one 5 year old live in it... my experience was that how livable a small space was had everything to do with how well arranged the space was. I've lived in 2000 sq ft houses that were abysmally arranged and 400 sq ft apartments that felt like they were at least a third larger. The apartment felt like home, not so the house.

My apartment is less than 400 sq ft, and it costs about $450/mo before utilities. Most other apartments in the area are between 500 and 750 a month, though, depending on location and amenities. Overall, the place could be nicer, but I'm all right with it. I don't see it as a small apartment at all, to be honest. In fact, before I added my bicycle to the living room, I had no idea what I'd do with the space. I do all my work in the bedroom.

Ummm, you own and drive often. (Can I have a few acres? You don't really NEED 40, do you?) :D




uh....other?:o

I own 2 homes and 40 acres free and clear. I also rent an apartment/hotel room

(most of the time) I drive 40,000+ miles most years due to work,

I own my home free and clear but since I live in Los Angeles I pay an annual property tax of roughly $10,000. So it's almost like paying rent to live in your own home. :p

Wow, roadfix. I hope you're getting some amazing services for those taxes.

Ummm, you own and drive often. (Can I have a few acres? You don't really NEED 40, do you?) :D

LOL have to get past SWMBO first:p We actually are ramping up the farming on the 40 acres, to provide for a local food supply. Unfortunately where the land is located it cannot be subdivided anymore. We are land locked on a substandard privately owned road. County zoning won't let any additional housing go in until the road is upgraded and the owner has no interest in doing so. The perils of living on old family farms.

Aaron:)

I own my home free and clear but since I live in Los Angeles I pay an annual property tax of roughly $10,000. So it's almost like paying rent to live in your own home. :p


Yikes! I'm on the other end of Cali, and thanks to Prop 13, my property tax is only 600 US dollars a year.

On the other side of the coin, owning our own home, we no longer have to worry about getting an eviction notice because the owner decides to sell the property, no more losing our personalized touches to the rental should we have to move, no more downsizing our belongings to fit a smaller rental if we can no longer afford the same square footage.

Point taken. However, choosing your landlord can limit that sort of problem. It's part of the reason why I live in a building instead of a converted house--corporate ownership. I made that mistake once. And all the other landlord horror stories I've heard since all involve part-time, amateur, individual landlords.


Just curious tsl, what is the going rate for that 400 sq ft apartment you now live in?

$500 a month including heat and hot water.

I pay my own electric, about $30/mo, with the fridge and stove being the biggest loads. RoadRunner is $45, Vonage VOIP is $20, alarm monitoring is $30, and insurance is $115/year.

I make sure to keep my total running expenses below the amount I'd receive on unemployment. Can't do that with a house, I'll bet.


400 sq. feet? Wow, I don't know if I could live in a place that small.

It all depends on how much stuff you have. I've found I'm happier with less stuff. And I have a fatter bank account for it too.

Do I need a three-piece living room set? No. I'm single and I seldom entertain more than two. Just a couch is fine and it's 50% less stuff.

Do I need a dining set? No. I eat at my desk anyway, so why bother with furniture I'll never use?

I even took that into account when I rented this place. Hardwood floors throughout (except the bathroom) so there's no need for a vacuum. It was another thing I could pitch. A broom and mop store in the space between the fridge and the wall. After sweeping, I take out the trash, then use the trashcan as a mop bucket. Keeps the trashcan clean and I don't have to store a mop bucket.

And the first thing guests say when they walk in is, "Wow, look at that floor!"

The second thing they comment on is the bike wall.
http://www.brucew.com/gallery/albums/bikes/100_2953.sized.jpg

Oh, and I just remembered another plus about living in a mostly-rental neighborhood: No lawnmowers running evenings and weekends. Everybody's landscaper comes during business hours.

Is the reason for the high prices that there's a housing shortage caused by people flocking there to partake in the oil boom?

We have a gas drilling boom going on here that has caused a housing boom. Bleh.:notamused:

We are car-lite. We have 2 good paid-for (cash, good deals) vehicles, Toyota 4wd truck and Subaru Outback. We rent an apartment in a part of town that is walking distance to the college I go to (graduate May 2009!). Also within a mile radius is a large grocery store (Albertsons, they have the best loss-leader sale prices, I shop there often), Rite-Aid, hardware store, Subway, pizza place, 2 brew pubs, haircutting place, post office, our bank, bakery thrift store, liquor store, Blockbuster, hospital, etc. Most everything else in town is within biking distance.

We use the truck for camping trips in the back country. The car for occasional trips and mtn biking outings.

We had been living for the past 6 years in a nice apartment over a 4 car garage, paid $525/mo, heat included. We really liked it there. Over the summer the complex (24 units) was sold to a developer and he wants to renovate them and sell them as condos. This guy and his RE agent seemed slimy, so we wanted out before the SHTF.

The vacancy rate for apartments here is around 1%, due to gas drilling boom folks. The few apartments in the paper also say NO PETS. We have 2 cats.

We did find a place to rent just around the corner from our old place. We really don't like the place, it's smaller and a lot more expensive, $750/mo, plus heat. But the landlord is a very nice guy and the other tenants are pretty good. Landlord was ok with our cats.

