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Yes, if you look at your mortgage payments, very little is going to principal. On the flipside, when you rent, you get certain services—maintenance of property
by earthboundkid 7y ago
Yes, if you look at your mortgage payments, very little is going to principal.
On the flipside, when you rent, you get certain services—maintenance of property and major appliances—that you don't get as a home owner. When I started my mortgage I was surprised at how much money I started spending on home stuff that I never used to spend as a renter. Partly it's because you own it so you have higher standards, but partly you're just eating costs that used to be hidden.
- wpietri 7y agoExactly. Some would say I'm wasting money by renting. I'd say I'm saving myself time and stress by not becoming an unpaid novice handyman, and not spending money on home improvements that I could do without.
- kseifried 7y agoBut you pay for those in the form of rent. As a homeowner you can also pay someone to do those things. There are a ton of property management companies that will handle a single house if you want to completely hand it off to someone. In general when renting you usually rent a LOT less than you end up buying which I think is where many people get the "renting is cheaper than buying" thought. It's not like your landlord magically eats all these extra costs. They pass them on to you.
- earthboundkid 7y agoIt depends on the market. In most of the US, buying is cheaper all things considered, but that’s not always true. Would you rather buy or rent in Flint?