The age old question of buy vs rent is pretty loaded and honestly, there is no black and white answer. Growing up, I constantly heard my dad say, “It’s always something!” every time he would have to fix something at our house, and the PTSD from spending my Saturdays raking leaves and doing yard work with my four siblings starts to set in as I think about all the work that comes with owning a home. There are pretty good arguments for, and against, both sides but it depends on multiple factors.
1. How many years do you plan on hanging on to the home?
If you don’t plan on staying in the home for a long period of time, renting makes more sense.
2. What is important to you?
Are you ready to put down roots or is mobility an attractive concept?
3. What is your personal financial situation?
Do you have a steady paycheck at the moment and how much money have you saved?
4. How much would it cost to buy vs rent?
Obviously, cost is generally most important to people. However, this can be difficult to calculate which is why it should not be your only deciding factor.
My personal experience of raking leaves in the Texas heat for hours on end (I swear my parents only had 5 kids so they could have a free, full-force lawn service) makes me a little biased towards renting, but you can decide for yourself by reading some of these helpful articles.
- Buy or Rent Calculator from nytimes.com
- Should You Rent or Buy from quickenloans.com
- 11 Reasons Why I Never Want to Own a House Again from forbes.com
- I Said I Wouldn’t But I Did: I Bought A House from forbes.com
- 3 Reasons Why Renting a Home May Beat Buying from forbes.com
- Renting vs Owning Home Pros and Cons from investopedia.com
- Tax Deductions for Homeowners from nerdwallet.com