Renting vs. Buying - What is the Best Choice?
Wednesday, June 28th, 2006
Many of us have rented a home or an apartment before. We have been told from the dawn of time (or at least since homes started being brought and sold) that it is best to buy a home rather than rent one. Which in essence this is true. But not for everyone. There are a lot of factors to consider, most importantly your credit score. Your credit score determines what kind of loan you qualify for. We are not going to get in depth on this subject in this post, but feel free to read more about how you can Boost Your FICO Score.
The next factor you should consider is how long you plan to live in the house. Do you plan to live there one year or ten years. If you are planning to live there only a year or two, you may be better off renting or go ahead and just buy the place you are thinking of moving to if you can financially afford it. It typically takes 7-10 years to build significate equity in a house, provided your area is growing at the national average. If you live in an area where prices are skyrocketing, be sure you are not overpaying for the property.
We offer a handy online rent vs. buy calculator that can help you in the decision making process. This works best if you are planning to stay put for several years. It evaluates various factors from the mortgage terms, taxes and insurance to general upkeep of the property.
The bottom line is the choice is yours and you do have options if you are informed.
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