A Grandfather Plans to Sell His Home and Rent Near His Family. Dave Ramsey Warns Him He'll Lose $400K to $500K if He Doesn't Buy Again

A Grandfather Plans to Sell His Home and Rent Near His Family. Dave Ramsey Warns Him He'll Lose $400K to $500K if He Doesn't Buy Again Her Husband Wants to Sell Their House Instead of Getting a Second Job While She's on Maternity Leave. Dave Ramsey Tells Her to Go Back to Work Adrian Volenik Sat, September 5, 2026 at 11:57 PM GMT+9 6 min read Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.

An Idaho man is preparing for a move that has more to do with family than finances. He plans to sell his home in Bonners Ferry for around $500,000 to $550,000 and move about 90 minutes south to Coeur d'Alene, where his daughter and granddaughter live. His daughter is a single mom, and Steve wants to be closer so he can help out.

Steve shared on "The Ramsey Show" recently that the original plan was to sell and buy another home, but he started wondering whether renting might make retirement simpler.

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Personal finance expert Dave Ramsey first wanted to know how old Steve was, whether he was healthy and how long he expected to live. Steve said he was 68 and in pretty good health. His father lived to 98.

That could leave Steve with another 20 to 30 years to think about, and Ramsey argued that renting over such a long period would become an expensive decision.

Steve has owned his current home for about 10 years and bought it for roughly $230,000. Today, he estimates it could sell for as much as $550,000.

"So it doubled in 10 years," Ramsey said, before saying that the property could have been worth closer to $100,000 another decade earlier.

"You just lost $400,000 in this conversation while you were a renter," Ramsey told him, referring to the potential appreciation Steve could miss if he rents for the next few decades.

Steve responded, "Well, maybe," but Ramsey wasn't having it.

"No, not maybe," he said. "You lost $400 grand or $500 grand if you don't go buy a house."

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Of course, future home appreciation isn't guaranteed, and Steve's decision involves more than potential gains. Renting can eliminate many of the responsibilities that come with owning a home. Steve specifically mentioned not having to mow the lawn.

Ramsey's response was simple: "For $400,000, $500,000, you can pay somebody to mow the lawn."

Ramsey's preferred option was for Steve to downsize and buy a smaller home with cash near his family. Without a mortgage, Ramsey said, Steve would avoid rent increases while keeping exposure to potential home appreciation.

"If you pay cash for a house and you own it, your costs don't go up except the insurance and the taxes," Ramsey said. "If you're a renter, 100% of the rent goes up."

Homeowners still face maintenance, repairs, insurance and property taxes, which can increase over time. Still, Ramsey's concern was what decades of rising rent could do to a retirement budget.

"Can you imagine how much your rent will go up in 25 years?" he asked. "You want to screw up your retirement budget? You want to mess up that golden rocking chair on the front porch? Yeah, be a renter, that'll screw it up."

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For retirees weighing a decision like Steve's, the numbers can look very different depending on home prices, expected rent increases, taxes, investment returns and how long they plan to stay. Finance Advisors compare those costs over 20 or 30 years and determine whether buying, renting or investing the proceeds from a home sale makes more sense for a particular retirement plan.

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This article A Grandfather Plans to Sell His Home and Rent Near His Family. Dave Ramsey Warns Him He'll Lose $400K to $500K if He Doesn't Buy Again originally appeared on Benzinga.com