I've rented for pretty much my entire adult life.
It's not something that you typically scream from the rooftops, as it has this sort of unofficial aura to it where you haven't really entered adulthood until you have a mortgage. And there's a certain air of truth to that, as it carries a boatload of responsibilities to it.
That's not to say that I'm not a responsible guy. I've always been a solid tenant (mainly because I'm never home). I always pay my rent on time, always keep the place neat and tidy (for the most part) and really don't even have people over, as I know how I feel when I hear loud music and people meandering through the building, so I don't like imposing that on others.
Yet, for some reason, being a renter also carries with it the burden of being looked down on by some homeowners. All you need to do is see the back-and-forth that always happens when secondary suites are debated at any city council. Look at what happens when apartment buildings are contemplated in areas traditionally-known as being single-family home areas. You hear the same arguments over and over and over again about increases in crime, lack of parking, transient populations, etc.
Is some of it true? Sure. Not all renters are the greatest in the world. But there are also those of us who are great renters who would be a benefit to a community. Your community. All they're looking to do is get themselves in a spot where they can save some money, which will be used for that down payment on their first home. Believe it or not, that's a lot harder to do than some would make you believe, particularly when you're spending an arm and a leg to rent or when you're not making six digits a year, plus battling debt you've accumulated going to school, etc.
I think it's a combination of hard work and luck that I'm in the situation I'm in. I promised myself that by the age of 30 I'd be debt-free (vehicle, student loans, credit cards) and I made it happen. Then it was a matter of saving money, first to buy a new car, then to get enough scratched together for that down payment. I'm there now. And while I've talked a lot about buying my first home, it's finally going to be a reality this summer with my wonderful girlfriend.
With it, comes all of the responsibilities, and a lot of questions. Even at 34, I can openly admit there's a level of "scared" involved in this. Because it's not part of my DNA. My family lived on the farm, so it wasn't like we were changing houses all the time. And as I sometimes joke, the education system was great at showing us what the Pythagorean Theorem is all about, but I'll be jiggered if it taught me about the ins and outs of day-to-day life like buying a house or getting a line of credit. Everything in this is "guess and test". Sure, lots of friends can help us out (which we're forever grateful for) and the internet is overloaded with information, but until you actually go through the process and get your hands dirty, you don't necessarily know what you're getting yourself into.
This is all coming from a guy who is a "manager". I'm well-educated and financially-savvy. Yet it's tough feeling super-confident about going head-first into this process, bargaining for a good price and making sure you have all your I's dotted and T's crossed.
I'll be forever grateful for the places I've been able to live, as they have all taught me a number of lessons that will undoubtedly help us as we begin down this path of home ownership.
My point with this blog is this: if you're a regular at slamming renters for being lazy or disrespectful or any other generalization you enjoy falling back on, stop and take a deep breath. Not everyone is at the same point in life as you are. Not everyone has the financial means to cobble together a down payment or afford mortgage payments right this very minute. That doesn't necessarily make them the blight on society you may think they are.
Many hope to be in the exact same position you're in. So maybe it's worth cheering them on.
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