The decision of whether you should buy or rent a home is one of the most important financial choices you’ll make throughout your life. Contrary to popular belief, buying isn’t always better than renting. The right choice for you will depend largely on your life circumstances and goals. Here are four factors you should consider when choosing between buying and renting.
This factor is extremely critical, especially for younger people. If you’re planning to stay in your current city for the next 10 or 20 years, there’s a good chance that buying a home will be the right choice. For more information contact the best realtor in your area. For those who think they may want to move within the next few years, buying is likely more trouble than it’s worth.
If you have a significant amount of outstanding debt, it may be a bad idea to pile more on by taking out a mortgage. Before you buy a home, you should try to pay off as much of your debt as possible. Credit cards, car loans and student loans are easiest to pay off when you aren’t also saving for a down payment, so it’s a good idea to rent until you are able to pay down most or all of your outstanding debts.
If you need to find a place to live quickly, renting is almost always the better option. House hunting, find the best realtor, getting approved for a mortgage, lining up inspections and all of the other things that go into a home purchase can take quite a bit of time. If you don’t have the luxury of time, it’s better to rent for at least a while before buying a home.
Every real estate market is unique, and there are some in which renting is significantly more expensive than buying. Conversely, there are also many markets where you’ll save lots of money by buying a house due to disproportionately high rents. Weigh the costs in your area and decide which option is a better fit for your current budget.
Taking these factors into account should let you easily come to a decision about whether you should rent or buy. If you’re still in doubt, renting is probably the better option until you fully make up your mind due to the lower level of financial commitment involved.
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