Rent or Buy?

Everyone who intends to move out of the parent’s home inevitably ends up asking him/herself an important question: “Should I rent a house or buy it?” The decision doesn’t seem obvious, but let us look at the matter more closely.

We all know that renting a home can be very easy and painless, but what if you are not getting the best possible deal? Purchasing your own home has always been a better decision, because the money you spend on it are the money you actually invest into firm real estate assets. There is a popular saying, stating that renting a home is like putting your money into a trash can, while buying a home is like putting your money in a bank. To a certain extent this is surely true: when you eventually move out of a rented home, you remain with nothing to show for it, but when you move out of your own house, the one that you have purchased, you can always sell it and gain back a substantial part of the money you invested into it, adjusting for the markets inflation of course. Basically that’s why buying a home is actually a better alternative, however easier the renting option may seem at first glance.

Houses these days cost so much that most people can’t afford to pay the whole cost at once. That’s why we need mortgages. Mortgages allow us to pay for a house over a period of 15 to 30 years, instead of paying entirely upfront. Now, returning to the choice between renting and buying, think of it this way: no matter whether you rent or buy, it all actually comes down to paying a monthly payment for a house. A monthly mortgage payment can amount to over $1,000. But on the other hand renting a nice house may cost you the same, except for the fact that, if you rent a house, repairs paid for by the landlord. If you take out a mortgage, you have ownership of a house and can sell it when you decide to move out, and if you decide not to move out, then you will have your own home to live in once your mortgage is fully repaid.

Another reason for buying a house is that when you rent a house, you have no guarantee that you will be able to stay in that house for a long period of time. When renting a house, you usually sign year-to-year leases, but at a certain point the landlord may decide not to rent out the house any longer, and will have an unquestionable right to do so. If you have your own house, you never run into this risk.

Finally, you may find it to sound sentimental, but one more big reason to buy a house is memories. Surely, you can have quite nice memories in a rental house as well, but your own home gives you a sense of place – a place for your family to gain and share memories.

About the Author:
Arthur York is a home loan expert working for NorthAmericanLoans.net. To get aid in buying a home of your dreams and finding the right loan to save you thousands of dollars each year, please visit us at www.northamericanloans.net.