Renting Versus Buying – The Housing Dilemma

But serious consideration needs to be given to the person’s individual and financial situation to ensure they make the right decision.

The advantages of each housing option should be weighed against the drawbacks to find the one that best suits specific needs and individual situations.

Renting offers great flexibility with the option to relocate from home to home and area to area, as the need arises, is often a cheaper alternative to buying, with monthly rental payments usually less than a mortgage repayment for a comparable property and without the other incidental costs which can be incurred as a home owner.

One of the greatest financial and stress-free advantages of renting is that property maintenance costs, repairs, rates and insurance bills are the responsibility of the owner, and not the renter.

Despite these many advantages of renting a property, there are some disadvantages which will make buying preferable, particularly in light of escalating monthly rentals.  The most obvious one being the difficulty renters face placing their own personal stamp on a rental property.

There is also the fact landlords can inspect their property whenever they wish, with sufficient notice, potentially disturbing the renter’s privacy.

But the biggest disadvantage of renting is that the property can never be paid off by the tenant, making the money lost for good, without any chance of recovering it in a sale of the property.

This is where First National can really help.  We offer advice and assistance based on the necessary knowledge, experience and skills to understand the market, its trends and its weaknesses and opportunities to ensure home buyers and renters make the most of their finances over the long term by considering the impact on personal net wealth and cash flow over a lifetime.