Renting after FIREd

[stoaX]

After owning a home for decades I sold and have been renting an apartment for the last 2 years.  I don't miss owning a home at all and think that I will want to rent for the rest of my life.  This necessarily requires a larger stash to handle the rent and increases in rent over the years.  Anyone else doing this or planning to do this when FIREd, and what are your thoughts about it?

[jim555]

I actually went the other way, bought a place outright prior to FIREing.  My thinking was I need a lot less income to live and qualify for bigger ACA subsidies due to less income.  Also I wanted to contain my costs and lock them down.  Rents in my area ALWAYS go up at a good clip.

[Eric]

I'm a lifetime renter and will continue to rent after I quit in a couple of years.  But I'm currently in the Bay Area and won't be when I FIRE, so I'm looking forward to many many years of low rent (at least by comparison).

We're in good company:

http://jlcollinsnh.com/2015/09/10/hotel-living/

http://www.gocurrycracker.com/renters-for-life/

[lefty]

Rent as long as I can. No real interest in staying home and doing repairs/maintenance.

[Sweet freedom]

We fired 18 months ago. We have been renting while figuring out what to do. Rented our current home before we quit. We just contracted to build a home this weekend , paying cash bc a mortgage is a pain in the ass without jobs. Have to find a temp place for 6 months, since current landlord doesn't want an empty home in middle of school year. Looking for a modest apt to camp out in the meantime. We have assets, but are having a tough time finding a place that will qualify us as tenants. I am 45, hubby is 50, and parents (who are retired, but with defined benefit pensions) may need to co sign... How ridiculous is that? We have offered to pay 6 months upfront, and gotten the side eye for that too... our credit scores are 842 and 835... Hopeful someone will eventually take our money and rent to us, but wanted to share that renting can be like getting a mortgage.... Anyone else faced this challenge?

[Rubic]

Hopeful someone will eventually take our money and rent to us, but wanted to share that renting can be like getting a mortgage.... Anyone else faced this challenge?

[Context: I'm FI but not yet RE]

I'm selling my condo and still have a salary, but I was reminded how strange it will be to fill out a rental application when I'm fully FIRE'd.  Criminal background check, pay stubs, utility bills, previous landlord references, etc.

Possible idea for a service: VettedRenters.com  A site that you could register once and would provide independent confirmation regarding a lessee's credit score, criminal background check, etc.
 

[stoaX]

Just saw this on the real estate/landlording forum http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/real-estate-and-landlording/what-is-your-tenant-criteria/ and thought it might interest some possible future renters who are FIRE. Most of the criteria listed would be difficult for me to show a potential landlord.

Thanks for that - nice to see a landlord who looked at the persons assets instead of income.  If I ever get the round tuit I will stop in at a nearby 55+ apartment complex and ask them about how they qualify tenants.  I figure they might get some people old enough to be retired but too young for pensions, social security or IRA withdrawal income...and therefore they might have a way of qualifying those of us in that situation.

[Rubic]

Just saw this on the real estate/landlording forum http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/real-estate-and-landlording/what-is-your-tenant-criteria/ and thought it might interest some possible future renters who are FIRE. Most of the criteria listed would be difficult for me to show a potential landlord.

Yeah, I was tempted to mention in the thread that Bobberth's criteria would probably exclude me as a tenant ...

It gets even worse if you avoid the dark abyss of social media such as Facebook, which many people use as a "soft" reference.

[Cassie]

I had a friend that retired at 53 just off her savings and she never had a problem renting a apartment and she always rented from a big complex. I think she just had to provide them with a  asset statement copy to start with.

[jim555]

Yeah I can Invision a scene where I say " I retired at 42, haven't worked in years, have no income other than savings/investments, don't have any rental history/references, so why won't you rent to me? I'll pay cash upfront." (throws wadded up dirty sweaty $100 bills in potential landlords direction ;-).).

I would be thinking drug dealer at this point. :)

[RWD]

I'm a lifetime renter and will continue to rent after I quit in a couple of years.  But I'm currently in the Bay Area and won't be when I FIRE, so I'm looking forward to many many years of low rent (at least by comparison).

We're in good company:

http://jlcollinsnh.com/2015/09/10/hotel-living/

http://www.gocurrycracker.com/renters-for-life/

And also Dr. Doom:
https://livingafi.com/2015/12/18/home-ownership-a-retrospective-and-beyond/

[Dicey]

You could always claim to be a trust fund baby. Nobody needs to know you earned your money the old fashioned way.

[stoaX]

Yesterday I was in the leasing office for our apartment complex and asked how they handled the income verification of someone who is living off their 'stache.  They answered that they no longer look at income.  All that is done is a credit check.  My complex has about 300 units in it and is one of over 150 different complexes that they own. 

So wow, it looks like getting an apartment without income verification won't be as big of a problem as I imagined.

[redbird]

I currently rent, but it's because I was moving to a state I'd never lived in before. I wanted time to research the exact area I wanted to live in.

It worked out OK because for the income verification I just gave them the pay stubs of my last job (I moved simultaneous with quitting my job). Those pay stubs were so recent that it was no problem at all.

[stoaX]

I went to the leasing office of a 55+ apartment complex to see how they qualify potential residents who are living off of their stash.  This complex does verify income but said they have dealt with this situation before and are willing to look at assets instead of income to ensure the potential resident can afford the rent. 

So this isn't as much of a worry as I thought it would be!

[August]

A question for those who are renting after FIREd:

What percentage of your monthly expenses are going to rent?

I read a rule of thumb that 1/3 of income should go towards housing expense while working.  After fulltime work ends, I assume it could be a higher percentage, right?  Because at that point you are no longer saving a big chunk of a paycheck.

[TheAnonOne]

A question for those who are renting after FIREd:

What percentage of your monthly expenses are going to rent?

I read a rule of thumb that 1/3 of income should go towards housing expense while working.  After fulltime work ends, I assume it could be a higher percentage, right?  Because at that point you are no longer saving a big chunk of a paycheck.

Your income doesn't matter for monthly EXPENSES. However, after FIRE rent probably becomes one of the largest areas of expense.