Last night we had a lovely 40th Birthday dinner for our dear friend and Diva Dweller Jon. The room was filled with some of our favorite people and best Diva Dwellers. Simply a perfect way to spend a holiday evening. As we ate and drank a little more some of us were joking around about all of the work we have done on our houses. Including adding a wall to create a bedroom for an expanding family. Only to find that the neighbor had gone into foreclosure. Ugh – more work and dropping values. But in the end I stated “well where else can I walk out and have four bedrooms one one floor and know that is all mine.” Or where can one as a renter have two dogs and several urban chickens in the city? Only as a Diva Dweller!

Below is a poem from Ron Sparks (Mr. Sparky the Managing Vice President of Coldwell Banker Bain) that was sent out today that sums up a very cute take on the value of home ownership over renting in today’s market. Some modification was made in the Diva way!

It was just before Christmas, when 2 friends in high tech,
Were chatting in their cubicles, as conflicted as heck.
They argued back and forth “Should we buy, should we rent?”
Then one said “Where is the super fantastic Diva holiday card that Team Diva sent?”

There on the card was the home of their dreams,
And offered at a price not seen for years it would seem!
The postcard said “Rates are now low, and so are the prices”
“Of course” thought the workers, “The home market’s in crisis”.

Yet one called the broker, and purchased a home,
While the other decided to ‘think on it’ some.
He rationalized and rationalized–you know how it went,
“I’ll skip the big mortgage, and pay less in rent!”

So that worker became a renter, and with the money he saved,
bought a hybrid, iPad, and 3D TV, each one all the rage.
“My apartment’s just fine, no high property taxes for me”,
“I’m SMART to do this, my friends all agree”.

Meanwhile the homeowner’s mortgage was low and was fixed,
and with each check sent in, a small portion was nixed.
They also knew that someday, a big bonus existed…
“Appreciation, compounded!”…but the renter resisted.

As the years went by, rents kept going up.
The renter paid little attention, and kept buying more “stuff”.
Eventually, like most, both retired from work,
Now who was the sly one, and who was a jerk?

The homeowner retired well, with a house payment so low,
He could do as he pleased, as his cash had some flow.
The renter was buried, however, in the high cost of housing,
“My rent is TOO high!” he was constantly grousing.