While some people know exactly what they want when it comes to a house – whether they want (or can) to buy it or rent it, some people are trying to figure out the best option for them. So, if that sounds like you, here are renting vs buying a house: pros and cons.
Even though buying a house seems like the obvious choice, it’s not always the best choice for everyone, and not everyone can afford it at the moment.
So, let’s look into the pros and cons of renting vs buying a house, so you can decide which option is the best for you and your family.
Advantages and Disandvantages of Buying vs Renting a House
Let’s look at each one.
Pros Of Buying A House
Good Long-Term Investment
Buying a house is definitely a better long-term investment than renting a house.
Houses usually don’t lose value, and more often than not, their value even increases.
So, later on, you could sell the house and even make a profit.
Plus, you’re not paying rent, so you’re saving money long-term, since you don’t have the extra expenses.
Stability
Another big pro of owning a house, is stability.
You know the house is yours fully. No one can tell you to leave, no one can sell it to someone else, and you know you always have a home, which is very important for so many people.
Making It Fit Your Needs
When you own a house, you can make it fit your needs fully.
You can choose which room will be used for what, what the layout will look like, how you want to decorate it, and so on.
That can be very useful because not everyone has the same needs.
When you’re renting a house, it usually already has everything organized fully, so while you can customize it, you can’t customize it as much as you can for a house you own.
For example, some families might want 2 bedrooms and 1 home office, while other families need 3 bedrooms and don’t need a home office.
You can decide how everything will be laid out, and you can make the house fit your needs.
Stable Payments
When you have a fixed-rate mortgage, you’re paying the same amount of money every month, until you pay it off. That means, there will be no surprises when it comes to your monthly payments, and you’ll always know exactly how much you need to pay.
But when you’re paying rent to a landlord, the rent can often increase, and you never know when they’ll start asking for more.
Building Equity
Equity is the difference between what you could sell your house for, and what you owe. So, the longer you own the house, the bigger the equity is.
Cons Of Buying A House
It Costs More
Obviously, one of the biggest “cons” of owning a house, is that it costs more. But not only does it cost more, but it also costs more UPFRONT.
You need to pay quite a lot of money upfront for all sorts of things, whereas with rent, there are no huge costs upfront.
It’s Not Easy To Move
For some families, this might not be an issue at all, if they don’t need to move often (or ever).
However, for some people, being able to move easily might be very important. Some people’s job require you to move from one city to another often (or at least sometimes), which can be very difficult to do when you own a house. Obviously, you can’t buy a new house every time your job requires you to move to a different city, and it makes no sense to own a house but rent another one in another city.
So, if easy moving is something you need for any reason, owning a house may not be the best choice for you at the moment. But of course, it all depends on your specific and unique situation.
You’re Responsible For Everything
Another con of owning a house, is being responsible for anything that goes wrong.
If anything breaks, there are some leaks, pipe problems, anything like that, you need to fix it yourself. You need to find someone to fix it, you need to pay them, you need to fix any damage that happened, and so on.
Also, if something just stops working, like the AC for example, you’re the one that has to fix it or replace it.
Benefits Of Renting A House
Fixing Stuff Isn’t Your Responsibility
Unless you personally break something, and it’s your fault, fixing broken things isn’t your responsibility.
If a pipe breaks, the AC stops working, the doorknob falls off – the house owner will take care of it, not you.
When owning a house, many unwanted things like that can happen, so it’s nice to know you don’t have to worry about that when renting.
Lower Cost
Rent definitely costs less than the mortgage. Plus, the upfront cost is lower, so if you don’t have enough to make a big investment upfront, renting might be a better option for you at that moment.
It’s Easy To Move
If your job requires you to move often, renting definitely makes it easier.
When you’re renting a house, and you don’t own it, it’s super easy to move whenever needed. You can do it whenever you want and need it, and for some people, that’s exactly what they need.
Cons Of Renting A House
Rent Can Go Up
Unlike stable payments that you have when owning a house, with rent, it’s a different story.
Yes, the rent is usually the same every month. However, the rent often goes up, and you can’t control that.
That means, you’ll have to start paying more every month, and depending on your situation, that can really make a difference.
You Can’t Make It Fit Your Needs
While you can customize the house, to some extent, when you don’t own it, you can’t fully change anything you want to fit your needs.
If you manage to find a house that fits your needs perfectly, then great. But if there are some things you’d want to change, you might not be able to, if you don’t own the house.
Not The Best Long-Term Investment
Usually, everyone’s goal is to own a house at some point. So, many people look at rent as “wasting the money” that they could be saving for a house of their own.
If you plan on owning a house in the future, the rent money isn’t going towards anything that will help you reach that goal, but the opposite – it’s money you can’t get back.
So, renting isn’t the best long-term investment.
Lack Of Stability
When renting a house, there’s always a certain level of fear that the landlord will decide to sell the house to someone else, and that someone will not want to rent it out, so you’d have to move.
If you and your family have a nice life in that house, moving probably isn’t something you’d like to do.
So, renting a house isn’t as stable as owning a house.
Hire A Real Estate Agent
No matter if you’re buying or renting a house, hiring a real estate agent can make your life easier!
If you’re in Phoenix, AZ, look no further! I’m Jenn Jenkins, a real estate agent with more than 10 years of experience in the industry! I have helped tons of clients buy and sell their homes (as well as rent), so I’d love to help you as well!
If you’re not sure whether buying or renting is the best choice for you, I can help you decide.
Contact me, and let me help you move into the perfect place for you!
