For all those considering buying vs renting into retirement:
Owning a house is freaking expensive. Last year we spent ~15k on a new HVAC system. I figured this year would be cheaper, since we didn't have any major repairs that high on our priorities. Until this weekend when my spouse realized the pipes to their shower were leaking. Considering the general state of the shower, we're leaning towards ripping it all out and just getting a new one.
Then my spouse fell for a door to door sales person and we ended up getting a quote for new attic insulation. They want >20k for everything or ~13k for their most basic install. While we do need to upgrade our insulation, best case scenario is a payoff in over 16 years, likely way longer as well.
The insurance also rejected our claim for roof damage saying there were just some shingles needing to be replaced which costs less than our deductible. So if we want a new roof, that cost is on us as well.
We've lived in our house for 4 years now, and I think our cheapest year we only spent ~5k on repairs (new tankless water heater install after our old water heater died).
I absolutely love it. Granted I have a ton of hair, so I end up taking fairly long showers. I would quite often run out of hot water when we had a tank. It probably does encourage wasting water, since it takes longer to heat up and then you don't have a sudden influx of cold water to speed you up at the end of the shower.