18 Replies to "Condo saga spinoff: Renter roulette"

• Sue September 4, 2007 (12:29 pm)

  Why is it not a law that they need to disclose things like pending/potential condo conversions? For someone to move in and find out 2 months later that it’s going condo and they need to move, you KNOW they knew about it when it was being rented to you! West Ridge Park, which is actively being converted, still is listed on forrent.com as being available as rentals (and not just the flats that are still being rented on the north side, but the townhomes too, which are all being converted). When we moved out of there to the house we’re renting, I did ask the landlord about any plans to sell the house to make townhomes, and he said there are no plans, but it gets to a point where you wonder how badly people are lying to you and when you’ll next be asked to leave.

• Jan September 4, 2007 (3:00 pm)

  Sue, I couldn’t agree more. When you sell a house there has to be full disclosure about what’s wrong with your house. The same should apply to apartments…full disclosure about what’s going on with it.I live on a month to month lease, and knowing my landlord, we would be the last to know about a sale of the property.I’ve been here for 8 years…they need to remember that renters are not transients…

• The House September 4, 2007 (8:04 pm)

  I know we’ve had the discussion….more reason to buy. Jan, even at just $600 per month you’ve spent $57,600 over the past 8 years. Typically renters need to give 30 days notice if they are leaving and I believe it works the other way as well. If you were the owner of that complex and needed to keep renters in the complex I think you would want that ability or have the ability to sell your complex.

• Jan September 4, 2007 (11:41 pm)

  House…If you would like to give me the money for a downpayment big enough so I don’t have $1500 house payments, just click on my name…find my number , and give me a call. You have no idea what my life circumstances are, and this is not the forum to discuss it. Not everyone in the world is able to afford what you can, nor wants to…please. We do what is possible for us. Please stop using this forum to point out those things which some of us might want but can’t possibly afford..it’s unattractive and damned condescending.

• M September 5, 2007 (4:05 pm)

  There’s nothing wrong with renting your whole life; do what works for you. Some people don’t want to pay property taxes, insurance, interest, or maintenance costs just so they can say they are a homeowner. Renting provides convenience and ease; you may not own anything in the end, but renters have more spare time to play instead of using their time doing home projects!

• The House September 5, 2007 (8:07 pm)

  I’m not being condescending at all. I’ve admitted that I rented for many years and really wish someone would have set me on the path of ownership earlier in life. I truly want to see people better thenselves financially and I will continue to point out the main disadvantage of renting to people (you make someone else wealthy instead of yourself). I suppose you willingness to purchase property is based on your worldview and how strong of a will you have.

• Jan September 5, 2007 (8:41 pm)

  maybe this will clarify things. I OWNED a house for 20+ years…great Genesee Hill neighborhood, paid 39K for it in 1977. Twenty years later I went through a divorce, a near fatal illness 2 months later, didn’t work for almost a year and a half, had a 15 yo daughter who I had total custody of. Ex wanted his due, wouldn’t even mow the lawn for me. Savings totally gone, clients in a new business gone, money gone. Sold it in 1997 because I HAD to…no one else there to help. Did I want to hold on to it? Of course I did…but..there was no sugar daddy in the wings to help out, I had to start building up a business again child support disappeared….you do what you have to. Please don’t lecture about will to people that you don’t know. And yes, you ARE being condescending, taking a superior attitude about non-sensical things like world-view and will. You have no idea at what point in your life something might happen that will change things forever. I’m single, independent as hell, do the best I can…end of story. I suppose I could simply ignore you and what you say…but as well meaning as you are, you simply are pointing out the obvious sometimes.

• The House September 5, 2007 (10:11 pm)

  I wrote a lengthy diatribe in response to your comment above, Jan. I quickly deleted it to avoid you disdaining me for the rest of your life.

  The one thing I would ask you to chew on is your comment re: World Views and Will. World Views and Will are only nonsensical to people with negative outlooks in life. I’ve never met a negative person with strong will. That my friend is stating the obvious.

  Vive Le West Seattle!

• s September 5, 2007 (10:21 pm)

  Buying is not always the best financial decision.
  http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/business/2007_BUYRENT_GRAPHIC.html?ex=1189224000&en=245f51837bd6053a&ei=5070

• Sue September 5, 2007 (10:43 pm)

  House, it actually betters me financially to rent, despite how you think I am wasting money by giving it to someone else. I was living in an apartment that cost me $995 a month. When it was said it was going condo, I was told that mortgage, interest, taxes, homeowner dues would cost me $2500 a month for the same place. Since I didn’t have the luxury of owning when prices were low, I have no downpayment, unlike you presumably would if you sold your house now to move elsewhere. So there I would be at 44 years old, paying 2-1/2 times my income to own the same place rather than renting, and pushing my budget so far to the limit that there would be no money for retirement, future assessments, home repairs, etc. If something went wrong when pushed to that limit, I’d probably end up in a foreclosure and/or bankrupt. How is this a financially responsible move, then, for me to buy? And I’m not the only person on here who probably has a similar situation.
  Now I’m renting out a 50 year old house here in WS. In the 4 months I’ve lived here, the hot water dispenser was leaking in the cabinet and had to be replaced. Then the shower broke and wouldn’t shut off and had to be repaired. Then the sewer backed up into our basement – took 2 days of the plumber being here to figure out what was wrong, and then having to recarpet the entire basement. Oh, and the back patio partially collapsed and had to be repaired. I’m sure my landlord spent far more in those repairs than he took in from us in rent in that time period. Not to mention the time spent on it while I kicked back and relaxed and didn’t worry about the cost of it all (other than feeling compassionate for his expenses). So, hmmm, I’m not really seeing how buying (even if I had a chance in hell of affording it) would be a better financial choice.

