Why buy when you can rent?
In light of the current economic instability and the subsequent housing market collapse, many people in Stockton, California have come to face the decision of whether to rent an apartment or purchase a home. Although properties typically appreciate over the life of the loan, I believe that for the residents of Stockton, California renting is a better option than purchasing a home partly because of the unemployment rates and insufficient income. Typically rent is less expensive than a mortgage and rentals do not have such stringent requirements for income or employment. As a resident of Stockton, California for more than 15 years, I watched the local economies swell during the height of the housing boom. Unfortunately, I also watched in horror those same economies suffer and eventually fail in the aftermath of the housing market collapse and ensuing economic recession. Many people in the city of Stockton are unemployed. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that as of June, 2011 Stockton had an unemployment rate of 16.7% (United States Department of Labor, 2011). With this many unemployed residents it is a wonder that anyone can pay any of their bills. According to the Stockton City Data (2009) website the average household income per capita was $19,369; the same website reports the average household income in the same year was only $45,730 (City Data.com, 2009). These figures are based on full-time schedule, and from experience I can say that most employers do not hire offer much full-time employment. The employers who do offer full-time have strict requirements for the positions available, leading most to promote form the inside and hire a new part-time employee. These figures, I believe, do not accurately represent the income in my area; many people are not working full-time. One more thought on unemployment statistics: these statistics do not count unemployed residents who never filed for Unemployment Benefits.
Considering the economic situation in and around Stockton, California the fact that rentals typically have less strict requirements than do mortgage loans is a blessing for many residents. Starr Property Management requires only that the applicant make three times the rent per month, have acceptable credit scores, and pass a basic background check (Starr PM, 2011). From my experience, the background and credit checks are not very substantial, since I have horrible credit and was approved for the duplex I live in currently with no co-signer. Some property management companies, and apartment complexes, only require that the applicant make two-and-one-half times the rent. To obtain a home loan, according to Creditinfocenter.com, the applicant must provide proof of income spanning at least two years with a variety of stipulations for income to be considered, all credit cards, loans, and leases as well as co-borrowed funds, unless proven to be paid by the other party, and income to debt ratio are reviewed to obtain a home loan (Credit Infocenter, 2011). Locally, foreclosure rates are still higher than the national average; according to Realtytrac.com, Stockton local foreclosures in July, 2011 were one in every 127 units had foreclosure actions (Realtytrac, 2011). This is an alarming rate of foreclosure action in any area and some postal codes have even worse statistics. A vast majority of the time, foreclosures damage the borrower’s credit for many years, up to 10 to be accurate. Though I could find no statistics on the typical foreclosure effect on credit scores, I know that foreclosures are looked down upon by creditors. When the housing market crashed, many people were left owing more on their home loan than the value of the property. This, coupled with the unemployment epidemic, left many people homeless and with no job to find a new place to live. Even those who did not lose their jobs found it increasingly difficult to keep up on their mortgages, especially those who opted for adjustable rate mortgage loans; the rising cost of gasoline only added fuel to the fire.
With such staggering unemployment rates and low incomes residents of Stockton, California are looking much more closely at their costs of living. Citydata.com states that in 2009 the median gross rent per month was $939.00 (City Data.com, 2009) or $11,268 annually. This did not specify whether the rent was for homes or apartments, or both. Thinking back to the average income in Stockton that is more than half the income an individual makes, annually. The same website states that the mean home sale price in 2009 for detached homes was $373,238 (City Data.com, 2009). Another factor homeowners must consider is liability of property damage and injury on property. Homeowner’s Insurance is a necessity for any homeowner; its counterpart, Renter’s Insurance, is optional and is only meant to cover the tenants’ property. In the event that a person is injured on rental property the owner must cover the costs of the injury. To be accurate, the owner of any property is required to cover the costs incurred by any injury on the property. Renters however, need not concern themselves with these problems; renter’s insurance is only meant to cover the tenet’s property: valuables like jewelry and antiques, or electronic devises, in no way does renter’s insurance cover damages to the property or costs incurred by injury on the property; those responsibilities lie with the property owner.
In conclusion, although most properties appreciate in value over the life of the loan, I insist that renting is a better option in my local area for two main reasons. First, the average cost of rentals is less than the average cost of comparable homes. But most importantly, unemployment rates are extremely high and average incomes are low in San Joaquin County, specifically Stockton, California.

References
City Data.com. (2009, Spring). Stockton, California. Retrieved from http://www.city-data.com/city/Stockton-California.html
City Data.com. (2009, Spring). Stockton, California. Retrieved from http://www.city-data.com/city/Stockton-California.html
Credit Infocenter. (2011, August). Credit Infocenter. Retrieved from http://www.creditinfocenter.com
Realtytrac. (2011, August). Realtytrac.com. Retrieved from http://realtytrac.com/trendcenter/ca/stockton/trend.com
Starr PM. (2011, August). Starr Property Management, Inc. Retrieved from http://www.starrpm.com
United States Department of Labor. (2011, July). Local Area Unemployment Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/web/metro/laudmmtrk.htm