Buying a house vs. Renting

[KevinMcC]

Need some advice about buying a house vs renting for the self employed.

Right now I rent a nice apartment for around $1200/month.

Would it be in my best interest to try and buy a house and pay that $1200 towards mortgage? What are the negatives/positives of buying.

Just looking from advice for other affiliates... thanks

[Stocks]

If I had the option of renting an apartment or buying a house I would always pick buying a house especially if the price is the same. You end up with a house in the long run that you own and is worth a lot of money and plus you get to live in a house instead of an apartment.

[ih82lose]

A key point to remember a $1,200 rent payment and a $1,200 mortgage payment are far from the same price.

The rent payment includes the upkeep of the building, when things break they fix them. The mortgage payment does not.

I think that lifestyle is a major factor. If you are going to live in the same place for 10+ years, consider buying if not consider renting.

[Prenut]

Plus renting you don't have to pay taxes and insurance on the home. The "you should always buy" line of thinking has always been irrational. In my case for instance I rent a home for $1600 a month that would cost over 500k to buy. Why on earth would I buy in this scenario? There are tons of other scenarios where it is better to rent. Search G for "rent or buy calculator" , "rent or buy", and things of that nature.

[CK]

buy - buy - buy - buy - or at the very least own some property

You pay equal to renting or less. My house has 4 br, 2 1/2 bath and is 2800 sq ft total living space (includes finished basement) and there is no way I could pay the same as what I'm paying now if I was renting from someone (plus there is a new subdivision being built across the street which ultimately means property value goes up and I scored an awesome deal - ha )

Buy it - why allow someone to make money off of you to pay for their house. As far as upkeep that entirely depends on what your looking for - if your looking for something with a bit of age and character - yeah the upkeep is going to be a lot higher. A newer home shouldn't have those problems and you should know what problems it has by getting an proper inspection done. (<--must do)

btw if you need a mortgage broker the guy I deal with is really good - I got an awesome rate last year that non of the banks could match. He's only a few hours away from you

Edit - This is assuming you can afford a house - if this dried up tomorrow and you could still afford to rent, odds are can own as well.

[Lenny]

If this was yesterday i would have told you to buy, But being today i would say as to the business were in rent for a few more months and see where our industry is going. Always better to buy.

As for me im going to go see if the government will rent me a house as due to the DOJ i can no longer afford my mortgage payments, food, strippers, drinks or my dozen vegas trips a year.

[casinobonusguy]

Kevin
First step is go to bank and get approved , with self employment they usually want 2-3 years of taxes done.You need to factor in house insurance ,property taxes , mortgage ,utilities , costs of lawn mower ,snow blower etc.Here is a calculator you can use to help with decision Rent vs Buy Calculator, Should I Rent or Buy? - Yahoo! Real Estate.

[KevinMcC]

Thanks for the insight everyone. Will try to figure out that calculator and what everything means and see what is says

[actyper]

You should really only get advise from those living in the same area as you want to purchase, real estate is different everywhere, especially in other countries. For the most part in Ontario, its scary to buy right now as prices are sky high, but renting has never made sense in my mind. Houses don't stay on the market too long these days. If you're buying though, look for areas of growth.

[leporello]

If you're planning on living somewhere long term, the only reason I wouldn't buy is if there was a property bubble that was about to burst. Otherwise, I think renting is just dead money.