The Perils Of Renting Vs. Owning in Los Angeles

A recent Los Angeles Times Real Estate story on rent control sparked several letters to the editor. But this one struck my interest in particular:

Every article I've read on the pros and cons of rent control fails to identify what I have seen as the worst effect of it: the potential home buyer who puts off buying indefinitely because of the "great deal" they are getting on rent.

I've seen renters miss 15 years of housing gains in Los Angeles, but they're sure proud of how low their rent is. As these people brag about their $600-a-month two-bedroom in West Hollywood, I only feel sorry for them.

BROCK HARRIS
Burbank

Harris -- a real estate agent whom, coincidentally, Maria and I once met -- describes one reason why Maria and I were so late to the house party. My rent in West Hollywood (and later, our rent in Los Feliz) was so cheap that we missed the boat in the late 1990s and early 2000s. I remember one financial analyst specifically recommending that I buy a condo. Problem was, my rent in West Hollywood was an incredible $895 -- why would I give that up?

Turns out I probably should have. Had I bought a condo in the late 90s, I would have had so much equity that buying a house in 2004 would have been even easier. (Although, there's also an argument to be had that by sticking with our cheap apartments for so long, Maria and I were able to save enough to actually afford our house downpayment in 2004).

Harris doesn't bring up the other reason why so many people were late to the party, or missed out entirely on the housing game: Prop 13.

P.S. You all bring up good points below about Harris' scare tactics... yeah, I would say once the housing prices exploded, it was no longer a good idea to drop your apartment and buy. But what I'm saying is, circa 1999, 2000, when the differential was much less, I should have given up my rent-controlled apartment for a mortgage that would have been maybe a few hundred more. That way, I would have cleaned up when the prices doubled and tripled in the years that followed.

Sigh. Coulda, woulda, shoulda, didn't. I'm sure many of you harbor those same regrets.