Renting an Apartment is a Better Option than Buying a House - Essay Example

Introduction One of the major decisions that anyone can make in their life is the decision to purchase a home. Those who might want to buy a home may doubt if the decision to so is the sound decision for them. This is because an average person changes his/her mind regarding his/her decision every five to seven years. While considering that information, many will wonder whether purchasing a house is the better option for them. However, there are so many advantages to purchasing a home. When one buys a house, they have control of the property and realize that possessing the home is a capital gain. There is also the freedom of being able to do whatever one wants with the house, for instance, remodeling, redecoration or making any improvement as he/she wants. Moreover, no one gives the buyer any restrictions (Mortgagecalculator.org, 2011, para1&4). Thesis Statement It is evident that purchasing a house is more beneficial than renting an apartment because the owner has more creative freedom, and houses are more economical in the long run. Buying a house comes with many advantages. To start with, the buyer has tax advantages over the rental apartments. This is so because the interests and taxes can be itemized for deductions of tax. The cost off renting a house can be substantial than the cost of buying one. Again, when the buyer has completed mortgage payment, they can achieve a better credit rating (Mortgagecalculator.org, 2011, para4). When buying or renting a house, one should consider two key principal aspects: the practical matter and the heart matters. Matters of the heart vary from one person to another. One will like a house in urban areas while another will like a house in the rural areas, this are heart matters and can influence the decision to rent or buy. However, the objective is answering the question as to why people should buy houses. According to Lotich (2009), when one buys a house, it acts as an automatic savings plan. This can be demonstrated by the example of when a twenty-five old person gets a thirty-year mortgage; hopefully they will have completed the payment at the age of 55. This means that if one had not saved much for the future, their least concern will be the house payment. The benefit that comes with this plan is that over the 30-years the value of the home is likely to appreciate. He further indicates that a home is an investment that one can live on. Even when home value drops, the house will still offer the advantage of being able to reside in it, different from when one invests in stock markets – such benefits will by no means be provided. The house belongs to the buyer and the most exciting thing is that, there is the ability to customize the house, like painting the walls and installing a new faucet (para7-12). Owning a house alleviates the problems of renting the house from one place to another again and again, year after the other. For many it is not a choice, house renters do not enjoy the authorized protections, sometimes being thrown out of the house or being priced out. However, there are those who could stay but they do not because of the distress that they could have something different like owning a house/ home. Again assuming one gets a place (rental house) that he/she likes, he/she has to in reality get it, which sometimes is hard especially when people are swiftly and sporadically going the market. The other problem comes in when one does not make haste a decision – the apartment will be taken away and one will be left searching for another one. When a person owns a house, all these problems become history and he/she will have increased attachment to the house that he/she has bought (Wallaert, 2011, para6-9). Wallaert (2011) further explains that a home is a lifetime decision that one will never take again and it adds value sometimes. There will be less movement, comparisons and decisions to make. One’s instinct towards ownerships is a good one since it lets him/her save his/her time and energy especially when the decision of where to reside in the future and what to do in the present comes (para11). Additionally, homeownerships come with the sense of self-government, security and confidentiality. There is an inestimable satisfaction of having a place that one can call his/her own. It is a place where a family can feel satisfied and can call their own and makes one a part of the community. Ownership of a property is deemed as one of the safest investment that one can make. It is so because real estate provides wealth accumulation and can make a solid long-term investment. Ownership builds equity. Owning a home is also the supreme source of financial security and independence for many people. When the value of the home appreciates, one builds equity and because of the improvements he/she makes, there is the power of the local economy and other factors (Yourillinoishome.com, 2011, para4&5). Weston (2010) however indicates that owning a home calls for the owner being responsible for everything that may happen. For example, when sewer starts having problems, he/she is the one to call a plumber to fix it. He/she makes the payments to the plumber to correct the problem, unlike in the rental apartment. He further states that owning a house is tedious because taking a loan is a long and drawn process. One has to have an excellent credit and a huge down payment to make and continue paying for years to someone. For those starting in life buying home may be premature and it is hard to start. Therefore, one is forced to wait later in life o as to buy a house (para5). Conclusion Apparently, owning a home is something that is seriously significant and it is a life changing decision, which likely will not change one’s life today, but will in the future. Buyers should go by the rule of ‘buy a house stop renting’. The benefits of owning a house are more realistic; a homeowner builds equity instead of paying renting. There are advantages attached to home ownership like the tax and savings advantage. Buying a house should therefore be a serious decision and according to the facts, rather than an idealized vision of how life should be. Ownership of a dream home is a worthwhile goal but keeping that dream and being able to have the time and energy to enjoy it after achieving it is as important as reaching the goal. References Lotich, B. (2009). Pros and Cons of Buying vs. Apartment Renting. Retrieved from http://christianpf.com/pros-and-cons-of-buying-vs-apartment-renting/ Mortgagecalculator.org. (2011). Renting Versus Buying: Which Option is Best for Me? Retrieved from http://www.mortgagecalculator.org/helpful-advice/rent-or-buy.php Wallaert, M. (2011). A Home of My Own: Why We Buy. Retrieved from. http://www.consumerismcommentary.com/a-home-of-my-own-why-we-buy/ Weston, E. (2010). Why Renting an Apartment is better than Buying a Home. Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?Why-Renting-an-Apartment-is-Better-Than-Buying-a-Home&id=3736242 Yourillinoishome.com. 2011. Advantages of Owning a Home. Retrieved from http://www.yourillinoishome.com/buying/advantages.htm Read More