The home sales are starting to level off or drop. There are lots and lots and lots of for sale signs, but prices haven't come down yet. There are a lot of houses for rent in the paper (still few apartments), for $1200+/mo.

We have started contemplating buying a place, if prices come down enough. We have been debt free and have a large down payment, we have both been in college recently and haven't worked f/t regular jobs for a long time. Due to lack of credit history, we both have low credit scores.:notamused: I'm not about to go out and buy a new car to increase my credit score:rolleyes:

On one hand buying looks good, but then I think about interest cost on the loan:eek:, insurance, taxes and maintenance (we both dislike yard work and house maintenance), and other costs; then I kind of like the simplicity of renting.

I need to finish college before we decide about our next move.

It all depends on how much stuff you have. I've found I'm happier with less stuff. And I have a fatter bank account for it too.

Do I need a three-piece living room set? No. I'm single and I seldom entertain more than two. Just a couch is fine and it's 50% less stuff.

Do I need a dining set? No. I eat at my desk anyway, so why bother with furniture I'll never use?

I even took that into account when I rented this place. Hardwood floors throughout (except the bathroom) so there's no need for a vacuum. It was another thing I could pitch. A broom and mop store in the space between the fridge and the wall. After sweeping, I take out the trash, then use the trashcan as a mop bucket. Keeps the trashcan clean and I don't have to store a mop bucket.



+1

In 2004, I got rid of half my stuff and put most of the other half into storage. I've spent the last 4 years living with and using less than a quarter of what I had pre-mid-2004. (Just for reference, pre-mid-2004 I was living very comfortably in an 800 sq ft apartment.)

This coming December I have a project ... I'm going to dig out everything I have in storage and go through it all. Some of it I will likely be able to toss (what exactly do you do with TVs that don't work anymore?), some of it I might be able to sell, and a lot of it I'll give away.

I've lived in small spaces, and one trick I've found that works is making use of vertical storage. I use a lot of shelving, and my shelves are the kind that can be taken completely apart so they would take up hardly any room when I move.

For example, I got rid of all my dressers and wardrobes in the bedroom, and I use shelves for my clothing and toiletries, etc. instead ... much more convenient!! Plus a shelving unit can hold more than a large dresser. If I've got small stuff that I don't want to fall off the shelves, I put that stuff in boxes on the shelves.

Several have mentioned that real estate prices are going down. Foreclosures are also flooding the market. Does anybody know what effect all this will have on the rental market? Will rents most likely go up or down?

I'm still trying to figure out the small space living. I wish I could fix things to the wall, I love that setup tsl.

After a month I've decided to turn the "bedroom" (all of about 4x7) into a bike room/office/storage, ditch the bed set and my sofa and go to a futon with a good mattress.

Several have mentioned that real estate prices are going down. Foreclosures are also flooding the market. Does anybody know what effect all this will have on the rental market? Will rents most likely go up or down?
I'd guess rents will go down as real estate prices drop. Landlords don't make money unless they have tenants. People won't normally rent if buying is a better deal.

I'm still trying to figure out the small space living. I wish I could fix things to the wall, I love that setup tsl.

After a month I've decided to turn the "bedroom" (all of about 4x7) into a bike room/office/storage, ditch the bed set and my sofa and go to a futon with a good mattress.

Like I said above ... just go with free-standing shelving. You could do what tsl has done with his shoes and other bicycle stuff above them using one tall metal shelf with adjustable shelves.

Then go with one of the tower storage racks here:

http://www.nashbar.com/results.cfm?category=6000118&subcategory=60001132&storetype=&init=y&pagename=

During my bachelor years, I had a 500 sq ft with all utilities,amenities paid,(heat, electricity, water, sewer, garbage, parking) for 125 US dollars a month. That was fine and dandy for a single person, add a wife and 2 childeren to the mix and things get a little tight.
After some disasterous attempts at renting, and having to move myself and a family a couple of times, I found that owning was the better option for me. Somehow that trying to tell the wife and kids to down size and eliminate a lot of their furniture wasn't going to go over very well.

Somehow that trying to tell the wife and kids to down size and eliminate a lot of their furniture wasn't going to go over very well.

I've heard others say similar things about their wives, and I have to wonder why that is. Speaking as a wife, I want a small place, without a lot of stuff, because it's so much easier to take care of. If you've got a big place, you've got to spend a whole lot of time cleaning ... and the more stuff you've got ... the more stuff there is to dust or wash.

I'd rather spend a minumum amount of time on household chores and a maximum amount of time doing outside stuff ... walking, hiking, skiing, snowshoeing, cycling, etc. etc. :)

dorm room would count as renting right? in that case renting and car free

I've heard others say similar things about their wives, and I have to wonder why that is. Speaking as a wife, I want a small place, without a lot of stuff, because it's so much easier to take care of. If you've got a big place, you've got to spend a whole lot of time cleaning ... and the more stuff you've got ... the more stuff there is to dust or wash.

I'd rather spend a minumum amount of time on household chores and a maximum amount of time doing outside stuff ... walking, hiking, skiing, snowshoeing, cycling, etc. etc. :)

Yes Machka, the wife can do without a lot of her belongings, but it's a two way street, I have a lot of items myself, and I'm the one that does the cleaning, and maintenance repairing around our house. It's still amazing to me how much I can get done around the house and still find plenty of time for the bike.