To rent or to buy?

[Halli2020]

In your own opinion which is better buying or renting? How did you find this?

Buying if you can get a mortgage as you eventually have something to show for your payments and when its paid you have a home no one can move you out of and no costs prat from maintenance

I think usually in the long run buying is better. But at any given point for a specific reason renting may be better.
We are currently renting because we don't plan on being long term where we currently live so the costs associated with buying and selling don't make sense.
We own a house as a long term investment and it is currently rented out to someone who also didn't want to buy for their own reasons.

It depends on your local market. All things being equal in terms of cost and housing security buying is only something I’d do in cash in a country with a higher ownership to rental ratio and policy to match. Even then renting would be more sensible if you’re not very wealthy. I’d never buy a house for personal use on a mortgage unless I was buying well under value in conditions described above and I was able to commit to living in the property for a long period of time.

Buying. In the long run it will always always be the best option. You will pay down the mortgage, and even with recessions etc at some point you will be able to access that money. It’s very likely you’ll make profit in the long term too. Renting is dead money.

Buying everytime. Renting is just paying someone else’s mortgage with absolutely nothing to show for it at the end of the term

There are lots of factors. We've done both over the course of our adult lives. Renting when you want to be in the centre of the action / want flexibility / have no time to maintain a property & its easy to leave to the landlord's property maintenance company. Also worth looking at if you can predict house prices coming down and can time it right to get off the property ladder.

Buying - depending where you are, house prices generally increase over time so make sense as an investment over the long term. Also for security if you have a family and don't want to be uprooted / moved on by the landlord. Also provides security for retirement when you may not have a source of income to pay rent (presuming of course you've paid the mortgage off by then).

about 15 years back rentals were a lot cheaper than mortgages. With years of low interest rates that has changed, although it does of course depend where you are and if you can afford the deposit.

it may switch back again. It may not. And yes, of course if you rent you need to keep paying rent.