The common wisdom is that it makes more sense to buy rather than rent. Real estate goes up in value, they say, (whoever they are) plus you get a tax break on the mortgage interest. But common wisdom has its flaws. True, I know people who bought Manhattan co-ops in the ‘80s for pocket change and then made millions. I also know folks who now have to move in with their married kids after losing their homes.

WOULDA-COULDA-SHOULDA
We used to own an apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, and a weekend house in Columbia County – about two hours north of the city. We sold them both after moving to Los Angeles. Since that time, both areas have become popular, trendy, and costly.

The six-room apartment we sold for four hundred thousand dollars in 1992 sold in 2007 for a million/eight. The cottage on a hill near Hudson, NY brought us sixty-thousand and is now worth over two hundred thousand. OUCH!

Because we paid very little, we did make some money on each sale – but not the killing we would have made if we had held on longer and sold during the boom. When I have attacks of self-pity, Benni gives me a dose of reality. He points out that we would have struggled for fifteen years to come up with increased maintenance fees, higher real estate taxes, and constant repairs. Having a low rent during those years allowed us extra money for important things like theatre tickets and restaurants. Twelve years of eating home every night is not worth any price.

A LEASE ON LIFE
I’m much happier as a renter. First of all, I hate responsibility. Houses are money pits. There’s always some nasty problem: sewage issues, leaky roofs, termites, whatever. I don’t want to have to replace a furnace or fix the plumbing or hire a crew to prune the dead treetops. I just call my landlord. Some people do a lot of this stuff themselves, but my husband takes three weeks to change a light bulb – and he’s the handy one in the family!

Owning a house can be a chain around your neck, and I want a life-style that’s as flexible and stress-free as possible. If a polka band moves in next door, I need to be able to move on a moment’s notice.