Buying a house vs. renting?

I see ads all the time to rent a house. Is this the right way to go if you're looking to find a place to live? What are the pros and cons of renting a house? I'm imagining you wouldn't have to pay for maintenance and things like that right? Would it be better to buy? Anybody out there who is currently renting a house please add your 2 cents please

If you can afford to buy, it's always better to own than to rent. Renting is, in effect, throwing your money away with nothing to show for it in the end. Plus you can't claim your interest when you file taxes (or at least, not much).

However, if buying is not affordable, or you are on the fence, there are advantages of renting - mainly (in my experience), the fact that you don't have to pay for repairs or maintenance. If your cash flow will be tight then maybe renting is better.

How is the real estate market doing in the area you're looking? For example I live in a declining market and without 20% equity on your house, you're basically stuck in your loan with no option of getting out because no one can sell. If that's the case where you live, I suggest you rent all the way. On the other hand, check out Foreclosure listings online, you may be able to steal a house for under $50,000. At that price, it's more than worth it to sit on a house while this current real estate trend passes.

Renting is not very smart unless you're in school or don't plan to be there for very long because you never get ahead.

It's smart to just buy a place, youm ight pay a little bit more but at least in the end you'll OWN that place.

If you plan on living there a while then definatly buy.

If the terms, meaning APR (Annual Percentage Rate) etcetera are all reasonable then buying is the BEST bet every time. Your first criterion is to make sure you don't over buy or buy something priced out of the neighborhood; speaking from experience here having bought one of the biggest homes in my neighborhood. Whatever you do get pre-approved on a FIXED 15 or 30 year mortgage before you start shopping, that way you will be taken seriously when it is time to go into contract; speaking from experience again being a licensed real estate agent in SC.

The best reason to buy over renting is simple: Your payment is not going to be THAT much different, so now take out that much money in cash and set it on fire. That is what you do when you rent. The benefits to buying are many fold - tax benefits, long term investment, boosts your Beacon/credit, and on and on.

Buy. Do not rent.

Best of luck to you.

All depends on how long your going to live there.

<5 years RENT
>5 years BUY

if you sale it in 5 years, the value will have gone up, but most of the mortage payments you made will be for interest only, and not go to the actualy house payment

example,

buy a house 100,000
mortage is 1000 a month
after 5 years you paid
60,000 ( I would estimate that due to interest) you currently owe about 80,000 on your house

sale your house for 110,000
pay your 80,000 loan
you make 30,000-you paid in 60,000
SO YOU ACTUALLY PAID 30,000 to live for 5 years

yo uthen must go through the process of saling, finding a relator agent, advertising etc

If you rent the same house, most likely rent will be 450-700 depending on region

700 for 5 years is 42,000

so thats how you can look at it, my interest rate is a pure gues but i think it would be decently close.

Hope this helps

"number one answer please"

For some people, buying their home makes the most sense, and for others, renting is best. To determine which is right for you, you first need to determine whether you can afford to buy. Then you need to consider other factors, including the time you'll stay in your new home, the home's prospects for appreciation and taxes. Just answer the following questions and we'll advise you on what seems best for you.
Visit the link below to consider whether you can afford to buy a home right now. I hope this helps and all the best to you and yours!

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/Calsystem2/Calculators/RentVsBuy/default.aspx

I've done both. Renting may be a good idea depending on your life style and time frame. Often there are many restrictions and charges. If you pay $500 per month that is $6,000 by the end of the year that has gone to enrich someone else. You get no deductions to reduce your income tax liability. On the positive side you don't have to pay the real estate tax nor replace the roof when it needs it. Or worry about updating the property. Also you have freedom to leave at the end of the lease.

