If
asked what is kind of residential property is preferable – purchase
or rental – most of us would reply ‘purchase’ without a second thought.
We feel that a home to call one’s own has many advantages, and that
a rented property is only a stopgap measure at best. How sound is
this thinking
Admittedly,
owning a residence gives one a lot of freedom in certain respects.
You are not answerable to a landlord, can pick and choose your neighborhood,
embellish the place as you pretty well please without having to
take anyone’s permission, and have no monthly rent checks to sign.
The value of the property will also increase with every passing
year, and eventual resale will mean a tidy profit.
Significantly,
a self-owned home is a definite status symbol. But the reasons for
owning a home also go deep into the emotional realm – it gives feeling
of completeness and wholeness to one’s life. There are probably
few things that can give one the sense of fulfillment and achievement
that buying a home for one’s family can.
Counting
the costs
All
this is true, but it does not present a complete picture. If you
take a closer look at the above-mentioned points, you will see that
most of them do not really have a practical foundation. This does
not mean that purchasing an apartment or stand-alone bungalow does
not have practical sides to it. What it basically means that there
is a time and place for everything. In other words, there is a time
to buy, and a time to rent.
With
everything said and done, owning a residence is a considerable commitment.
From the moment you sign on the purchase deed and put your down
payment on the realtor’s table, you course is charted in many ways:
•
By buying a home, you are also accepting full responsibility for
its upkeep.
•
You have surrendered the choice of moving to another place whenever
the fancy should take you.
•
You have committed yourself to building a workable relationship
with your neighbors, whether you like them or not.
•
You have decided that this is the most convenient base for you to
go to work, and your children to go to school from.
•
You have assumed the responsibility for paying property taxes, home
maintenance, etc.
So,
you see, buying an apartment does not mean that you are not bound
in certain ways. Actually, such a move makes sense only when you
have an unshakeable monetary base, and are secure in your monthly
income or pension.
Mind
over matter
Depending
on the stage you are in at the moment, it is always wise to consider
the advantages of rentals over ownership apartments. If you are
still vacillating between choices of areas to live in, between jobs,
or not even sure of what kind of lifestyle you are most comfortable
with, choosing from the wide apartment
rentals market would probably be a better option. It rests
on how deeply you are prepared to commit yourself and your family
at the moment. Renting an apartment gives you the freedom to leave
at any point in time, for whatever reasons. It frees you from the
burden of maintaining the residence, this remaining the responsibility
of the landlord.
If
you suddenly find a better paying and generally more promising job
somewhere far from your present location, you are not tied to a
rental apartment in any way. You can give a certain amount of notice,
collect your deposit and leave. If you think about it, the term
‘freedom’ is truly a contextual and relative one.
The
money you save now by abstaining from buying an apartment and opting
for a rental would probably earn you more in a fixed bank deposit
than in overoptimistic property speculation.
In
the final analysis, the decision whether to buy or to rent a home
must be yours alone. Do not rely on the opinion of a real estate
broker, who will obviously have his own agenda in the matter. Nor
should you allow yourself to make an emotional decision.
TO
SUM UP…
Being
able to buy an expensive apartment in no way assures a ‘happily
ever after’ ending. High maintenance costs, unnecessary amenities,
unsuitable neighbors and many other undesirable consequences can
result from a rash purchase. A home is not merely four (or sixteen)
walls, even if they are very decorative walls.
We
need to be comfortable with the surroundings, the expenses involved
and the people who share the locality with us. Our family needs
the proximity of schools, marketplaces and entertainment facilities.
Our kids need friends of their own age and level of education. The
woman of the house needs neighbors with similar interests and life-philosophy.
Where
a apartment rentals offers more
of these ingredients for happy living than a bought one, the first
alternative should be considered. Once a home has been bought in
a hurry, based solely on its ‘prestige-appeal’, there may be lots
of scope for doubt and repentance later. There are various circumstances
in which renting an apartment makes a lot more sense than buying
one outright. There is a huge range of rentals available on the
property market, and the advantage of being able to change your
mind later on is available in each of them.
Buying
a home should, of course, be one’s final objective – but the operative
word here is ‘final’. Till financial circumstances are favorable,
and this happy eventuality coincides with the availability of what
can truly be termed your ‘dream home’, a rental is the perfect interim
plan.
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