Which is better? To finance and own a house or renting a house

United States
September 29, 2008 6:07am CST
I've currently read an article that states that renting a house is better than having to own or finance your own home. I believe that having a house is a liability rather than an investment. But so as renting. There are also schemes for rent to own houses/homes. In november, I must make a decision as to finance a home or rent one. So guys, which do you think is better?
1 person likes this
3 responses
@rkrish (3003)
• India
24 Oct 08
that depends but still owning a house with your own cash makes you grow with asset as well and earn as much as possible as well and rent has become higher side so its difficult to bear also.
• United States
29 Sep 08
As a renter you are essentially paying the mortgage for the home owner, but without the responsibilities of having to make repairs (such as the water heater, the roof, etc) Those repairs are tax write-offs however. But if you own the home, you receive the tax breaks of a homewner and you are building equity in your home. At some point (if you don't refinance over and over) you will own your home outright and that is a valuable commodity, especially when you have retired. You still have a source of $$ should you ever need it. I would choose to be a homeowner over a renter. Remember, if you rent and the owner decides to sell, you can be looking for a new place to live if the buyer is going to move into their new purchase! That is something that can't happen to you if you own your home (and make your payments each month!)
@sdas86 (6076)
• Malaysia
29 Sep 08
Hi, I think that financing and owning a house is better. Every month, you will pay certain amount of money to pay the loan of your house. As time goes by, the loan will eventually cleared, so you own the house and no longer need to pay for it. After, you have completed paying the loan, then you can buy an extra house to rent it and then get paid from it. If you rent a house now, every month, you will need to pay rental fees to the owner of the house. It is not worth it because you pay fees and the owner use the fees to finance the house. In the end, the house is owned by the owner not you. So, in my opinion, I think that getting your own house now is better choice. Only after you have finished paying the loan, then you can go to buy another house to rent it. You can use the rental fees to cover the expenses of the loan. In the end, you will own 2 houses.