There are certain pros and cons of owning or renting a home. That is a constant question facing everyone. Those who are renting are doubtful about so many things.
They are doubtful whether they can afford the mortgage and maintenance. They wonder whether they can have time to look after their property. Also they think about moving: the prospects of movement are too painful for them.
In this age of frequent job switching, one may need to move from place to place and so the thought of acquiring and disposing of a property may be mind boggling.
It has to be recognized that, real estate is not that liquid. It takes time
to dispose of a property unless it is extremely attractive from various angles.
There are ups and downs in the values of real estate. Sometimes markets are
down and sometimes they are up.
One may not get the best of times to sell a property or best value.
One has to have patience in real estate. One thing is certain. That is if a property has been acquired with due diligence initially, that can save one a lot of headache later on. So real process of disposing of a property starts while buying it.
There is no doubt that one has to give some time, take precautions and maintain a property. At times one has also to be prepared for certain major expenses like the replacement of a roof, the repairing of a driveway, dealing with flooding of a basement and other plumbing and electrical problems.
Sometimes a property also needs major renovations, like installing new windows and doors, remodeling of the kitchen, replacement of furnace and boiler etc. One has to be prepared.
It may also happen that one faces no problems except taking care of routine matters. There are certain properties which have been well maintained and they just need a little bit of attention and periodic checking.
The pride of ownership of a home is in itself something very satisfying.
One is in control of one’s living standards and follows one’s
own style. In a rented apartment building, one has to follow the dos and
don’ts of a landlord. One losses independence in doing so many things.
Renting prevents one to introduce any innovations and implementing fantasies.
Many home owners deal with mortgage costs by renting out a portion of a house
like a basement. If one is short of cash or wants to be on the safer side,
this appears to be an effective strategy. May be the people who are just
starting out, it may be prudent for them to rent out a portion of a house
till one feels comfortable with living on one's own.
Of course there could be tensions at times, but in the long run, most of
real estate appreciates and this compensates the owners for their diligence.
If one takes precautions, is a little daring and withstands some temporary
pressures, owning a home can turn out to be a very rewarding experience
