For many people, owning a home is a dream goal. But is it always the best financial decision? Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of renting vs. buying so you can make the best decision for your current financial situation.
The Pros of Renting (pros of Renting)
There are several advantages to renting rather than buying a home. When you’re renting, you don’t have to worry about maintenance and repairs, which can be expensive. If you’re renting and need to move, it’s much easier, faster, and less expensive than selling a home. Finally, if you’re not ready to commit to one location for an extended period of time, renting gives you the flexibility to move quickly.
The Cons of Renting (pros of Owning)
Of course, there are also several disadvantages to renting rather than buying a home. For one thing, you never get to do what you want to remodel or even decorate the home. Your monthly rent payments are money that’s being wasted—you’re not building any equity when you rent. You won’t have an asset to borrow against in the future. Additionally, landlords can raise your rent at any time, whereas your payments can be stable and predictable on a fixed mortgage.
You will likely get some significant tax benefits for ownership. And perhaps importantly these days, you can do things to mitigate the costs of ownership that you might not be able to do when renting, such as modify and rent out portions of your home, grow cash crops, trade your house when traveling, charge for storage, and rent your home.
If you want to learn more about the process of buying a home, call me. We’ll sit down and go through the steps. (718) 399-3320