Many people repeat the Chicago renting myth without ever checking the actual numbers. The phrase gets said so often that it starts to sound like fact. A homeowner sells, mentions they might rent for a while, and someone in the family warns them not to throw their money away. Few people stop to ask what that phrase actually means.
Where the Myth Comes From
The idea took hold decades ago, when homeownership was often the only reliable way to build wealth. Renters paid a landlord every month and walked away with nothing to show for it. Owners paid a mortgage and built equity with every payment. That framing made sense in a simpler era. Maintenance costs, insurance premiums, and property taxes had not yet climbed the way they have now.
Today the picture looks different. Homeownership carries its own steady stream of costs that rarely get mentioned in the same breath as rent. Ignoring those costs makes owning look free and renting look wasteful, when neither is actually true.
Picture a homeowner in Flossmoor we will call Carol. Carol sold her family home last year and moved into a rental apartment while she decided what came next. Her brother called within a week to tell her she was making a mistake. He insisted she was throwing her money away every month she did not own something. Carol had not run the numbers herself yet, so she did not have an answer ready.
What Homeownership Actually Costs
According to Kiplinger, the median rent in the United States sits around $1,422 a month. Compare that to a typical homeowner’s monthly costs. A median mortgage payment runs about $2,124. Average annual home insurance adds roughly $2,397. Average property tax adds another $1,889 a year. Once maintenance gets factored in, homeownership can total more than $3,200 a month.
Even after a mortgage gets paid off, taxes, insurance, and maintenance alone can still run over $1,000 a month. That number rarely enters the conversation when someone insists renting is a waste. Homeownership carries a real, ongoing price tag. It simply gets less attention because it never arrives as one visible check the way rent does.
Carol ran her own numbers after her brother’s call. Her old mortgage, taxes, insurance, and maintenance had added up to nearly $2,900 a month. Her new rent came to $1,500. The gap surprised her.
The Maintenance Line Nobody Budgets For
Maintenance is the cost most homeowners underestimate. Fannie Mae recommends budgeting between 1 and 4 percent of a home’s value every year for repairs and upkeep. On a $400,000 home, that comes to $4,000 to $16,000 annually. Older homes tend to land at the higher end of that range.
A new roof, a failing furnace, or a major plumbing repair can arrive without warning. Renters never see these bills directly. Their landlord absorbs them instead, and that cost gets built into the rent already being paid. This does not mean renters get something for nothing. It means the cost shows up somewhere else, not that it disappears entirely.
Carol’s old house had needed a new roof two years before she sold it. That single repair cost more than eight months of her new rent combined.
Where the “Wasted” Rent Money Actually Goes
Selling a home frees up a large amount of equity all at once. That money does not vanish simply because a homeowner chooses to rent instead of buying again right away. It can move into savings, a retirement account, or an investment portfolio, where it has the chance to grow instead of sitting tied up in a single property.
A homeowner who sells and rents is not spending money into a void. They are redirecting it. Equity that sat locked inside a house becomes liquid and usable. Some homeowners use it to help a grandchild. Others use it to cover health care costs. Many simply want more breathing room in a monthly budget.
Renting also removes the responsibility of paying for maintenance, insurance, and property tax out of pocket. Those obligations do not disappear. They shift to a landlord, and the tenant covers that convenience through the rent itself. Carol invested most of what she freed up from her home sale. Within a year, the growth on that investment alone nearly matched what she was paying in rent.
When Owning Still Makes Sense
None of this means renting always wins financially. Someone planning to stay in one place for many years, especially with a mortgage close to being paid off, may find that ownership remains the stronger choice. Building equity still matters, and rent has no ceiling the way a fixed mortgage payment does.
The real answer depends on personal circumstances. How long do you plan to stay in one place? Do you want the flexibility to move closer to family or travel more freely? Would the freed-up equity serve you better invested than tied into a second property? These questions matter far more than a phrase repeated at every family gathering.
I encourage every homeowner weighing this decision to run your own numbers rather than lean on a saying that was never really about math in the first place. What worked as a rule of thumb decades ago does not automatically apply to every homeowner today.
Flexibility Has Its Own Value
Renting offers something homeownership rarely does: the freedom to change your mind. A homeowner locked into a property faces months of listing, showing, and closing before a move can happen. A renter can adjust course far more quickly if circumstances shift.
This matters more for some homeowners than others. Someone hoping to spend part of the year near grandchildren and part of the year somewhere warmer may value that flexibility far more than building additional equity. Someone still deciding which South Suburbs community fits best may prefer to rent for a year before committing to another purchase.
A Quick Way to Run Your Own Numbers
Running these numbers does not require a financial background. Start with your current monthly costs as a homeowner: mortgage, property tax, insurance, and a realistic estimate for maintenance. Add them together for a true monthly total, not just the mortgage payment alone.
Next, compare that number to realistic rents in the area you are considering. Include the value of what you would do with any equity freed up by a sale, even at a conservative rate of return. Looking at these numbers side by side, rather than relying on a phrase passed down at family dinners, tends to change the conversation entirely.
Carol’s brother still teases her about renting. But six months in, she has stopped feeling defensive about it. Her numbers made the decision for her, and they were not close.
What This Means for Your Next Move
Renting after selling is not automatically throwing money away. It is one financial strategy among several, and for some homeowners it is the smarter one. The choice between owning and renting should come down to actual costs, plans for the years ahead, and what that freed-up equity could do instead.
A phrase repeated often enough can start to feel like truth. But a decision this size deserves more than a phrase. It deserves an honest look at real numbers, a real timeline, and real goals for this next chapter.
The myth persists because it is easy to say and hard to argue with in the moment. Nobody wants to sound careless with money, so the warning lands even when the person giving it has never actually compared the two costs side by side. Breaking that pattern starts with one simple habit: asking for the real numbers before accepting the advice. That single habit would have saved Carol a week of second-guessing herself over a decision that turned out to be the right one.
When you are thinking about your next move, the free resource library has practical guides covering every aspect of later-life housing, from downsizing and aging in place to senior living options, care alternatives, and the resources you need to make confident decisions. And if you would like to understand how I work with homeowners over 50, the Homeowners 50+ page is the right place to start. Review both on your own schedule.
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Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and does not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. Every homeowner’s situation is unique. Please consult a qualified CPA, tax advisor, or estate attorney before making any decisions related to the sale of your home.
If you’re starting to think about what comes next, you don’t have to figure it out on your own. Sometimes it helps just to talk things through.
You can always take the next step at your own pace, with no pressure and no expectations. I’m always happy to help you get a clearer picture of your options.
Michelle Williams is a REALTOR® and SRES® serving Chicago and the South Suburbs, helping homeowners 50+ make confident decisions about their next move.