.....You say why not rent? IT is rediculous(sp.) for us to waste about $1,000 a month on something we will get no return out of.
Since you bit on 6thGen's provocative question, part of your reply is not necessarily accurate.
Worse case...
If you "bought" a home last year, you'd probably be in the hole equity wise. It definitely would be better to have rented then.
Real case today (right now)...
You'd like to live south of 30A but know you can't afford to buy in. Let's pretend (really hard) that this home on 30A is $150,000 instead of typical $400,000 to $1,000,000+ range. The mortgage on a the home (after you put down $30,000) would be around $760/mo. (30 years at 6.5%)
Hey wait a minute. You've got association dues...tack on another $200 minimum. Whoa there's more...property tax on 150K would be around $100 per month (guess). Then you have upkeep....$200/month. Then you have INSURANCE which is... who the hell knows?...but we'll say $300 month.
Let's add it up....760+200+100+200+300=$1560/month
Remember this is dreaming that the house south of 30A is only worth $150,000.
If the house was worth twice that, your monthly payment would be almost twice so let's say $3000/month. That would be for a $300,000 home.
As we know homes south of 30A typically are far more than $300,000 which would drive the monthly cost even higher than $3000/month.
Take a look at
Brand New House South of 30-A in Blue Mountain Beach - SoWal Beaches Forum....
Brand new house for rent in Blue Mountain Beach, South of 30-A and walking distance to the beach.
2 stories, 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 1700+ sq. ft.
Top of the line Kitchen with Bar that opens to the Living Room, creating a warm social environment.
Beautiful wood floors in main living areas and carpet in the bedrooms.
Tons of storage
We will consider pets, deposit will depend on type and size.
Flexible lease options-
Month-to-Month- $1200.00
6 Month- Negotiable
1 Year- Negotiable
$1200/monthly. Sounds like a freakn' deal to me. 4 bedrooms? Get a roommate. This is a steal by any standards. I do assume you could get this rate all year long however (not that unlikely for a yearly lease). Oh yea, remember you did not have to come up with 30 freakn' thousand dollars either to move in.
You make money by saving your cash flow and investing it "wisely", not as I did.;-)
Hopefully you can see that renting "these days" is not bad idea.
BUT (and a big but - assuming appreciation) in the long term, I agree, you're better off owning in "normal" times and in "normal" places.
Keep an open mind.
If anyone rents this place because of this post, I want a finders fee. OK I'm not a RE agent. How about a beer?