Renting vs. Buying Your Home

Becoming a homeowner is a major achievement in your pursuit of the American Dream. A lot of lucky people might achieve their dream of buying a home where they don’t have to worry about paying the rent every month. However, there are mortgage payments that you might now have to deal with.

Therefore, you might wonder which option is better: renting vs. buying your home. The answer depends on your financial situation, lifestyle, and personal goals. So, what difference does it make if you go on a rented house instead of buying it on a mortgage? Learn more about it in this article.

Tax Benefits

One of the biggest differences when it comes to buying vs. renting your home is the tax benefits you get. As a homeowner, you have the luxury of getting the benefit of a mortgage interest deduction in the initial stages of paying your loan.

On the other hand, this tax benefit is not available for people who live in a rented property. Nevertheless, they can still go for a standard deduction, which is available to all taxpayers, including homeowners.

Repairs and Maintenance

As a homeowner, you would have to be responsible for the repairs and maintenance of the appliances and overall structure of the property. In case you live in an HOA (Homeowners Association), you might some relief on a few homeownership chores.

For someone living in a rented property, the responsibility of the maintenance is on the landlord’s shoulders. So, if anything is broken and needs a replacement or repair, then the landlord will take care of it. However, it might take up a lot of time since landlords aren’t too quick when it comes to repairs.

Time Commitment

As mentioned before, the homeowner is responsible for carrying out all the repair and maintenance efforts. Therefore, it could mean that they would have to spend their time finding plumbers, electricians, and other professionals to deal with issues or projects at the property.

Since the landlords are responsible for the repairs and maintenance on the property, it means that renters won’t have to deal with any such thing. Thus, they would have a lesser time commitment toward home renovations than homeowners.

Property Values

Last but not least, buying a home is a way to acquire generational wealth. While it requires greater time commitment and money to maintain it, many people consider it as a way to build wealth. Therefore, they are more than willing to spend on it.

On the other hand, renters don’t have the luxury at the end of the day to call it home. They would simply pay a monthly rent and would have to evacuate the property if they failed to pay rent on time. However, this can also be an issue for homeowners if they don’t pay their mortgage on time.

Wrapping Up

Deciding to rent or buy a property will depend on various factors, such as your age, income, lifestyle, goals, etc. Therefore, you should consider all these factors and then make the right choice accordingly.