Portland Night Skyline. Cprt. 2013 Chad Harder
So you live in a great apartment in a hip area. You can walk to everything. Your friends and favorite watering hole are nearby. You live well within the Car-to-Go boundaries. Every news article you have ever read about the Portland housing market in recent years has lead you to believe that owning a home will require that you sacrifice your first born (or your commuter bike, or [insert something you love here]) to some cult that is awaiting the day that Mt. Hood becomes an active volcano again.
Why would you ever rock this rental boat? Cue the rent increase notice…
Oh. Right. What you pay in rent is determined entirely by someone else. Some of it is determined by the laws of supply and demand. Some of it is driven purely by leverage and greed. Look, we’ve all been there. I bounced around from apartment to apartment throughout my 20’s. It took my wanting a dog to make me look into whether or not home ownership was even possible.
My question to you is have you considered looking at condos?
You get the benefits of home ownership (tax write offs, more stable annual cost predictions, pride of ownership, building of equity over time ($$$), to name a few), while sharing the expenses with your fellow condo owners toward the big ticket items (like a new roof and routine common area maintenance). Condos tend to be less expensive than a detached home, meaning that living closer in remains a possibility.
The president recently signed a bill easing some federal restrictions on the loaning of money for condo buyers, and the relief this bill provides should help Portlanders who are looking to move, even in our current low inventory market.
There are calculators out there to help you evaluate the tipping point where it makes more sense to buy vs. rent. I’m partial to the Smartasset calculator. Generally speaking, if you plan to stay in a home for greater than 2 years, then it makes sense to buy vs. rent in Portland. I don’t know many people who decide to leave a home after just two years (mostly because moving is a pain, but there are financial incentives to staying put for at least that long).
The important thing to remember is that you do not have to explore all of these avenues alone. I can help you look at the current market, look at your current situation and goals, and help you decide if it makes sense to ditch your rent in favor of a mortgage. I get that these are big decisions and big life changes. I specialize in big analysis and big planning. Let’s grab a big cup of coffee and start figuring out your next steps.
– By Danni Duggan, OR Real Estate Broker, Premiere Property Group, LLC
If you are seeking a trusted REALTOR® outside of the state of Oregon, feel free to contact me. I am happy to provide you with my most trusted referrals throughout the U.S.