At 57, Alfonzo Sample had already made up his mind.
He was going to rent forever.
His apartment in Burlington, North Carolina, was comfortable. It overlooked a pond, the rent was approximately $1,465 per month, and when repairs were needed, someone else was responsible for taking care of it.
For Alfonzo, renting was not a temporary stop before homeownership. It felt like the practical decision.
“Do I want to deal with maintenance and stuff when I can rent and they take care of everything for me?” he remembered thinking.
That is a fair question, especially for someone buying later in life.
Owning a home brings responsibility. Things break. Property taxes and insurance can increase. Maintenance cannot be passed to an apartment manager. Buying is not automatically better simply because you can qualify for a mortgage.
But there is another question worth asking:
Are you continuing to rent because it is truly the best fit for your life, or because fear and incomplete information have already decided for you?
From Buy Back Your Life, Episode 4
This article is based on my conversation with Alfonzo Sample, a retired service member who purchased his first home at 57 after expecting to remain a renter for life. Watch the full episode.
Sometimes fear sounds practical
Alfonzo’s concerns sounded completely reasonable.
He was older than the first-time buyer typically shown in real estate advertising. He is a disabled veteran and originally wanted a one-story house that would be easier on his knees. He did not want to spend his savings and then find himself responsible for an expensive repair.
His biggest fear was not whether he could find a house.
It was what would happen after he bought one.
“I’m in the house, and something goes wrong, and now it’s my responsibility,” he explained. “I can’t fall back on somebody else to take care of this.”
That was the real barrier.
There is a difference between being financially unprepared to own a home and being afraid of a responsibility you have never managed before. Both concerns deserve attention, but they require different solutions.
If the numbers do not work, the buyer may need more time, a different price range or a stronger financial foundation.
If fear is the barrier, the first step is understanding what ownership would actually require. That means evaluating the condition of the property, keeping emergency savings, budgeting for repairs and choosing a home that fits both your finances and your life.
Fear should be examined, not dismissed. But it should not make the decision without being challenged.
What changed his mind
Alfonzo had considered buying before, but he let the idea go. He liked his apartment and did not feel a strong reason to change.
Then the management at his apartment complex changed.
He and the new manager did not have a good relationship. That experience reminded him of something long-term renters can easily overlook: no matter how comfortable the apartment feels or how long you live there, someone else still controls important parts of your housing experience.
Management can change. Rent can increase. Policies can change. A lease may not be renewed. The home may feel like yours, but the final decisions belong to someone else.
That does not make renting wrong. Renting provides flexibility and freedom from many maintenance responsibilities. For some people, those benefits are more important than ownership.
But for Alfonzo, the balance had shifted.
The convenience of renting no longer outweighed his desire for stability and control.
Four years. More than $70,000 in rent.
Alfonzo paid approximately $1,465 per month and lived in the apartment for nearly four years.
That comes to an estimated $70,320 in rent.
And that was only four years. Imagine what he had paid over a lifetime of renting.
The money was not simply wasted. It provided him with a comfortable place to live, a view he enjoyed, and the ability to call someone else when something needed attention. Rent paid for housing and convenience.
But after paying approximately $70,320, Alfonzo did not own any part of the apartment. When he left, the payments stopped providing him with anything.
That realization raised a larger question.
If he was going to continue paying for housing every month, what did he want that payment to provide?
Did he want to continue paying for flexibility and fewer responsibilities? Or did he want greater control over his home and the opportunity to build ownership over time?
That is the real rent-versus-buy conversation. It is not just about whether one monthly payment is lower than another. It is about what you receive in exchange for that payment and whether it supports the life you want.
Buying was not cheaper for Alfonzo
Alfonzo’s story does not fit the familiar claim that buying is always cheaper than renting.
His rent was approximately $1,465 per month. His new mortgage payment is approximately $2,223, including property taxes and homeowners insurance.
That is an increase of about $758 per month.
I think that part of the story matters because buyers deserve the complete picture. Buying did not immediately lower his monthly housing cost.
But Alfonzo was already planning to leave his apartment, and he expected another suitable rental to cost as much as $2,100 per month.
That changed the comparison.
His decision was no longer between remaining in a $1,465 apartment and taking on a $2,223 mortgage payment. It was between paying close to $2,100 for another apartment or paying slightly more for a home of his own.
For Alfonzo, the difference was worth it.
That does not mean everyone paying $2,100 in rent should accept a $2,223 mortgage payment. Homeowners must also prepare for utilities, maintenance and unexpected repairs. The total cost must fit comfortably within the buyer’s budget.
