We've been homeowner's and we have also rented houses, but with a house you have all the yard work and that outside maintenance. Most of the time with a rental house, you also have total maintenance where as with an apt EVERYTHING is taken care of for you.

First of all apartments are usually cheaper than houses. Most renters do not need all the extra space of an attic, basement, full garage and big backyard, especially if you are single.

When you rent a house you usually have to purchase your own stove, refigerator, washer, dryer. People who move a lot, like students or people with certain jobs cannot do this easily. They don't have the extra cash for purchasing these things and owning so much stuff makes it harder to move.

Renting a house you not only have to do all the shoveling and grass cutting but even small repairs to the structure. Apartment complexes usually have a full time maintenance staff for little repairs. You also have to buy your own shovels and lawn mowers and tools.

You won't find any houses located downtown, for city living, if you want to be close to the restaurants and entertainment centers. Also since houses are built on the outskirts of town one can save on the commute to work by havng a downtown apartment near the businesses centers.

Neighborhoods that are houses, are made up of families with children that run all over. Apartments offer the opportunity to be around others more like themselves. In cities certain apartments are known for having a distinctive "personality". Some apartments are known for catering to students, or are 'gay friendly' or filled with elderly residents, some are even known for being 'Christian', there is one building here that has attracted mostly residents who are deaf. This can make a certain apartment residence more attactive or can make one steer clear of the particular apartment building. A lot of apartments do not like to advertise vacancies in the general newpaper and fill the units by word of mouth, or only advertise in certain publications like church bulletins or ethnic shopper newpapers. Renting a house in the suburbs can make one feel like an outcast.

Apartment living is just more convenient. Of course it has its own set of problems that renting a house does not have. One just has to make a choice as to what things are more important to them.

Well,here renting a house costs a heck of alot more money for starters.Also,in an apartment if something breaks I like not having to fix it myself.
I would only want to be in a house when it is MY HOUSE,not someone else's.

I *own* an apartment.

houses cost more than apartments to buy. And in NYC, a huge percentage of homes, even owned homes (as opposed to rented ones) are apartments. And in the parts of NYC that I can afford, and that have a decent commute, you don't get that much in the way of yard anyway--all work, no enjoyment.

I like not having to sweep the sidewalk, rake leaves, clean gutters, drag the garbage to the curb on the designated day.

I *do* have to research the plumber, go to the hardware store for door hardware, etc. Bcs I own, and we are self-managed. (a co-op or condo w/ an apt. manager would let you ignore that)

And of course, if the fridge breaks, I fix it, I buy a new one, etc.

I like that the EXPENSE of a new boiler, or a roof, is shared. Of course, it's a bigger expense, perhaps, but my share is still smaller, I'm pretty sure.

And I like that every apartment bldg I've lived in feels much more solid & substantial than the houses I've been in, in NYC and elsewhere. When I go in a wood frame house nowadays, I'm really conscious of how flimsy it seems in comparison to my brick-and-plaster buildings.

From SmartMoney.com/April 17, 2007

"Renting Makes More Financial Sense Than Homeownership"
www.smartmoney.com/home/living/index.cfm?story=rent

If you're single like me you simply don't need the extra space of a house. It's cheaper to rent, and houses aren't good investments right now either. You're not going to make money on them for several years probably, more likely you'll break even or lose money... add in expenses, property taxes and the like, and it really is better to rent.

I take the extra money and invest in other stuff like silver, coins, and stocks... or just hold it as cash.

My large studio that I found only costs $360/month all utilities paid.. I never personally expected to find such a decent place for this price... plus it's on the top floor, on the end of the building.. which means no neighbors above or on one side of me. Sweet as can be.

"Renting Makes More Financial Sense Than Homeownership"
www.smartmoney.com/home/living/index.cfm?story=rent

What a joke! I can't believe this guy gets paid to write.

"The average real return for houses over long time periods might surprise you. It's zero."

Really, news to me... My $150,000 has appreciated over $100,000 in the 10 short years I've owned it.

More millionaires have made their money in Real Estate than any other item.

I love Tenants and don't mind the article. Its good tenants who like to rent that make my mortgage payments.

FWIW. I have a tenant who has lived in her apartment for 35 years. Her current rent is way more than the original house payment would have been. 30 year mortgage would have meant she has no house payment today. Plus he didn't mention much of the tax benefits.

nfllifer, AMEN BROTHER! I didn't even bother to read the article, but I live in the Puget Sound area of Washington State and the rate of housing prices increases is amazing. Even now since supposedly the bubble has burst, I'm not seeing it. It may be a little slower, but not much. I am looking for rental properties to purchase now. In the town that I'm looking (supposedly a depressed area) the prices are going up 10% a year, and the particular house I want right now has gone up 12% since the current owner purchased it last year and it's still considered a screaming deal right now. I turned to real estate after seeing the crappy returns I would get on CD's and such. I could put $5k in a CD right now and get $250 in a year. I can put a $5k down payment on the house I want and it will increase $10k in the next year. I could even sell it in a year and still get a few K after realtor expense. No comparison with other investments. We purchase our home on 2.5 acres for $260k 7 years ago. We can easily sell it for $560k now. $300k in 7 years. We've paid interest, but not $300k interest! And we've written that off. I also read somewhere recently that old money families had one thing in common, property, income producing property.

I live in a 2 unit house for several reasons. I own it too

1 I am a single guy I don't need the space of a whole house to myself. a 2 bedroom apartment is plenty.

2 I prefer to still own so I can do with my place as I please

3 Tax benifits... as a single male with no kids a home ownership brings the only good tax benifit I can get.

4 income - whilst my rental income doesn't pay for all the house's expences having a rent check come in every month that covers just over half of my mortgage is very helpful.

5 its a good investment. I have no plans to sell soon but if I do it good to know what I have been paying for is going to be worth more than what I paid for it in 5-10 years.

as a former homeowner, i now own my apt. it came down to cost, with my home i had the yard, the garage, the outside to keep up. for what? i didnt park in the garage, could have cared less about the yard, and had no interest in the exterior of the home, but still had to keep it up and pay for it. i dont have any kids, my wife works days i work nghts, the apt just fits our needs better, and saves me a fortune. also i sleep much better because its quiet, everyone is 50 plus, and no kids. love that part.