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Informative Articles

Commercial Income Property Financing: Part 1 Of 3
Welcome to this first portion of a three-part series about income property. In this first segment we will be discussing financing options for commercial income properties as well as the upside (and downside) of owning this type of property. If...

Finding a Color Scheme - Decorating with What you Have
If you feel helpless when it comes to picking and blending colors, your answer could be as far away as your nearest pillow. Check out this quick way to create a color scheme for your home with our PICK - SEE -LMD method. PICK a Pattern:...

Pending Real Estate Bubble? How To Profit In Any Market
With all the talk of a pending real estate bubble or falling sales prices, real estate investors need to guard their money and find new ways to make money. No matter what the market does, you can make money investing in real estate when you know...

Real Estate Investing First Deal Jitters
It’s very normal to get first deal jitters in real estate investing. There are several real issues: 1. Real estate is a big investment, the dollars are large, so there is great risk but also great rewards. Its much different signing a...

The Pros Of Purchasing Off Plan
The general lack of stability or guarantee of returns available from the stock market coupled with a global housing boom have resulted in many more investors putting their hard earned sums of cash into real estate around the world over the past year...

 
Renting Versus Buying A Home

Renters are often in a quandary as to whether it makes sense to continue renting or buy a home. Buying a home makes more sense, particularly when taking a long-term view. Yes, even in the current hot real estate market.

Renting – Advantages

Renting can have a few advantages depending on the part of the country you live in. The primary advantage is your monthly rent payment may be less than an equivalent mortgage. A secondary advantage is the fact that maintenance and improvements to the property are the responsibility of the landlord. Still, these advantages pale in comparison to the disadvantages of renting.

Renting – Disadvantages

The disadvantages of renting are significant. If you have any opportunity to purchase a home or condominium, it almost always makes sense to do so.

The biggest disadvantage of renting is the loss of value. Assume you rent a residence for $1,000 a month and you live in the residence for two years. You will have paid a total of $24,000 in rent, a pure expenditure. The $24,000 is simply gone and you will have nothing to show for it other than the time you spent in the home. Compare this to what your landlord has gained.

Rent payments are closely aligned with a landlord’s mortgage payment. Using the above example, lets assume your $1,000 rent exactly equals the mortgage payment. For two


years, you have indirectly paid the landlord’s mortgage, helping them build equity in the house by paying down the loan. In addition, the landlord has benefited from the appreciation of the property.

By appreciation, I simply mean the amount of increase in the value of the house. If the rental appreciated $20,000 in two years, the landlord has received a windfall. They may have seen a gain of $24,000 in appreciation and payments lowering the mortgage. As a renter, you have made this all possible. The landlord no doubt would like to thank you.

Now, what would have happened if you had purchased a similar home with similar financial figures? You would have seen an increase in YOUR wealth of $24,000, not the landlord’s wealth. If you renting, these figures should make your teeth grind.

If you are renting, you should be out shopping for your own property. After all, isn’t it time to make your money work for you, not a landlord?


About the Author: Raynor James is with http://www.fsboamerica.org - an online site providing national exposure for sellers listing properties and a database of properties for buyers.

Source: www.isnare.com