Should you Rent Or Buy?

Welcome to my blog. This is my first official post of substance that I hope will assist you in your decision making. Just to note, my blogs are based upon my personal opinion and my experience. I hope that you can gain insight from me and that you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them. Since the area of interest of my blog is real estate, I figure that my first blog should address the age old question of renting versus buying. Enjoy.

Recently someone asked me if I recommended that they purchase or rent their next home. As a real estate agent, my first thought was to buy for selfish purposes only, but realistically one has to analyze their own situation to know what would suit them best. This being said I devote this blog series to the advantages and disadvantage of both buying and renting.

Here are in my opinion the Top 5 Advantages of Renting a home:

1. Renting a home requires less maintenance to the renter.
When you rent if the water heater goes bad or if a bulb needs to be changed, you as the tenant do not have to worry about making any repairs. A simple call to you landlord (hopefully he/she is not a slumlord) and the repairs are made in a timely manner.

2. As a renter you are not bound by social or physical changes in the neighborhood.
Basically as the neighborhood changes, you have the option of moving when your lease up and not have to worry about the house ever again. If your new neighbor has a dog that parks all night or if he/she plays the drums from 8-12 every single Friday night while your trying to sleep (personal experience), you can cancel your lease early or count down the days until it is up.

3. No property Taxes.
As a renter, you can live a “better” neighborhood, your kids can attend to the “better” schools, the neighborhood is perceived to be “safer”, and you get all of this at no additional costs. No need to worry when properties are being evaluated for tax purposes because you are not the one who has to pay them.

4. You can not get sued if someone is hurt on the property.
If someone falls on that uneven pavement out front, no need to worry because this is not your problem. As the tenant you are not responsible for any unintentional damage that occurred to the property. Intentional damages are another story and you would have to work this out with your landlord. (Good luck with that).

And lastly for the sake of humor,

5. When solicitors call asking for the homeowner, you can say that they are not there because you, the tenant, are not the homeowner.
I hope you enjoyed my take on the advantages of renting a home. In my next blog, I will discuss the disadvantages of renting a home, but in the mean time, I would like to read your thought, comments or experiences on this issue.