While looking over the travel section of a local newspaper I was drawn to a headline “A stranger is sleeping on my nephews lawn”.
Curious and eager to learn more I read the entire article. Renting out a room in your home or renting out your lawn as a camp site to a weary traveler is all the rage. Travelers can save money by renting from a home owner instead of paying for high cost hotels or motels. That’s not such a strange notion. I spent every night in someone else’s home while touring Ireland last fall. They called it a bed and breakfast. It was a civilized way to meet and talk with the locals. I liked that the money stayed in the pockets of the homeowner.
My friend and associate, Katy, told me that her daughter moved from Penn Valley to San Francisco. She didn’t have to buy her daughter a car because she rented from a company called Zipcar. The auto-sharing companies focus is on cities and college campuses. It’s 650,000 plus members pay an annual fee (under a $100.00)in addition to an hourly rate.
They track their fleet of cars through technology. Each member has a card that allows access to the garages where they are kept and to the vehicles themselves. The savings for renting compared to owning is enormous.
Do you remember when the guys use to rent their tuxedos for prom night but the girls paid hundreds of dollars for their prom dresses? Not anymore. Companies all over the country are renting designer dresses for a fraction of their cost.
Daniel Gross, economics editor at Yahoo Finance says that “Americans are getting use to the idea of renting the good life, from cars to couture to homes”. Mr Gross explains that
Our recent economic downturn and foreclosure crisis has created 3million new rental households.
For many renting makes sense. A one year lease is far more manageable than a 20% down payment, insurance, maintenance and taxes. A tenant also has much more freedom. A tenant has the ability to take advantage of opportunities as they arise without having the burden of selling.
Mr Gross believes that Americans are getting over the idea of owning the American dream, they’re becoming ok with renting it.
