Question for people who rent their home?

[witches*wol]

ACA or one of those shows had a segment on people who rent reaching a point of no long being able to afford the increasing rental prices and ending up homeless.

They were not refering to "down and out" people but regular folk who had been cruising along renting nicely but then perhaps lost their jobs and could not afford to pay the rent on their homes anymore and having to either move in with family or live in their cars.

The bloke they interviewed (from some housing assoc) was saying that people who have rented all their lives and then hit retirement are suddenly realising that their super is not going to last very long while they are still paying $300 or more a week in rent and once their super is gone the age pension sure as hell wont cover it.

So what happens to people who do rent when they reach retirement?  Are we going to be looking at a growing group of homeless elderly people? 

[the_hawk*]

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@carls*world wrote:

Had I ever organised my life sufficiently to have ever been "Cruising along nicley" that would have been the time I got out of rental and bought. However, still renting.
Not particularly concerned about when I retire, as I'm not all that confident or reaching retirement age.

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I certainly hope that you make it to retirement

[sandypas]

One of my aunts had a Dept of Housing granny flat erected in her son's back yard in Melbourne.  When she died, it was removed.  It was a very nice unit for her.  Who wants a huge area to clean when you are getting old.  It had a separate bedroom, shower, toilet & laundry all in one and a living kitchen area big enough for her small lounge suite & 2 chair dining setting.  Of course, you have to have family willing to let you put one up in their yard.

[givemeaspell]

When we got our first home interest rates hit 17.5 percent it was so hard after paying our mortgage and bills we would have $50 left buy food however it taught us not to be lavish and to appreciate the value of money. We are lucky that our area increased in value dramatically so if we can't afford retirement we will do a sea change or downsize. I encourage my kids to save for their own home and if that means living at home longer then so be it.

[***super_nova***]

When I bought my first "on my own" house (after marriage break up) the interest rates were something like 17%, and my repayments were about 2.5x what a rent for that house would have been; even with good income it was very hard couple of years, but then the interest rates went down a bit, I managed to get a new loan from our CU, and in no time at all my repayments were lot less than rents in that area. And when I sold it, I got 5x  the original purchase price.

I talk to young people who are renting, and they feel that buying  a house would affect their lifestyle too much. 

[the_hawk*]

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@***super_nova*** wrote:

When I bought my first "on my own" house (after marriage break up) the interest rates were something like 17%, and my repayments were about 2.5x what a rent for that house would have been; even with good income it was very hard couple of years, but then the interest rates went down a bit, I managed to get a new loan from our CU, and in no time at all my repayments were lot less than rents in that area. And when I sold it, I got 5x  the original purchase price.

I talk to young people who are renting, and they feel that buying  a house would affect their lifestyle too much. 

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Yes the first few years are hard and you can always rent a better house than you can affort to buy, the catch is the rent will continue to rise with the propery value and inflation over time and will quickly become cheaper to buy than pay rent, eventuly you will have paid it off and have no out goings while rents are still at market rates.

Many people are not prepared to go without initally to get a foot hold into realestate and will pay for it for the rest of their lives and especialy in retirement when they find themselves with a limited fixed income, thats when it really bites

[***super_nova***]

.... and not to forget the insecurity of living in the rental property;  the landlord may at any time decide to sell and have people coming through, or just decide that they want you out.  While there is a lot more of protection from those times I used to rent, it is still not your place.  There was a time, some 45 years ago when we lived in a rented house and the landlady decided to put it on the market.  Once I was sick in bed, and the agent was just walking through the bedroom all day with groups of people saying things like:  " look at the lovely original pressed metal ceiling" and "there is a lovely view from the balcony". 

[givemeaspell]

Going back to when we got our first house, I remember being happy having any sort of furniture was just so excited to have something to call our own. We had a hand me down lounge suite, dining setting etc.  These days everyone gets new stuff, new plasma, new lounge...I hope for their sake interest rates stay low as they are going to be in for one rude shock if they happen to get back to the heights they once were.

[polksaladallie]

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@newstart2380 wrote:

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Its called being responsible for ones self and making sure in retirement we are self sufficient. People that don't plan for retirement and save for this day only have themselves to blame. Superannuation can be topped up with salary sacrificing and if people choose to spend and not save extra for their retirement they will suffer.

To many people expect to receive the pension which I believe should be paid to those who have paid taxes all their lives and need it, receiving the pension or part there of is something that should be a benifit not something that is taken for granted.

People who pay rent and could never afford their own home may have to look for cheaper accommodation, they would have had plenty of time to look to the future and plan for their retirement.

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Where's the THUMBS DOWN button when you need it?

[witches*wol]

We are doing all we can to envourage our boys to stay living at home with us and to buy a property and rent it out while they live with us.  (They are both still at high school so it is a few years off yet) but I really don't want to see them out renting.  It really is dead money, although it definately has it's place - hubby and I rented when we first left home.  But if at all possible I think the young ones should stay home and take the opportunity to get a property of their own.

Carl ~ I can relate to your point about not getting to retirement.  I seriously doubt I will see retirement age and to be honest so far my retirement plan is suicide!  I have sweet fanny adams in Super having not worked in a "real job" for 18 years.  We do almost own our house, while that will give us a roof over our heads it wont pay the bills so I figure we will check out where we are in the nest 25 years and if things haven't improved I'll just drop off the perch.

I have a friend who works in aged care, doing the paperwork for people going into nursing homes.  With the massive increase in bonds and weekly fees that people are being faced with, she was telling me the suicide rate among these people is increasing daily.  Once they realise they can't afford to pay for care they end their lives - bloody sad isn't it?

[bromaddict]

I RENT FROM A CO-OP AND MY RENT FOR 3 BEDROOM HOUSE IS $228 A WEEK