There are many decisions that can affect weather you choose to rent or buy a home. If you’ve been saving up to buy a home, it’s a good idea to compare which option works best for your lifestyle, and what the pros and cons are. There are advantages to renting, but there can also be financial drawbacks, so consider your options before you jump into signing a new lease or becoming a homeowner.
RENTING – The Pros
No Long-term Commitments
If you choose to rent, a long term commitment is something you don’t have to make, as a typical lease is for a 1 year period. Should anything change, after that year, you are free to give your notice and move on to a new home. You don’t have to pack up, list it for sale, or go through the selling process. This may be a good option for people that are new to the country or looking to move out from home for the first time.
Maintenance of the Home is on the Landlord
When you are a tenant, the landlord is the one that is responsible for all repairs and maintenance of the home. If there is an issue, you just pick up the phone and call the landlord to come and fix it. If it’s something that you caused or damaged, this may be your responsibility as the tenant.
BUYING – The Pros
Earning Equity While You Pay Your Own Mortgage
As a tenant, when you pay your rent monthly, this essentially pays down the mortgage on the place you are renting for the landlord. As a renter, you will have no equity to show for all the rent you pay over time. When you own a home, every mortgage payment you make builds equity for you. From your mortgage payment, a portion goes to interest and a portion goes toward principal. This means you are earning equity on the home each year, while also building your credit history.
When you own a home, there is a sense of pride that comes along with ownership. You have the ability to change anything in the home, the flooring, the paint…without the consent of anyone else. Any changes you do to the home will help improve the value of the home, improve the enjoyment you have from living there, and make it easier to sell. You will always have more pride in a home that you own compared to when renting.
Become a Landlord of Your Own
When you own your home, one of the more popular ways to become a landlord, is to buy an investment property. This would be a second property, that you can rent out, and start having the tenants rent, help pay down your mortgage and build equity for you. Have you dreamed of being the one that someone writes the monthly rent cheque to? If you have, you have to buy the property for this to happen.
Buying a home is not for everyone, but if you're mentally, emotionally, and financially ready, owning a home is undoubtedly the best option.….who knows, someday you may be a landlord yourself.
Randy Hart | Sales Representative
Royal LePage Burloak Real Estate Services
3060 Mainway, Suite #200, Burlington
Royal LePage Burloak Real Estate Services
3060 Mainway, Suite #200, Burlington
I HAVE YOUR BEST INTERESTS AT HART
