To Buy or Rent-that is the question!

To Buy or Rent – that is the question!

For a lot of people, the number one reason they choose to rent versus buy their own home is their fear of signing their name to a long-term mortgage agreement.  But let’s face it – very few of us can go through life without paying for our place of residence in one form or another.  In that sense, you’ve already made a commitment to a fixed schedule of payments for housing -- whether it’s in the form of a mortgage or a rental lease.  In actual fact, one of the major advantages of a mortgage agreement is that it usually covers a longer time period than a lease -- which can work in your favor.  Since no one can guarantee what your rental payments may be two or even five years down the road, your mortgage agreement actually protects you from the increases – compounding annually -- you can often encounter when you rent.

Nevertheless, some people are still intimidated by the total debt that a mortgage agreement represents.  Yet if you added up all the rental payments you could expect to pay over an extended period of time, you may find that going the mortgage route is actually the more affordable of the two options.  With today’s relatively low mortgage rates, and creative financing options, the cost of carrying a home may be lower than what you might expect.  Your Realtor® can show you how owning your own home may be more affordable than you ever imagined. 

While making mortgage payments may actually be more affordable than paying rental costs, let’s not lose sight of the biggest financial benefit of buying a home.

The simple fact of the matter is, when you rent, you’re slowly but surely building someone else’s ownership equity in the property.  On the other hand, when you buy a home, a portion of your mortgage payment is building personal equity for you.  And if sometime in the future, you decide to sell, that equity is something you’ll take with you as you make your next move. 

Lastly, let’s not forget the creative freedom and pride of ownership that comes with owning your own property.  When you buy, you decide the extent of home improvements, and decor changes you want to make.  You decide on color schemes and where you want to build that bookcase.  Maybe best of all, you gain the equity that those improvements add to your home.   Spending money to improve a rental property just puts value in someone else’s pocket. 

If you’re tired of paying off someone else’s home for them, talk to your Realtor® for a no obligation consultation and find out how to make your dream of home ownership a reality.