Could renting be better than buying?
Today it seems tougher than ever to take that first step onto the property ladder. Property prices are painfully high in many areas and along with stagnant incomes and stricter mortgage lending criteria, buying a home is hard.
But is buying a home always superior to renting one?
Our society is one that promotes homeownership and has done for many years. The cultural norm in the UK is that young people should work towards and aspire to own their homes. However, right across Europe, renting is considered much more common and acceptable.
Perhaps we’re missing a trick in England. Here are some compelling reasons why it’s better to rent than buy:
You do not have mortgage debt
When you sign up for a mortgage, it is the biggest financial commitment of your life. You owe the bank hundreds of thousands of pounds and cannot miss a payment or there are serious consequences.
This is stressful for many people and a great responsibility to shoulder for the best part of three decades.
Tenants, however, are not under the burden of the debt. They are not shackled to a big pile of debt, which can feel liberating.
There is a lot of flexibility
Buying and selling a home is a complex, lengthy, and expensive process. Renting is much simpler, which means you can up and move more often, and more quickly as well. It’s also easier to relocate to a different city or even country if you are a tenant. When it’s time for a move, consider Removal companies Essex at a site like Pegler, leading Removal companies Essex
You have a larger selection of homes
When buying a home, you are pretty limited to what you can afford to purchase, which, given the property prices today, is probably not all that much.
However, renting makes a variety of properties more affordable. You’ll get more for your money, giving you more choice over the property you can make home. More choices make it more likely you will end up staying somewhere you really love.
Great locations
Especially in a place like London, tenants can live more centrally than buyers, or closer to the train station, for example. Again, renting is more affordable than buying, which means the choice of location might be better as a tenant. You could end up with less of a commute to work and in easy reach of places for eating out and entertainment, for example.
More facilities, less responsibility
Many rental properties come with a range of facilities the landlord is responsible for, such as white goods, showers, and so on.
That’s one less headache for you than for the buyer, who must be responsible for purchasing and maintaining all the facilities they need, which is not cheap.
Moreover, many of the modern rental developments come equipped with luxurious facilities to improve your life, such as a gym and pool, which may not be able to pay as a homebuyer.
