How to Decide Whether to Rent or Buy a Home

The Central Illinois area has a vast selection of different properties within attractive price ranges. If you're considering buying a home CLICK HERE to perform a Full Home Search, or if you're wanting to place your home on the market, GO HERE to receive a Free Home Value Report. If you have any other questions about your property's value or the current market trends, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at (217) 875-8081.

Today my topic is: Should you rent, or should you buy?

When you are making a payment each month, you are either paying your own mortgage off when you own a home, or paying somebody else's off if you rent. After 15 or 30 years, you could own a home, or you could own a stack or rent receipts. I'm going to go through the pros and cons of both buying and renting, so you can make an informed decision on what the best path is for yourself.

First, let's talk about renting. If you plan on living in a place for less than 2 or 3 years, you probably should consider renting. What are some advantages of renting? Well, you have no out-of-pocket expenses, maintenance fees, grass to cut, or snow to shovel. However, people soon get tired of the noisy neighbors, little storage, and no garage that is often true of rental properties. You can also be evicted at any time from a rental property, making it a little bit more of a risky investment. However, your monthly payment will be a little lower than a mortgage payment.

If you can afford it and are looking for a long-term living solution, buying a home is the way to go. For a little higher payment, you can invest in a home, which is an appreciating asset. Buying a home is more affordable now than it has ever been. Interest rates are hovering right around 4% still, but may be increasing soon. This is important to pay attention to, as just a 1% increase in rates means you can afford $10,000 less of a home.

That's all I have for today. If you have any questions in the meantime, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I'd love to answer your questions!