Pros and Cons of Renting and Buying a Home
Finding a place to live can be a daunting task. Many things go through your head when you make this decision – the first of which is probably “Should I buy a house or should I rent it?” Before you take the big leap, you must first decide which option is best for you.
While there are many things to consider before making your decision, the major factor that should influence your decision is how much you’re willing to spend.
Renting and buying both have their advantages and disadvantages. Before making your choice, we recommend going through a list of pros and cons for each as a precaution.
Renting a Home
If you choose to rent a place, you must consider a few fundamental items. The following is a list of some pros and cons of renting a home.
Pros:
- Renting gives you more flexibility and freedom. You can make a quick decision to move out, especially if you have a month-to-month lease.
- You have no responsibility of maintaining the rented area. You can tell your landlord, and he will do all the repairs and maintenance for you.
- Renting may be cheaper than owning a house. Also, because you aren’t footing the bill for repairs or maintenance, you know exactly how much you will be spending at the end of the month.
- If you work or travel frequently, then renting a house or an apartment is the best decision as you won’t have to burden yourself with the responsibility of maintaining the property.
Cons:
- Your landlord can increase the rent at any time.
- You cannot build equity if you’re renting a property. It will be your home, but it won’t be your asset.
- There are no tax benefits to renting a property.
- You cannot make any changes to your house or your apartment without your landlord’s approval.
- Many houses available for rent have a “No Pets” policy. So if you’re an animal lover, finding a place to rent that allows pets can be hectic.
- Your landlord can evict you at any time. He/ She can put the property up for sale to make a profit if real estate values increase.
- You are bound by the rules and obligations in your lease agreement.
Buying a Home
Just like there are some benefits and disadvantages to renting a home, there are also several pros and cons to buying a home. The following list can help in making a final decision.
Pros:
- Owning a house can give you a feeling of stability and settlement. There is also the pride of owning a property.
- There is complete freedom of redecorating and renovating the property as you are the owner.
- Buying a house can serve as an investment. You can buy it and then rent it out to earn monthly profits.
- Tax benefits. You may be able to deduct your mortgage interest payment. Plus, you build equity while paying off your loan.
- You have complete freedom to live however you want. You can have pets, you can change appliances, you can renovate and much more without anyone stopping you.
- You have your own privacy.
Cons:
- Owning a house requires more responsibility. You have to pay for your own maintenance, or make time to take care of the household projects yourself.
- A home is not a liquid asset. This means that if you ever plan on selling your property, it may not be as quick of a process as you expect.
- Although you don’t have to pay rent every month, property taxes and home owners insurance can go up.
- You can lose the value of your property over time instead of gaining it. You can end up selling a house you bought for $350,000 for the same exact price 20 years later. When considering inflation, this means you lost money on your investment.
- Buying a house can eat up all of your savings as it may require a large sum of money for a down payment.
- If you are a restless soul, home ownership might not be for you as it provides less mobility.
- Buying a house can be much more expensive than renting one.
- Your monthly expenses may vary depending on what you need for the house. You might not spend much one month, but may end up spending $20,000 on roofing the next.
Although money plays the most important role in deciding whether to buy or rent a home, it is not just about the money. There are many other factors that play a part in deciding which to choose. How long you plan to live in a certain location, your plans for the future, your career goals, etc., all play a role in your decision.
People generally prefer ownership over renting. When mortgage rates are low, and rent increases in big cities, buying a property would appear to be a much better option than renting. Even if you lose the value of your property, you can still build wealth with it over time. Owning a property also provides a more permanent place to live.
Just make sure you’re willing to commit to long-term homeownership before making any decisions. If you think it’s time to settle down and start a family or build a career in a specific company or location, then you should highly consider buying a house.
If you still think that there is much to see in this world or if you aren’t sure about your career choices, then renting is most likely the best option for you, as it provides you with greater flexibility.
Summary
This article explains the basic pros and cons of renting and buying a home. After going through the article, it will be much easier for you to make this type of decision.
Copy provided by Marquis--not written by CUSB Bank