Buying a Home Pros
While interest rates are at a historical low if you are living in a town you love near transport and work opportunities, it is a great time to buy, and with the population increasing there has never been a better time to buy. If you started a home search when rates were 4% and you found a two-bedroom apartment for $100,000, you calculated a 30-year mortgage on $80,000 because you paid a 20% deposit, and your monthly payment would be $382. But! you wait for one year and the interest rates drop to 2%. The apartment next door ( same two-bedroom, layout) is on the market for $120,000. You decide to buy putting down a 20% deposit and taking a mortgage of $96,000. Your monthly payment is now $355, dropping $27 on a year ago. If the price of real estate had not gone up at that time you would have saved more, but when rates are low prices tend to rise. This is achievable to most first home buyers, and the reality is that in about 10 years you will own it, especially if you rent the second bedroom out.
Cons of Buying a Home
Sometimes interest rates rise rapidly, and this can be hard on the budget, but it is a long time since they have gone to 16% ( January 1990).
and there is no other disadvantage in having a mortgage.
Renting a Home Pros
There are advantages to renting a home from a real estate company or investor. One of the advantages is, you can rent in the best part of town, where you could never afford to buy. Some people do just that, and they love it and pay rent all their lives, if you are a large earner this may be better for you as you will have other investments to give you security. The other option is to rent in the best part of town and buy a house in an affordable suburb miles away, and rent it out to someone else, always using a real estate agent to look after it for you. If you move around for work, buying a house as a permanent rental option works well, as you will be renting everywhere you live.
Cons of Renting a Home
In many places, it is hard to secure a long-term rental proposition, and to have to move after one year is annoying and expensive. You may find small inconveniences in the house, and it is not worth making changes because the house does not belong to you. The landlord might be loath to undertake repairs and upgrades, and the house may be beginning to look tired.