Renting vs Buying A House: Which One Is Better & Why?

Renting or Buying a House, which one is better is the most debatable topic in the individual's investment journey. The decision is not an easy task, it takes a lot of planning both financial and emotional to come to a conclusion that which one to choose. In India, having a home is a matter of pride and gives some sense of satisfaction that you have achieved something in life.

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Now once an individual starts earning, the most sought question which is asked is when he will buy a house. A lot of people fell under peer pressure too, to buy a house. For the last 3-4 years since the financing options is so affordable, people started buying a house on loan too. Now there are two sides to the coin and people always try to find out which way is the better for them. Either you finance your home or take a loan to buy a house or you just stay in the rented apartment for the rest of your life.

Commitment

Now when you buy a house, you are committed to staying in the house for a longer duration whereas when you stay in a rented house you have the freedom to move around. So again this is the question someone asks himself about what he actually wants to do. Stay in the house for a longer duration or move around as and when the situation arises. Now people usually stay in the rented apartment too for a longer duration but you can be asked to vacate your home when the lease may be expiring or your owner wants you to go out of the house for a variety of reasons.

Whereas when you buy a house you get to stay there for might be a lifetime. If you have taken a loan that means you have to pay the EMIs for the duration you opted for the loan. If we compare the EMI vs Rent, EMI will be higher than the rent but it will be the same in the later part of your life whereas rent is going to increase every year.

Now if you are clear about the requirements, that if you want to stay in one place or move around, renting vs buying becomes so much easier.

Financial Thoughts

Now if you are someone who thinks financially then, renting is a much better option than buying because when you stay in the rented house you know that you have to pay a certain amount per month and when the rent increases you can shift to another house which can be cheaper. When you buy a house, you have to give a big amount as a downpayment along with that you have to be financially disciplined to pay the EMIs for a longer duration. No one knows the future, today you might have a well-paying job, and tomorrow you might not have, but you have to continue paying the EMIs.

So when you buy a house you have to think about your future too, because you have to be committed to paying the EMIs for a longer duration. If your income is rising then paying the same EMIs for a long duration becomes easier too in later parts of your life.

Completing Financial Goals

In one's life, there are a lot of financial goals which one has to take care of, like education of the child, retirement, etc. Now when you buy a house you might have to compromise on some other financial goals. So before buying a house we have to think if we can complete other financial goals or not if now buying a house is more important than other financial goals. When you do that planning, it becomes much better to find out whether you would like to rent or buy a house.

Buying or Renting a House - Verdict

For me buying a house is an option, but that is a long-term goal of mine so renting is a short-term option and continue investing in equity to get an adequate amount to buy a house in the future.

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