Owning is best. Even though you need to maintain the house you get interest and tax deductions which means you pay less income tax. Also you have privacy and can do whatever you like in your home like playing loud music. The garage is yours and do not have to share with other tenants. Same for the laundry room. Your home is your castle. A rental apt. is ok if it is temporary. Home ownership is the American Dream because it has many benefits. Now is the best time to buy because there is a lot to choose from. Prices are lower and if you look hard you will find a real buy.

renting anything is for loosers.. buy a house its yours. and you have a pride and a feeling that you can never have in renting. and it is cheaper.. of course there is insurance and tax but this is to your atvantage.. also if you have a mortgage. and you cant pay it takes a year to kick you off the property.. in that time you should be able to recover.. and also if you cant pay the mortgage amount the lender will reduce the payment but not the interest.. its to your advantage to own not rent.. ok gioler

well with renting you do not have to pay taxes wich are very expensive!..but you also have to keep you house how the home owner wants it (house color, lawn) with buying you do have to pay taxes and if something breaks you have to pay for it (pluming, AC) with renting the home owner sends some one to come and fix it. :) - hope this helps

Right now is a great time to buy a home. It is a buyers market. Renting a home can cost you the same amount as a mortgage. I have rented for a few years & now I own. I love owning my home. I can do what I want with it. You have to look at how much the rent would be. & then compare it to the cost of a mortgage, Property taxes & insurance. best way to figure out what you can afford is to take what you make 1 month & divide by 2. Do not go over that amount for a monthly payment. Renting or owning.

I Would say renting because you don't have to pay that much if your on a budget and also if you wanna move again you don't have to wait for someone to buy the house.

How about renting with the option to buy? This option would allow you to live in the house and if you really like it, you would have some equity towards purchasing the house. If you didn't like it, you wouldn't be stuck in it - houses are not selling like hotcakes these days - if you do buy one, you are committed to living there for a LONG time. I personally like renting because I'm always doing things with my children and being stuck at home with yard work or cleaning gutters every other weekend is quite a bore. I've owned and I'm renting now - I like not having to worry about repairing roofs or property taxes sky-rocketing through the roof.

Renting a house is kind of like renting an apartment. THe maintenance and repairs are usually the responsibility of the owner, but you may have to take care of mowing the lawn. It's good to rent if you only plan to live in an area for 3 years or less. Buying a house is a 10-30 year investment. If you're not ready to settle in one place for long, renting is the way to go...and it's nice that you can move after one year at will, especially if you discover you don't really like the neighborhood afterall. :)

its better to buy, because you can borrow against it if you need money later.

We just bought a home and it's MUCH better than renting.

With renting you aren't responsible for maintenance, etc.. but you are also just throwing your money away.

If you can afford to buy a house, do it!
You are trowing your money down the drain renting.
This is a buyers market so now would be a good time to buy a house.
You could rent for 20 years and have nothing in the end. Buy a house and in 20 years it can be yours!

Considering the low prices now, I would buy whatever you can afford.

Both have pro's and cons. In fact if your circumstances are not suited to buying a property history has shown that investing your money in other areas such as stocks can be just as fruitful, sometimes more.
Buying a home is better than renting if you are a bad saver (as it forces you to save) and / or if you can afford to buy a home without changing your life too much (ie. its not always the best idea to buy if you can only afford to buy in a suburb an hour away from your employment as it might end up being an unrealistic expectation to travel that far everyday and keep it up for a long time. The novelty would soon wear off. ... You get my drift.

Renting is usually cheaper than the cost of a mortgage, so if you rent try to put the additional amount into savings or other investment.

The market is a buyers market, but with credit crunch you will need to have a 10% down payment.

Buying a home is your single biggest purchase you will make in your lifetime. It is aIf you rent your are not building equity. Maintenance is not a big deal, you will learn a lot.

Whether or not to buy comes down to math. Compare your rent to the price of a house with a 6% interest rate. If they are close buying makes sense. If house payments are significantly greater then rent.

If you have not saved a nest egg for a down payment then rent and build the nest egg.

I rented for some time but I finally bought a house. With renting your land lord is responsible for repairs and such. If you would really like to buy a home, you can rent to own. At least when you're paying the rent it will go towards you owning your home instead of just paying month to month and never having anything for your own. I have a HUD Home. HUD assists people with low income and bad credit. I called an set an appointment and did my interview. It was very simple and they were very kind. I only paid $1,500.00 down for my 3 bedroom home and my monthly payments are only $525.00. And best of all, it's mine!!!!!!!!!

