The perks of renting:

About a year and a half after purchasing their townhouse, Agnew and his wife decided to flip the script by moving to Vancouver to rent. “The townhouse just wasn’t for us,” he says. They didn’t profit much from their purchase in the end, but they still benefited from the sale by improving their quality of life, says Agnew. “We both really like the outdoors, we like Vancouver. We are better off now.”

Renter’s financial strategy:

“As soon as my pay goes into my account, I check out which bills are coming up and whatever isn’t needed basically goes back out into our investments,” says Agnew, who self-directs his investments, mainly with exchange-traded funds. (These are the best ETFs in Canada.) He also has a pension and he contributes to both his TFSA and his wife’s RRSPs. 

Renter #2: The retiree

Why renting is better than owning:

While the lack of home maintenance is a perk of renting, for people living with mobility issues or disabilities, it’s imperative. For instance, Jim Bates, a 68-year-old widower and retired florist, has some limited mobility due to arthritis and impaired vision caused by diabetes. At age 64, Bates became a first-time renter and lives in a lower-level apartment in a house in Toronto, which he says suits his needs better at this stage than buying another home.

The perks of renting:

For him, no longer having to handle home repairs (like a broken washing machine, a leaky roof or busted furnace) was key. “Finding a nice place to live now with my disabilities, [a home] that is clean and maintenance-free was important,” he says. 

Renter’s financial strategy:

Bates had the benefit of time and the rising market on his side and he made about 17 times his initial investment selling his last house in Halifax five years ago. “I bought my first home in 1978; I have owned five houses since then,” he says. The property he sold most recently was a heritage home he purchased in 1980. It housed his flower business on the main level and him on the second floor. But, in 2016 he was ready to close up shop. After spending a year in Cuba, he returned to Toronto, to be closer to family and decided that renting would be a better fit for this stage of his life. “I now have a small nest egg and stock portfolio,” says Bates.

Renter #3: The urban family

Why renting is better than owning:

For Kerry Clare, a 42-year-old writer, renting enabled her family to have the type of lifestyle they value. For Clare, renting the top two levels of a semi-detached house in Toronto, with her husband and two daughters, ages 12 and 8, allows them to save. They do not own a car, since they’re close to the subway line, and her children walk to school. In pre-COVID times, her husband had a mere 20 minute to stroll to his office—he’s now working at home.

The perks of renting:

If they had purchased a home 13 years ago, instead of moving into their current place, Clare says they probably would have purchased a house further away from downtown. Plus, the large financial commitment would have cemented both of their career paths, she says. Instead, the couple has been able to scale back expenses, and Clare has been able to engage in more creative career and they’ve leaned into the flexibility renting has afforded them.

Renter’s financial strategy:

Clare credits the sight-unseen approach to helping her family save. When her youngest reached school age, they began diverting their former monthly daycare fee to their investments, instead. “That’s one way we’ve been able to save more for our kids’ education and for our retirement as well.” Clare has RRSPs and registered education savings plans (RESPs), which are managed by a financial planner through their bank.

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