A former landlord has revealed why she’s ditching her mortgage to become a renter in 2024.
Lacewho lives in Melbourne and works as a service advisor at a car dealership, bought her first property when she was 20.
A few years later, she sold it to buy a house with her then-husband, then an investment property.
“Then we sold that house and our investment property because of the separation. This was in March 2020, just as Covid hit,” she told news.com.au.
Lacey’s shock reaction after the sale was to jump straight back onto the property ladder, but it didn’t go as planned.
“My offer was rejected, and now that all this time has passed, I am very happy because I would not have been able to afford the constant high interest rates on my own income,” she said.
Now, she rents a house with her new partner and young son, but she’s perfectly comfortable being a renter rather than a tenant for now.
“I love renting,” she said online.
Lacey owns three properties. Photo: TikTok/texsmum
She’s now renting. Photo: TikTok/texsmum
As someone who owned a home, was a renter, and now owns no property and is back to renting, she has learned to appreciate being a renter.
“I really enjoy renting at this point in my life, especially with the cost of living going up. The idea of getting a mortgage right now, honestly, makes me feel sick,” she explained.
The 33-year-old mother said they were paying $450 a week on the mortgage on the previous home she owned with her ex-husband, which was above the minimum payment, and that was for “a good house, like three bedrooms, and we lived in a good area.”
Australia’s current official interest rate is 4.35%. At one point in 2020, the interest rate hit a low of 0.10%.
Former homeowner explains why she’s renting in Australia now
She now knows that the installment payments will be much higher and unmanageable, and she is not interested in paying the maintenance costs of the property in light of the cost of living crisis.
“She said the thought of paying taxes, water charges, all the maintenance costs of the house, anything going wrong, was an obsession for her.”
Even with her investment property, even though the tenants were paying the mortgage, which was “pretty good,” she still had to pay maintenance costs, and things always went wrong.
Lacey said renting her home gives her a “completely freeing” feeling because she can also move in anytime she wants.
“I feel like we need to normalize renting, and if you want to rent, invest your money in other things. It’s like if you don’t own a house, you haven’t had much success in your life. Sometimes renting is better than taking out a huge mortgage,” she said.
She said the idea of owning it now makes her feel “sick.” Photo: TikTok/texsmum
Lacey points out that you don’t just have to invest your money in real estate. Image: iStock
Lacy later said that owning her own home and investment property was not expensive because she was able to maintain a good lifestyle.
“We were able to pay more than the minimum payment, go out for meals, buy material things, contribute to our savings and travel abroad every six months. Food and utility bills were more affordable at that time.”
“I feel like we didn’t really cut corners on some things. The only stressful expenses were if something on the property needed immediate repair or when taxes came due.”
Now, though, Lacy doesn’t believe that owning a home or even being a landowner will come without severe financial stress,
“When I owned my home, I was happy to work to pay off the mortgage, but I was also working very long hours and doing extra shifts because I thought that was what would make me successful and happy,” she explained.
“My beliefs have changed now since Covid, and spending quality time with friends and family or filling my cup in other ways has become more important to me than making extra money.”
She’s happy not to have it at the moment. Photo: iStock
She enjoys renting so much that she rents a four-bedroom house with two large living areas and a backyard.
“In the city we live in, if we bought a property of this size, we would be paying thousands of dollars a week in mortgage payments. Our house is over 20 years old and some things need fixing up, but for us it is worth it because of its location,” she said.
“I find it much less stressful because if something goes wrong, it’s not our responsibility to fund the repair. Our property fees will be expensive, and then we won’t have to pay water fees either.”
Renting is stressful. You’re often at the whims of your landlord. What if he or she wants to sell? But for Lacey, being a tenant is easier than being a landlord.
“I would much rather have that than have my mortgage payment constantly go up and then have to face the pressure of selling. I have had friends and family put their homes up for sale but unfortunately they couldn’t sell for months and so had to lower the price,” she said.
She doesn’t plan to stay a tenant forever; her son is young right now, but she’s not ready to rule that out.
“I think I will buy in the future, but it’s not something I’ll think about until my son is school age. For now, I’d rather spend my extra money on making family memories while we can,” she said.
“There are also other ways to invest money other than buying real estate, and I think a lot of people overlook this. Sometimes renting is more beneficial than buying, and it is important to weigh all the options properly.”