If you have the money to buy, I would buy a house. It is yours and it is an investment. When you rent, at the end, you have nothing to show for it. We rented until we had the money for the down payment, it took a while, but as soon as we could we invested in the house. Good luck. It is great to have a place of your own, and no one to answer to.

Rent right now. Prices are falling and will continue to fall for sometime. Do yourself a favor , do not catch a falling knife!
Also make sure the house you are going to rent is not headed back to the bank. Scary times my friend.

As an FYIâ€¦ per the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) http://www.ftc.gov/freereports , there is only one source for you to get a free credit report from all three credit repositories, â€œannualcreditreport.comâ€. https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp

Do not give anyone else your personal info without seeing them in person.

Make sure to price out your loan with your LOCAL banks and mortgage brokers only.
A lot people giving advice on here are also looking to give you a loan (itâ€™s not advice, its advertising), if they are not local to you and you canâ€™t get to them within 1 hour donâ€™t fall for it. They say they are licensed in all 50 states, what does that mean? Which state do you have to look in first if something goes wrong? KEEP IT LOCAL; DON'T GET RIPPED-OFF BY SOMEONE IN WHO KNOWS WHERE WHICH YOU WOULD HAVE NO DIRECT ACCESS TO.

Remember Buddha's advice:
"Believe nothing, no matter where you read it or who has said it, not even if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense." You are the only "expert" you can trust: All brokers, and every other loan officer guru giving advice here with a .com or contact me at the end is "selling" you something (itâ€™s not advice, its advertising). Don't buy "it."

When shopping for a mortgage, here are a few things to do to maximize your savings and time:
1. When asking for a Good Faith Estimate(GFE), tell each mortgage originator (lender) what interest rate to use so you can compare apples to apples (rate affects closing costs). This is probably a different thought process for you because you always shop interest rates on a mortgage right? Remember all mortgage originators have identical wholesale interest rates. If you shop the same interest rate among mortgage originators, it levels the playing field and discloses what they want to charge you for their time to originate and close your mortgage. It is similar to shopping for a car. Why does the exact same new car vary in cost from one dealership to the next? Some dealers want to make more profit than others.
2. Secure Good Faith Estimates from various mortgage originators within a 4 hour time frame (rate and pricing can change daily and even multiple times in one day).
3. Do not compare the prepaids, reserves, escrow, title charges, and government recording sections of the estimates; third part fees are not controlled by the mortgage originator.
4. Ask each mortgage originator to base the interest rate on a 30 day lock unless you need longer.
5. If the loan allows you to waive escrow (paying taxes & insurance yourself), let the mortgage originators know because this will affect closing costs.
6. If refinancing, let the mortgage originators know if you are pulling cash out. A cash-out refinance usually increases closing costs.
Your Biggest Challenge
The mortgage industry today has never been more unethical. The industry has produced several record-breaking years in a row regarding total origination and as a result, greed is driving the industry. Your biggest challenge is receiving a Good Faith Estimate that is provided to you in "Good Faith"! We spend more time showing consumers how mortgage originators are lying to them in regards to an estimate given! Thatâ€™s right, lying! â€œBait and switchâ€ has become a prominent sales tool in the mortgage industry. Bait you in with a bogus estimate then switch things after you are hooked. This is so discouraging; banks and so called direct lenders have become some of the worst at this practice. Education is your biggest weapon against this practice. Take the time to fully understand closing costs and rates before proceeding.
You should know exactly how much the mortgage originator is getting paid by all sources (no matter where it comes from, it's ultimately coming out of your pocket). Protect yourself by asking for and receiving prior to application and origination a written guarantee stating the TOTAL amount of compensation (YSP, rebates, commissions, kickbacks) that will be received and kept by the mortgage originator. This will help assure that your best interest is kept in mind.
Originating a mortgage is a service, not a product; compensation should not be based on the loan amount or interest rate.
All ethical, honest, upfront, transparent mortgage originators will be more than willing to provide you with a written total compensation guarantee in addition to the (GFE) Good Faith Estimate (focus on the word â€œEstimateâ€ because that is exactly what it is, an estimate of charges) prior to originating your loan.

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