• Sue September 6, 2007 (6:25 am)

  A correction: to say I meant “paying 2-1/2 times my housing costs” (not income).

• The House September 6, 2007 (7:48 am)

  Sue, As I admitted above I rented for many years (13 years if I recall correctly). I thought about how much I had paid in rent over those 13 years and had absolutely nothing financially to show for it. If I paid an average of $600 per month (I paid more) over that time, it would equal $93,600. That $93,600 would have been nice to have sunk into my own pockets by owning a home instead of going towards someone else. I thought I didn’t have enough money to own as well since I only had $5,000 saved in a bank account. The one financially responsible thing I did was begin contributing to a 401k plan at 24 years old. By the time I was 30, I had enough in my 401k to take a loan against it and used the money for a down payment on a home. In the Seattle market, that $20,000 investment has now turned into over $100,000 in equity in just 4 years. This is a much smaller amount of increased equity compared to many other home owners around here in the past few years.

  The moral to this story is not about me, it’s about making financially wise choices so that you eventually can live comfortably without having to rely on government assistance. I am not a real estate professional or a financial professional, so there isn’t a self-interest factor. I’m simply passionate about seeing people take back financial power of their lives and informing people of things that I didn’t learn until later in my life.

  Oh, and if you still continue to rent. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE….carry renters insurance! It’s definitely worth it.

• s September 6, 2007 (10:59 am)

  House-
  You’ve only made 80k in equity over the past four booming years? I assume you bought a little house…I’m up more than double that on my home in the same number of years, plus my portfolio is big enough to allow me to buy another house and a half…in cash. From your post it sounds like you’re 34; I’m six years younger than you. Why didn’t you get a bigger or better-located house that would appreciate more, or a better paying job? It’s never too late to go back to school, or upgrade to a nicer house, as long as you have a strong enough will or positive enough world view. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! I was born rich, given a top education by my parents, and now have a great job, house, and life. I made the most out of my situation. You are doing the best with what you have, and maybe Jan is doing the best with what she has. If we go about life with the assumption that people with less money than us have poor will or negative world views, how am I supposed to view you?

• Sue September 6, 2007 (11:51 am)

  House, your advise is excellent, and I advise you to give that advice to every person UNDER 20 that you meet. But when you’re talking to people 20-25+ years older than that, *this* is why it’s being accused of sounding condescending. I don’t have a time machine to go back and fix mistakes and/or life experiences that got me where I am today. I’m not going to sit here thinking “woulda, shoulda, coulda” about my choices; they are what they are. I do the best that I can with what I have now. That means I rent, and that’s okay. Homeowning (or not) doesn’t define me as a person.

• The House September 6, 2007 (10:04 pm)

  S, I’ll answer your questions:

  1) I actually made 3x what I quoted in equity, but I recently did an addition that almost doubled the size of my house hence the “only” $80,00 in equity right now. My house would easily sell for more than double what I paid. Nice try.

  2) You and Jan keep thinking that I’m rubbing things in your faces, that’s not what I am attempting to do.

  3) I do not assume that all poor people have poor wills or poor world views. I responded to Jan’s comment “taking a superior attitude about non-sensical things like world-view and will”. I repled stating that only negative people view world views and will as non-sensical….I NEVER said that poor people had poor world views or wills.

  4) Let’s not forget the reason this was posted in the 1st place. Renters are being displaced. That is something you rarely have to worry about if you OWN!

  5) I will let you know when I purchase my next rental property so that I can give you a good deal on it!

• Sue September 6, 2007 (11:20 pm)

  Just to clarify, House, posters “S” and “Sue” are not the same person. It sounds as if you might be confusing the two of us in your last reply.

• Jan September 7, 2007 (12:20 am)

  well, I may not be as financially well-off as you are, but I am rich in so many other things. I am not a negative person, but you don’t know me, so you wouldn’t know that. Positive attitudes get you through many life challenges. While I may not have what you have materially, I can assure you that I’m not sad about it. Good on you that at your young age you are providing for yourself and your family. I’m 60, I work for myself, I have a wonderful child, great friends, and thankfully, I have my health….yes, rich in so many ways.

• Jan September 7, 2007 (12:39 am)

  House…re: your point #2…what you’re attempting to do. Actually, you’re right. I don’t get what you think that you’re trying to do. Point out how wrong I am to rent? Point out that you’re smarter than me? Point out that I simply have no will, so that’s why I don’t own? Explain it to me…I’m trying to get your point, believe me. And I’m trying to make you see that things are not always as cut and dried as you make them out to be. It would be lovely to own, if it was a small cottage. I am alone…I don’t need much room. But the reality is…some of us rent. Some of us can NOT afford to own at this point in our lives, and certainly not what housing prices are right now. So…we do what we do…we go about our oives…and we disagree on here.In a perfect world I suppose we’d all be owners and happy as clams. In the real world..well..not all of us are…and still be are as happy as we can be…viva la difference..

  have a great weekend in the sun :)

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