Move In or Rent

Malta Monkey:

I vote for renting it out. Depending on your market, finding tenants shouldn't be too hard if you get a professional to take photos (well worth the $100 investment).

To be fair, finding a tenant is not a big concern of mine given where I live, nor is achieving "market" rents

CRE:

I've struggled with this concept the last couple years - not personally, as I've lived on my own for over a decade - but as I read things like the reddit FIRE community and student loan payoff strategy, it seems that a lot of adults consider living at their parents' home, for free, is an acceptable part of a savings and/or debt payoff strategy.

To clarify, I am not talking about someone who is unemployed or underemployed and would literally be out on the streets if they didn't live with mom or dad. At that point, you gotta do what you gotta do, and that's part of what family is for. I'm talking about employed individuals, or even married couples, living rent free with the parents as a strategy to save the $24,000-$36,000 a year plus utilities they'd pay in rent.

I have come to understand that this has wildly different connotations based on culture and upbringing, but I, personally, would feel like a complete freeloader. If I literally owned a place of my own and and still lived at home, not only rent free but expense free, I would feel like such a piece of shit that I'd give my mom and dad all the rent money I earned or something of the sort - difficult to say because I'd simply never do that.

It's more of a moral or value issue for me - leaving home and striking out on your own is one of the defining moments of the transition between childhood and adulthood, if not the defining moment. The difficulty getting laid this situation would present is horrifying enough.

I don't mean to judge, because I've seen a ton of pushback from people both on a cultural level and on a "How is this different than a rich parent gifting their kid a down payment to help them out? We don't have the money for that, so we're helping our son save" level. You have to figure this out on your own based on your own priorities and values. It wouldn't even be a question for me though.

You've done a great job of putting into words my dilemma. Most people are telling me to stay at home, save the money, paydown the debt, etc. My parents support it. Even my brother who moved out 5 years ago said that had his significant other not moved in shortly thereafter, he would have rented it out instead for a year or so.

But the flip side's strongest point is really a moral one so its tough to quantify in comparison to $$ from renting. And although I know that, particularly where I live, moving out is difficult financially and few do so at my age, I still feel like a bit of an old fart living at home with my parents. A big part of me wants the satisfaction of living on my own and taking care of my own shit. I feel like I've had more than enough coddling. Which makes me ask myself, is the$11k worth it?