It seems there’s a lot of talk about home ownership. After all, it has been the “American dream” for how many years? But times are changing, and all this unnecessary pressure to buy a home is just that – unnecessary . . . especially when you consider most of that pressure is coming from real estate agents and mortgage lenders. There are actually some great benefits to NOT owning a home, and renting instead. Here are five reasons to continue renting your home.
Maintenance. So, you wake up at six in the morning to get ready to work, only to find that your water heater has sprung a leak, soaking your hallway carpet down to the pad in the process. What do you do? Well, if you own a home, you find a maintenance person to fix the water heater (and, possibly, buy a new water heater), find a carpet cleaner to dry out your carpet and get rid of the stench, and find a way to pay for it all. If you rent a home . . . you call your landlord and it’s all taken care of for you, at no extra cost to you. Pretty simple.
Freedom to roam. Renting is perfect for those who haven’t yet decided they want to settle into a specific area for the long haul. The world is full of opportunities. It’s a lot easier to leave a rental than it is to leave a home you own.
Credit reporting. In life, things go wrong. Prepare as much as you like, there will be occasions when you are forced into a financial bind. When you own a home, missed mortgage payments (and even worse, foreclosures) can seriously damage your credit and make a mountain out of a molehill. When you’re late on a rental payment, you are just that – late. You may risk having to find a new place, but your credit will still be intact.
Costs. Owning a home generally costs more than renting, plain and simple. If you can rent more house for less than what you’d pay to buy it, then it just makes more sense to rent.
Freeing up cash. Your money could be better spent than on home ownership, so why not keep that cash and credit freed up for better money-making opportunities? For example, every $100 spent on a home several years ago might be worth $125 now . . . but that same amount spent on stock could be well worth over $700.
Things change as times change. Owning a home is no longer THE American dream, even if we’ve been conditioned to think it is. The reality is that renting a home is just a better choice, and for a variety of different reasons.
About the Author: Maryrose Simunovich has no children or family to leave a home to and loves the freedom of being able to move around as she pleases. She’s a freelance writer who enjoys creating content about real estate, Tenant Hunter services, and home purchasing guidelines.
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