Eniko (moved ➡ gamedev.place)Jul 20, 2023

Who are these people that supposedly prefer to rent? The only good thing about renting is that, in theory, if something breaks its someone else's problem to get it fixed. But in practice what happens is that you now have an obnoxious middle man in between you and getting the problem fixed and they can just decide fixing it isn't one of their priorities and you just get to deal with shit being broken

So who. Who actually enjoys renting when they intend to stay somewhere long term? Feel like this is just some bullshit landlords came up with to justify why renting is okay and people fell for their propaganda

Show threadEniko (moved ➡ gamedev.place)Jul 20, 2023

"Oh but you can leave any time your lease is up and that gives you freedom"

Uh-huh. And your landlord can decide not to renew your lease any time it's up too, so that's cool. Don't think a lot of people are super into feeling housing insecure on a yearly basis

Show threadEniko (moved ➡ gamedev.place)Jul 20, 2023
And if you have a great landlord and or your apartment is rent controlled then that's great but that maybe means you prefer renting in that specific context but that's not exactly the default context so I feel like that ain't "I prefer renting (in general)"
Show threadEniko (moved ➡ gamedev.place)
Renting is, generally, fucking miserable and you don't get your money back out when you leave. Not even your fucking deposit. So I call bullshit. This whole thing smacks of "10 reasons why working from home is overrated" propaganda
Jul 20, 2023 at 8:29pmWeb
Show threadEniko (moved ➡ gamedev.place)Jul 20, 2023
Idk man I just really hate when people make up a fictional guy who somehow prefers renting when people point out genuine structural problems with the very concept of landlord existing
Show threadEniko (moved ➡ gamedev.place)Jul 20, 2023

I think maybe people don't understand what the word "prefers" implies. Like if I prefer to travel by train but visiting my mom would take a week by train and 5 hours by plane then I can still take the plane and it doesn't mean I prefer to travel via air

If you're somewhere temporarily so buying doesn't make sense you still prefer to own. If you're moving to a new area and want to rent while you orient yourself before committing to buy, you still prefer to own. If you want to own a place but it's in the bay area and you can only afford a rent controlled apartment then you still prefer to own

Show threadsmallfreakJul 20, 2023
@eniko
In the end, all that matters is what you do, not what you prefer. And there is no such thing like "without alternatives". Each and every decision is a decision against at least one possible alternative - that you just don't like that much.
Show threadMichael TeaJul 20, 2023
@eniko Great examples of usage of the word 'prefer' 😎
Show threadJason MaltzenJul 20, 2023
@eniko This has me thinking: landlord is a title obviously derived from old feudal nobility, and should have been thrown out as a concept at the same time as the other feudal lords.
Show threadyelling jackalJul 20, 2023
@eniko Personally I do prefer renting. With ADHD and some other disabilities owning honestly seems like my worst nightmare, there's a high chance I'd ruin the place structurally just by not being able to like... get myself to employ someone else to do maintenance (and then get stuck with so much debt with nothing to show for it but more debt ey).

But there's a huge BUT there. Landlord can't throw me out. Landlord can't make large increases to rent. Other than like... structural changes we can do what we like with the place (paint, curtains, lighting, garden, flooring etc.). Landlord is responsible for fixing stuff and there's places we can go to to hold them accountable for it if they decide to be asses.

All of this is possible due to strict laws that are actually enforced, and honestly I'd prefer landlord not existing even with this structure. Just let it all be social housing. And even WITH those protections in place I'm still not going to ever rent from a singular landlord again. Either social or a company. (And in the country I'm currently in the cost of renting if you can't apply for social housing for whatever reason is so much that it's advised to just buy anyway if you're planning on staying somewhere for 5+ years. Mortgage is often cheaper.)

I've rented in other countries and in those contexts it's an instant "nope, buying is better" every single time because the freedom to just live is so restricted. It's stupid how different it is when there's halfway decent renters protection laws enforced.
Show threadKim Spence-Jones 🇬🇧😷Jul 20, 2023
@eniko There are genuine reasons to prefer renting. Maybe you are happy with one room, and don’t want to spend more than you need to. Maybe you hate being responsible for repairs, insurance, redecorating and all the other hassles that come with owning. Maybe you like to change locations every few months…
Show threadMonstersGoBoomJul 20, 2023
@eniko I guess I've been lucky, I've always gotten my deposit back.
I'm renting currently because we're not planning to stay in this town in a year or two.
I'd love to buy a place when I find "home".
Show threadMonstersGoBoomJul 20, 2023
@eniko plus the last place I owned, took a LONG time to sell when I had to leave town for a job, so I had to pay rent and mortgage for a couple of months.
obviously remote work alleviates that worry, but it still burned me.
Show threadMonstersGoBoomJul 20, 2023
@eniko I did try and buy a place a few years ago, I earned enough for the mortgage but because my partner can't work, it got complicated and they wouldn't approve us as a unit, only I was approved, but also they tried to up the costs because of that. totally fucked up situation.
Show threadMuro deGrizecoJul 20, 2023

@eniko

This is truth.

It was a year or two after we left our old apartment when we realized the landlord had quietly not paid us back the pet deposit for the cat.

It was years ago. The cat, bless her, has since died. Maybe the landlord too, by now.

I wish I'd asked our cat to go pee on the landlord's stuff in the afterlife.

"He owes us a few hundred dollars still, kitty. Find that jerk and go soak everything!"

Show threadAndreasJul 21, 2023

@eniko Wait. There are landlords that DON'T give you your deposit back?

Where I am that would be considered illegal. Germany has a renting quota of around 60%, but renters here have a whole bunch of protections they don't seem to have elsewhere is the main lesson I've been taking away from renting discourse over these past few years.