If you’ve found yourself on the verge of moving, once you’ve figured out where you’d like to go, the next set of questions might be turned toward what your living arrangements will be like once you get there. The largest question among those is going to be “Should I rent or buy a house?”
You might think one answer or the other is going to be obvious but don’t think things are as simple as that. There’s a lot of good to either choice depending on what else your life is going to look like. If you’ve found yourself in need of a little insight, here’s some pros and cons of both.
Think About Time
When time comes to mind, think of it in terms of how long you are likely to be in your new area. Are you moving away from home for the first time simply because you are curious about what else is out there? Renting is likely the right option since it’s always way easier to end a lease than it is to sell a home.
On the other hand, maybe you are finally moving back home. If that’s the case and your roots are getting planted back where life started, you’ll be better off in the long run to gain capital that comes from home ownership.
When Something Goes Wrong
As long as you’ve got yourself a solid, trustworthy landlord, renting might win out here. As long as they are only a phone call away, once something goes wrong it’s only a matter of time before things are taken care of. Maybe they’ll ask you to schedule a time with a plumber, but that’s sure a lot better than having to also pay the bill.
If you are owning, you will obviously have to take care of the repair bills as they come. That’s not all bad though because you will at least have a little more say. With a landlord, you are getting the refrigerator they’ve chosen. When it’s your house, you will be able to choose what you’d like in terms of appliances and even more.
The Choice Is Yours
With mentioning repairs and having that little bit of extra choice when it comes to what appliances you have, that same idea is going to carry throughout the entire house. You want the walls a different color? Go crazy, it’s your house. With a rental, some landlords might be OK with that but even if they are, they’re probably going to want you to paint it back to how you found it before you’ve left.
Not being able to have the house how you want it might get a little old if you plan on being there for the long term. There’s the chance you might have always dreamt about a wall mounted TV or a walk-in shower, but if your rental doesn’t already have those, you might be out of luck until you find somewhere else or get a home where you can add those features.
