Renting vs Buying

[transformingtenure]

Hello,

I'm currently doing some research into renting / buying homes and wondered what people's thoughts were on it.

Does anyone have any preferences towards either renting or buying and why?

I'm interested to hear about people's individual choices, so are you currently renting / owning and are you looking to rent / buy? What factors affected your decision etc? Do you have strong feelings against renting or ownership?

Hello! I remember back then that I had a hard time deciding as to whether I should keep on renting or finally buy my own home here in Toronto. I read this blog regarding renting or buying that listed down the pros and cons that come with both options and it helped me a lot in coming up with a decision. I ended up buying a home for myself and I currently am stilll paying for the house and I'm really happy with my decision. I decided to buy a house because I felt that the advantages that come with buying one outweigh the advantages of renting based on my personal preference since I see this purchase as the biggest investment I made and would be extremely beneficial for me in the long run.

Renting worked for me for a long time, but once I was ready to settle down I had two main reasons for wanting to buy - the security of not being dependent on a landlord, and paying off a finite mortgage instead of paying an infinite rent.

I prefer buying.

An asset that (hopefully) increases in value over time - supplementing pension if you downsize at retirement

An asset you can leave to loved ones or help to pay for care in old age.

Security - your not beholden to landlords who can raise rent or kick you out with little notice. I don't need that kind of stress in my life!

Having somewhere to call home. I don't think I'd ever feel properly at home in rented as I'd be worried all the time about accidental damage, you can't always have pets or decorate how you like.

The only upside to renting (for me) is that someone else does and pays for maintenance. But that can also be a bad thing if you have a rubbish landlord...

I may also have been put off renting due to my experience years ago. I was renting a one bed flat in a large house (made up of 3 flats) when I was 18/19. I'm nosey, so opened a letter addressed to 'the occupier' which had been sat in the hallway for a few days. The bank was repossessing the house in 28 (which was only in 3 weeks time from when I opened the letter)

Apparently our landlady had been taking our rent, but not paying the mortgage. I was lucky that it was the early 2000s - self certification mortgages were a thing, and my dad could give me a deposit. I bought my first house as a student at 19, and hope to never rent again!

Are you a journalist?

@transformingtenure

Hello,

I'm currently doing some research into renting / buying homes and wondered what people's thoughts were on it.

Does anyone have any preferences towards either renting or buying and why?

I'm interested to hear about people's individual choices, so are you currently renting / owning and are you looking to rent / buy? What factors affected your decision etc? Do you have strong feelings against renting or ownership?

Very formal and detailed questions, are you a journo? Student?