Current Events > Buy a house or rent an apartment

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What to do? Alot tell me buying is better, but thought you know it would be cheaper to rent or am I wrong

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Rent a house.
It's probably cheaper than you think.
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Rent
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Depends how long you plan on living there.
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If you can buy, buy. Why would you want to pay off someone else's mortgage and not build your own wealth?

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REMercsChamp posted...

If you can buy, buy. Why would you want to pay off someone else's mortgage and not build your own wealth?

Renting here is like 800/mo and a mortgage is like 1400/mo + utilities + repairs

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Build an apartment
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Colorahdo posted...

Renting here is like 800/mo and a mortgage is like 1400/mo + utilities + repairs

Well where I live renting is more expensive than a mortgage, the trick is getting a down payment to qualify.

Either way - buying, you will eventually own and the payments will stop. Renting, you never own and the payments continue forever.

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The nice thing about renting is maintenance falls on the landlord.

Other than that buying is better as long as youre not getting a crap deal.
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Depends on so much bro
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blablablax17 posted...

Rent a house.
It's probably cheaper than you think.

with houses you can only rent for a few years before they charge you more for over staying. You're not supposed to rent a house for life. They want you out so they can rent out the property to other families.
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, if the rent price compared to mortgage price is much cheaper, it depends on what you're doing with the money you're saving + the down payment
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emblem boy posted...

it depends on what you're doing with the money you're saving

Probably investing it in the stock market and losing even more money

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buy an apartment.

same finance structure but less crap to deal with.
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What are you trying to achieve op? financial stability? a permanent place to set up a family? the ability to renovate/modify as you like? opportunity to make capital gains if housing prices rise?

There's alot of factors to consider but from a pure monetary point and risk perspective, renting isn't actually too bad especially if you don't want to lock yourself down, but then it also depends where you are in your life and what you want to achieve. I personally used to rent when I was travelling around the world but I also owned properties and generated passive income so they kindof netted out anyway, and there were tax benefits on top of it.

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I dont see buying as an option until I get in a relationship with a financially responsible person. Or until I make so much money that itd be stupid. But thats down the line.
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Do you have enough stuff to fill a house?
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MrResetti posted...

Do you have enough stuff to fill a house?

I had a family member who moved out of a very small 1BR apartment into a giant double storey 4BR/3bathroom house and they ran into that very issue of having a very empty house.

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The only place I could afford to buy a house is in a subpar suburb county or the hood
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Id buy. Renting youre basically paying someones mortgage while getting no equity.

Buy is da only answer
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GregShmedley posted...

I feel like you're not making a fair comparison here.

What makes you say that? I actually think it is quite a good insight into the difference because people often overlook the other costs of home ownership beyond the mortgage payments.
eg. maintenance, strata levies, some utilities, taxes, etc...

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Colorahdo posted...

Renting here is like 800/mo and a mortgage is like 1400/mo + utilities + repairs

800/mo completely gone, never seen again.

1400/mo towards equity/investment that you can sell to recoup money and hopefully profits.

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REMercsChamp posted...

Well where I live renting is more expensive than a mortgage, the trick is getting a down payment to qualify.

Either way - buying, you will eventually own and the payments will stop. Renting, you never own and the payments continue forever.

plus you get to pay property taxes and do all the maintenance yourself! Bonus!

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CanuckCowboy posted...

plus you get to pay property taxes and do all the maintenance yourself! Bonus!

Home owner ship is definitely not for everyone. I agree 100%.

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chrono625 posted...

Colorahdo posted...

Renting here is like 800/mo and a mortgage is like 1400/mo + utilities + repairs

800/mo completely gone, never seen again.

1400/mo towards equity/investment that you can sell to recoup money and hopefully profits.

I mean, that $600 a month difference can also go into investments that make money over time. Rather than using your home as what's essentially a forced saving account.

A house can be a good investment, I just don't think people should be quick to say it's always good to buy. Run the numbers for your area and see if it makes sense. And also don't forget about the hidden costs (and time) of home ownership.

At some point, wanting to own a home is partly a lifestyle decision
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Owning is always the better option. Doesn't matter if you stay there a year. Building your wealth + equity is always the superior option vs money gone with nothing to show.

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emblem boy posted...

I mean, that $600 a month difference can also go into investments that make money over time. Rather than using your home as what's essentially a forced saving account.

A house can be a good investment, I just don't think people should be quick to say it's always good to buy. Run the numbers for your area and see if it makes sense. And also don't forget about the hidden costs (and time) of home ownership.

At some point, wanting to own a home is partly a lifestyle decision

People who are complaining about the cost to own vs rent aren't going to spend their extra pocket money on investing. Because they either don't have the disposable income to do so or aren't fiscally responsible to.

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i'm thinking about moving out of my apartment, just because of a lot of issues with renting. noise from neighbors, dumbasses parking their cars in 2 spots, and just wanting more space. i've looked around and did some calculations and the monthly mortgage in this area would be maybe $100 more for house. not too sure about taxes yet so i need to look into that.
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REMercsChamp posted...

If you can buy, buy. Why would you want to pay off someone else's mortgage and not build your own wealth?

I lean more towards the Rich Dad Poor Dad view of a mortgage. If you are buying a property to generate income from others, its an asset. If you are buying it for yourself its more of a liability because it generates expenses for you. That doesnt mean a mortgage is automatically bad because you have to live somewhere.
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I'd say the biggest issue I'd say is the risk of unexpected surprises as an owner and how much buffer you hold. As a renter, your maximum outlay is whatever you agreed to in your rental agreement. Landlords can raise prices but only outside of the lease term and you can negotiate.

