The eternal dilemma
Buying a house is one of those things that you are supposed to do to become a grownup. It shows commitment, maturity, and stability. It’s another milestone along with graduation, marriage, starting a family, and so on.
As the narrative goes, life is not completed without the picket fence and the perfect lawn. So it goes without saying that you must own your house. Clearly, it has many benefits and brings many advantages to renting…or does it?
So, why would anyone in his right mind choose to rent instead?
Let’s have a look
Considerations
There are a number of factors we don’t normally take into account when making such an important decision. Here, there are some characteristics of real-estate.
Houses are stationary
A house is stuck to a location, you can’t take it with you when you move. You choose a location because it is nice, good neighbors, near your job, convenient, etc. Potential for the area is also considered -you wouldn’t buy if you think prices are going down- yet, nobody knows the future, therefore all these future projections about prices going up are just hot air in the realtor’s narrative to push up the price.
When you buy a house you are betting on the future. You hope that your investment increases in value and that you are going to live there for the foreseeable future. That’s a risky bet. You never know what’s around the corner.
Economy
Can you guess the state of the economy in 10, 20, or 30 years? What about tomorrow afternoon? If you do, please let me know. Also, let all the economists know because they don’t have a clue either.
You would not buy a house if you thought the prices will go down, you would wait. So, when buying a property you must be confident that the economy is going to improve, and with it, your investment.
The job market is linked to property prices. Detroit used to be a popular and expensive city to live in. Not anymore.
Politics
What is going to happen when your government needs more money? They can raise income tax and also property tax. Companies can move from one…
