My husband and I have been renting for 4 years (he has been renting longer than that, it is kind of all he knows. I moved out of my parents house into an apartment) We have a daughter and we live in a fairly small town with low real estate rates (in comparison to the rest of the country). he thinks we should keep renting and I think we should look into buying. Any suggestions?
2006-09-06 14:10:06 · 17 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Renting & Real Estate
Most folks seem to think you should buy & in general I agree with them fo all the reasons they stated. While renting an apt. however, you have no maintenance worries, no lawn upkeep etc. Just housework but you have to do that no matter where you are. The best of both worlds would probably be a condo. Yep, lots of rules but you have them with apt. renting or homeowners' associations also. Just weigh all the pros & cons of both ways before deciding. You & your husband both need to agree as this would be one of the biggest financial decisions you ever make. It could be a marriage breaker if you don't listen to & aknowledge each other's feelings.
2006-09-06 14:30:41 · answer #1 · answered by mazell41 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As a business person I can tell the answer is predicated on several factors. If you anticipate high inflation then its better to a borrower. If you anticipate lower home values than its better to be a renter. Every area in the country is different. For investment purposes the truly safe play is vacation homes. They appreciate most consistently and are immune from the effects of a slumping economy.
If home prices are inflated you could be trapped with a depreciation in investment or worse not afford the home if you lose your job. Ask a Realtor to provide you with trends in home prices and ask your local government for hiring trends. You can find out if sectors of economy are starting to hurt. There are cities where people cant even give their home away.
Bottom-line treat a primary home purchase as a lifestyle choice. Can you afford to live comfortably with mortgage and taxes. Are you going to live their long enough to realize an appreciation in value and do not get an ARM (adjustable Rate Mortgage). Don't get hung up on monthly payments (this is not a car) look for the loan product that will cost you the least in interest. And put as much down on your house as you can afford to insulate yourself from a downturn in the real-estate market. In the early 80's homes appreciated very little and their were alot of foreclosures so even though we have lived in Golden Times don't get suckered in. Do your research!!! The more the better.
As a business person I spent weeks researchiing an $70,000 purchase. Do the same with your home because most likely it is more expensive.
BTW google articles on renting. Either the wallstreet Journal or another publication argued the merits of renting in certain housing markets.
2006-09-06 14:27:42 · answer #2 · answered by Greg G 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If ur employment doesn't require u to be mobile and u r able to homestead in ur area then by all means BUY! Why should u continue to pay someone elses mortgage? My husband's employment requires us to move every 18 mos- 3 years for promotion. We are highly mobile. We are currently renting and by the end of the lease we will have paid over $36K for a home that we don't own. Nor can we get a loan on the equity in the home but the homeowner has all of this advantage. We couldn't even sell it. Keep reasoning with him and don't give up.
2006-09-06 14:20:34 · answer #3 · answered by GrnApl 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
BUY--As soon as you can afford it. REnting is wasting money. every mortgage payment you make is building equity(value) in the house you are buying. the sooner you buy a house the better. if real estate values are low, and you buy a house for less that 100K, the payment on a 30 yr mortgage will be LESS than 700/month. talk to a mortgage broker, find out how much you can afford, get pre-apporved for a loan, and then go house shopping. as a side note, think about buying a townhouse. you still own/build equity, but have less maintenance concerns.
2006-09-06 14:20:00 · answer #4 · answered by forjj 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Paying a mortgage is no different than paying rent, except that you are locked into longer "lease." Plus, you can use the interest as a tax write off. If you have the money for a down payment, you should buy. It is definitely a better investment.
The downside is, the property, and everything on it, is yours. So if something goes wrong, it is yours to take care of.
It is a bigger responsibility, but in the long run, it's better.
2006-09-06 14:18:30 · answer #5 · answered by Peapod 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would highly recommend buying if you can afford it. I rented for almost 10 years and finally bought a condo about 3yrs ago, its the best thing I ever did. I have the freedom to do what I want with the place, never have to worry about people above me or below me or how much noise I make. Also, you get more opportunites for tax deductions. You can deduct your mortgage interest and property taxes, also once you itemize your deductions instead of taking your std deduction, you'll find many other things you can deduct like charitable contributions, donations of clothes to goodwill, etc. And then to mention the obvious, your money is actually going toward something instead of being thrown out the window, a house is one of the best investments you can make.
2006-09-06 14:17:31 · answer #6 · answered by deepadot 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
short term, renting is cheaper. Monthly you will pay less...for right now.
If you buy a home though, your payments stay the same-- forever. Just think about those peopel taht bought ten years ago and have $500 payments for homes that are worth MUCH more.
For your long term future, its great to buy. However, its good to be fully ready-- control over your debts, good credit scores, etc. you'll want a small savings to cover Earnest money, and if you dont roll them into the loan, closing costs.
2006-09-06 14:27:06 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
its alot better to pay for a house. When you rent ur pretty much paying for someone elses mortgage. You end up making money when buying a house and the only negative thing is you have to worry bout fixing everything
2006-09-06 14:16:54 · answer #8 · answered by rockladder2 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I've always heard it's better to buy, because your money is actually building up somewhere, and when it's time to move, you can sell, instead of having wasted your money every month to pay somebody else's mortgage. And if your real estate rates are low, all the better reason to buy!
2006-09-06 14:14:27 · answer #9 · answered by daydreamer 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i think that renting is a waste of money. When you rent your money is going towards nothing. When you buy, you are paying off you house or condo or whatever you buy. renting is fine if your rent is low and you are saving money for a down payment but renting for long periods of time is just a waste of money.
2006-09-06 14:16:12 · answer #10 · answered by jojo 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