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The Advantages of Renting vs. Owning

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James:
When it comes to the subject of renting an apartment vs. owning a home most people will proclaim all the huge positives of owning a home. The main positive that people will put forth will be the notion that when a person owns a home they are gaining an equity whereas paying rent yields no equity. Now, there is much accuracy in this statement but there is a certain negative connotation associated with the statement as well. That is to say, there is an assumption that owning is infinitely better than renting a property. Such a statement is not entirely accurate as there are a host of benefits that renting provides.
On major benefits of renting is that it comes with limited risk. If you can not pay your rent you may find yourself in the unenviable position of having to find a new apartment. Now, what happens if you are unable to pay your mortgage? Moving is not going to absolve you from the debt of the mortgage. If you are unable to pay your mortgage you may find yourself in a situation where you must file bankruptcy and see your home foreclosed upon. Getting out of that mess may take YEARS.
Incidentally, when you move out of an apartment moving is all you have to do. When you move from one home to another you need to sell one property and purchase another. Of course, there is nothing inherently wrong with this but if you are "nomadic" you will probably want a great deal of flexibility in moving perhaps you want to stick with renting.
While homes are an equity they also come with a ton of expenses that renting does not involve. When you rent a home or an apartment you are not responsible for the property tax on the home and if there need to be upkeep or repairs made on the property it is not the renter who is responsible for making those payments. As such, there is a great deal of money that can be saved when one is renting. This is also to say nothing of the multitude of fees associated with making a home purchase. Oh, and that mortgage you need to take out on the home is not free. Remember, you need to pay it back with interest and as the current subprime mortgage crisis points out those interest rates can be pretty excessive.
Also, rent – unlike a mortgage payment – is all inclusive. When you pay your monthly rent you are paying for security, maintenance, customer service, gardening and a host of other benefits. In some instances, certain utilities as well as cable television are also covered in the monthly rent payment. All of these benefits would cost significant extra money when it comes to owning a property. Consider the following scenario: if a pipe breaks in an apartment the apartment manager calls a plumber and pays for the plumbing. For a homeowner, the cost of the plumbing is fully assumed by the homeowner. Folks, this can run into thousands of dollars!
Again, there are a ton of positives to owning one's own home but there are also a number of huge benefits to renting. Sadly, these renting benefits are often overlooked. Well, not anymore!

  James...

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