But Alfonzo was not choosing a mortgage payment in isolation. He was deciding what he wanted his housing payment to do for him.
He feared spending all his savings
Like many buyers, Alfonzo assumed purchasing would require a large down payment.
“That was my biggest worry,” he said. “I’m going to have to bring a whole bunch of money to pay for a down payment, and then it’s like I’m going to be broke.”
As an eligible veteran, Alfonzo was able to use a VA-backed loan without making a down payment. He reported bringing less than $10,000 for closing costs and receiving some money back after closing because he had paid more than the final amount required.
That does not mean every veteran will have the same experience.
The Department of Veterans Affairs generally does not require a down payment for a VA-backed purchase loan, but borrowers must still qualify with a lender. Closing costs, funding-fee treatment, property requirements and lender conditions vary.
The important lesson is not that buying required no money. It is that the amount Alfonzo assumed he would need was different from what his actual financing required.
He could not make an informed decision until he understood the benefit available to him.
The house gave him something renting could not
The house Alfonzo purchased was not the type of property he originally expected to choose.
He wanted a one-story home because of his knees. The house that kept drawing him back had stairs.
But it also had a kitchen that immediately felt right.
Alfonzo enjoys cooking, and the kitchen gave him room for his appliances and space to prepare meals. The home had a screened porch, a quiet backyard, and major systems that appeared to have been well maintained.
Then he learned something about its history.
The previous owner had also been a single, retired Navy veteran. Alfonzo felt connected to the home and to the person who had cared for it before him. He wanted to continue what that owner had started.
But the meaning of the purchase became clearest after he moved in.
The first thing Alfonzo placed in the house was a picture of himself with his mother.
He put it on the mantle and said, “This is her home now.”
He began planning to invite his family to his house for Thanksgiving. He had room to spread out, a kitchen where he could cook, and a place where the people he loved could gather.
That is what ownership meant to him.
It was not only an investment or a financial strategy. It was control, stability, family, and the ability to establish roots.
Homeownership did not remove the responsibility
Buying the house did not eliminate Alfonzo’s original concern.
If something breaks, it is now his responsibility.
The difference is that he understands the responsibility and has started preparing for it. He obtained an independent inspection before purchasing and considered the condition of the roof, HVAC system, water heater, and other major components.
An inspection cannot guarantee that nothing will go wrong. It can help a buyer understand what they are taking on before closing.
Buyers should also consider how much savings will remain after the purchase. Becoming a homeowner should not require ignoring the possibility of repairs.
Before buying, ask:
- How old are the roof, HVAC system, and water heater?
- What repairs may be needed during the next few years?
- How much money will remain after closing?
- Can I continue contributing to emergency savings?
- Is the home’s size and layout manageable?
- Can my monthly budget handle the complete cost of ownership?
The goal is not to pretend that maintenance is easy. The goal is to prepare for it instead of allowing fear to make the decision.
Is buying later in life the right choice?
Age alone does not determine whether someone should rent or buy.
Buying later in life may make sense when you want greater housing stability, expect to remain in the area, and can comfortably manage the payment and responsibilities.
Renting may remain the better choice when you value mobility, do not want responsibility for maintenance, expect to relocate, or would have to exhaust your savings to purchase.
Ask yourself:
- Am I renting because it fits my life or because I assume I cannot buy?
- What will renting likely cost me over the next five or ten years?
- What would my complete cost of ownership be?
- Would I still have emergency savings after closing?
- How long do I expect to remain in the home?
- What responsibilities am I willing and able to manage?
- What would having greater control over my home make possible?
These questions are more useful than asking whether buying or renting is universally better.
The answer must work for your finances and the life you are trying to build.
Alfonzo was not too late
When I asked Alfonzo whether he regretted buying the house, his response was immediate:
“No, absolutely not.”
He did not buy because renting suddenly became wrong. He bought because he finally understood what he wanted his housing payment to provide.
He wanted more than a place to live.
He wanted stability. He wanted control. He wanted room for his family. He wanted a place where he could put his mother’s picture on the mantle and say, “You’re home now.”
At 57, Alfonzo had not missed his opportunity.
He had reached the point where the decision finally made sense for him.
Not sure whether buying fits your life?
Start by understanding the numbers. Use Westchester Realty’s affordability calculator to estimate what a comfortable monthly payment could look like for you.
Hear Alfonzo tell the complete story: Watch Episode 4 of the Buy Back Your Life Podcast.
VA eligibility, lender requirements, closing costs, interest rates, and loan terms vary by borrower and property. A VA Certificate of Eligibility does not guarantee mortgage approval. This article is for educational purposes and is not financial, legal, or lending advice.