As a landlord though, you are facing a whole wrath of risks especially in strata/community living (eg apartments). This has become a major issue in the past year in Sydney where buildings like Mascot Square or Opal Towers (google either of those) where anyone who owned a unit suddenly is being stung with special levies for 5 or 6 figure amounts to collectively fix significant building-wide issues (to avoid the building becoming unlivable/worthless) or risk individual bankruptcy.

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Ya, a rent is the most you'll pay for housing a month. A mortgage is the least you'll pay.

tennisdude818 posted...

REMercsChamp posted...

If you can buy, buy. Why would you want to pay off someone else's mortgage and not build your own wealth?

I lean more towards the Rich Dad Poor Dad view of a mortgage. If you are buying a property to generate income from others, its an asset. If you are buying it for yourself its more of a liability because it generates expenses for you. That doesnt mean a mortgage is automatically bad because you have to live somewhere.

This is partly how I feel as well. If people were buying it as an investment, they'd be out there trying to buy a place off market at a cheap price, like the investors do. But most people aren't doing that for their personal homes. Also, home buying ends up being an emotional purchase for many people

It can still end up being an investment in the long run of course.

chrono625 posted...

emblem boy posted...

I mean, that $600 a month difference can also go into investments that make money over time. Rather than using your home as what's essentially a forced saving account.

A house can be a good investment, I just don't think people should be quick to say it's always good to buy. Run the numbers for your area and see if it makes sense. And also don't forget about the hidden costs (and time) of home ownership.

At some point, wanting to own a home is partly a lifestyle decision

People who are complaining about the cost to own vs rent aren't going to spend their extra pocket money on investing. Because they either don't have the disposable income to do so or aren't fiscally responsible to.

I get that, but people should still be aware of it
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REMercsChamp posted...

If you can buy, buy. Why would you want to pay off someone else's mortgage and not build your own wealth?

It takes a lot of time, effort and money to maintain a house, moreso than if you just rent an apartment, and that money doesn't necessarily go towards improving the value of the home. So if you're lazier an apartment is a much better choice.

Plus if you don't qualify for a VA loan and can't foot the 20% down you get to pay extra for PMI.
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GregShmedley posted...

CanuckCowboy posted...

REMercsChamp posted...

Well where I live renting is more expensive than a mortgage, the trick is getting a down payment to qualify.

Either way - buying, you will eventually own and the payments will stop. Renting, you never own and the payments continue forever.

plus you get to pay property taxes and do all the maintenance yourself! Bonus!

You seem bothered by the thought of home ownership...

Didnt seem like he was bothered at all.... he brings up valid points. One of the perks of renting is you can pack up and leave without much trouble compared to owning a house. And all the well once its paid off you own it thing is a lolno. Think you own your house? Stop paying property tax and see how much longer you own it for.
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Hexenherz posted...

It takes a lot of time, effort and money to maintain a house, moreso than if you just rent an apartment, and that money doesn't necessarily go towards improving the value of the home. So if you're lazier an apartment is a much better choice.

Plus if you don't qualify for a VA loan and can't foot the 20% down you get to pay extra for PMI.

Cool - have fun still paying rent when you're 80 years old. Assuming the landlord doesn't evict you first and you don't qualify for a rental anymore because you're retired.

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Whatever is within your means
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I'm currently renting, and I plan to buy a house within next year. The mortgage would be cheaper than my rent.

Another thing, coming home to my apartment from work, I dont feel like "home".

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REMercsChamp posted...

Hexenherz posted...

It takes a lot of time, effort and money to maintain a house, moreso than if you just rent an apartment, and that money doesn't necessarily go towards improving the value of the home. So if you're lazier an apartment is a much better choice.

Plus if you don't qualify for a VA loan and can't foot the 20% down you get to pay extra for PMI.

Cool - have fun still paying rent when you're 80 years old. Assuming the landlord doesn't evict you first and you don't qualify for a rental anymore because you're retired.

I bought a house, so I'm just speaking from experience. Everyone thinks it's all cool and rosy because you're paying towards yourself, but you also have to pay additional money for all sorts of things that would have otherwise been taken care of in an apartment complex.

I'm a buying advocate but you can't also dismiss people who prefer to rent for various reasons.
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Buy a house. Rent it out
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if i could do it all over again i'd go back to renting

the moment you buy property the government wants more and more of your money
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Hexenherz posted...

I bought a house, so I'm just speaking from experience. Everyone thinks it's all cool and rosy because you're paying towards yourself, but you also have to pay additional money for all sorts of things that would have otherwise been taken care of in an apartment complex.

I'm a buying advocate but you can't also dismiss people who prefer to rent for various reasons.

It's not all cool and rosy it's just infinitely better than literally all of that money going to paying off someone else's mortgage and leaving yourself with 0 equity. You really want to be 60 years old and still paying rent?

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Really just depends on your market. I pay about $1300 a month altogether for mortgage/taxes/insurance/HOA on a 1500 sqft 3 bd/2.5ba condo that others with the same floor plan in the neighborhood rent out for $1500.

Rents have also been increasing rapidly here and buying to me was an opportunity to lock in a lower housing cost in the longer term where if I continued renting, I would be at the mercy of continually increasing housing costs.
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if you're gonna live there forever then buying a house is better
if you're there for a few years at best then obviously just rent instead
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Buying was an easy choice to me but sounds like pricing is variable for you. Around here my mortgage payment is a tad lower than what I was paying for rent. Now obviously there are more costs associated with owning a house beyond that but its an investment in the long run.
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