Image via WikipediaDon't you sometimes get sick of all the maintenance you have to do when you own a house? Starting with the most annoying thing, mowing the lawn and trimming the bushes or trees. Then there is painting to do and leaky faucet. What about that remodeling job your wife wants you to do. It's always something breaking. The American dream becomes the American pain in the butt.
Over on CBS' Moneywatch.com they had a top ten list of the advantages of renting.
1.Fancier Living: You may not ever be able to afford to own it, but with renting, you can enjoy that luxury condo overlooking the ocean.
2.Perks!: A lot of apartments come with community pools and gyms. My favorite thing about the apartment complex that I lived in during college was the massive swimming pool they had.
3.Water/Heat Included: Oftentimes, apartments come with water and heat included, so that's less bills that you have to keep up with. And the world is better with less bills to pay.
4.No Need For Weeding: I've never mowed a lawn when I've rented. You don't have to do any yard work.
5.When The Move Bug Bites....: While renting, the worst case scenario is waiting a year to move. Bad landlord? Move out. Annoying neighbor? Good-Bye. With a
Home it's much more complicated.
6.No Maintenance Background Needed: As mentioned before when a pipe bursts or any other maintenance issue pops up, just make a call to the landlord and sit back and relax.
7.Momentarily Cheaper: there's a lot of us financially struggling thanks to the economy and when it may be money down the drain, I am not spending nearly as much as a mortgage.
8.Home Prices Fluctuate: Its a buyers market or is it a sellers market? I have no idea, because I don't have to know, I rent.
9.No Risks: if you do try to sell your home during a bad economic time, your at risk for losing money. But with renting, you hopefully get your deposit check back.
10.Property Tax and Insurance: No taxes for renting and renters insurance is way cheaper than homeowners insurance.
I would counter many of these points by saying whatever you pay in rent covers the expenses of heating and cooling, grounds maintenance, property taxes and the perks while you help the owner build equity in their property. The main advantage I see is the freedom to move frequently and not be tied down to one property, and not having to save up a down payment.
ReplyDeleteRenting is not for me. I am where I want to be for the the next ten years. I like my detached life. A comfortable distance from neighbors.
ReplyDelete