Do you have any sympathy for older people still renting?

i often wonder when i meet someone past say 50yo who still doesnt own a home and still rents.
Theres a few guys at my workplace who are in that age bracket and still pay Sydneys rents.

One guy who is 58yo never married , rented same unit in Sydney last 23 years .
Waiting for 60 so he can access his Super to buy a home in the Country.

Another guy 59yo him and his wife rent a 1 bedroom .
Have rented all their life but chose to send their kids to Uni so that costs them all their monry.

 

Just wait 30 years and see how the numbers of renters increases.

 

Side issue: I think it is wrong that people can use their super to purchase a home... When it is suppose to (in theory) provide income in retirement.

To answer your question: No. Not really. It is a matter of choices in many circumstances. I think home ownership is in reach for the cast majority of Australians, however, they are not all willing to make the necessary sacrifices!

 

Who cares. Why is the assumption that everyone should own their own home? It's easy making a case for renting in the current Sydney market have a look at yield on current prices....

 

Without knowing the full circumstances - I do.

 

Side issue: I think it is wrong that people can use their super to purchase a home... When it is suppose to (in theory) provide income in retirement.

I agree with this. But the theory is blow your Super on buying a house that passes the Means Test then go on the Pension? Working the system.

 

Well I'm semi retired at 61 and currently renting and don't want any sympathy.

Might buy again if this talk of a bubble bursting comes true or might not.

 

No sympathy here. Actually I am envious. Well, you know how generous those Public Servant super funds are....they will have the last laugh!

 

I have relatives that always lived beyond their means. They paid around 30k for their home in the mid 1970s but kept pulling out more cash for expensive Renovations and eventually cash to cover their wants. They sold their house a few years ago as they knew they wouldn't be able to afford the mortgage repayments in retirement. They were renting but one of them got sick and went to a nursing home. The other couldn't afford the rent on his pension alone so he moved to a nursing home. They should've paid off their house many years ago but instead retired with nothing.

 

Id say its not clear cut by any means. Some of it comes down to circumstances that are non changeable or very tough to change, other times just choices eg putting kids thru uni or buying? etc..and some others just blow the cash with a live for today attitude..the sun will rise tomorrow morning.

 

Homeownership is not for everyone. Hard to Judge without knowing the full circumstances. While easy picking on the frviolous retiree there are those just had a tough life. A little empathy goes a long way.

 

I have sympathy for those who have made what we would consider the "right" choices in their lives but then something went wrong outside their control - businesses failed, nasty divorce, death of partner, disability etc and they lost their homes. Other times, people make life choices that are none of our business.

 

Never rented. But at old age I'll probably rent. It's better not to have a home, but have a lot of cash before you die and not after. After you die you cannot use it anyway.

 

Why not both?

 

no

 

No.
I'm a renter myself. It's cheaper to actually rent than own with a mortgage at this stage.

 

yes. I am also a renter. but its individual choices. prefer debt free living in old age whatever that means

 

I will not need a big family home when I'll be old, so I'll sell anyway. Buying something smaller is still parking some money into an asset I will not need after I die. Renting is better.

 

In my previous job I've seen people in that situation. From my knowledge, personal circumstances have led then to be renting.
In one case, they were helped out by a friend with a cheap rental below market rate. When you're earning 40k, at any age it would be difficult, let alone 50+. Time isn't on your side.
I just hope that these people have loving families when in their senior years. With no real tangible assets, from a financial standpoint 'struggling' doesn't adequately describe their position.

 

Nope, don't judge at all. I have one tenant that is 66 years old, always pays on time and is by all accounts (from agent reports) not a problem.