For many, coming into that stage in life when your able to buy a home, is a sign of success and personal realization. A moment when you can finally settle down and start a family. It’s the American dream, as people from the USA would call it. About how much of an American dream is actually a reality, is another type of debate.
Renting and buying both have a lot of myths related to them, the first and the most common one being that it is better to pay a monthly loan installment, then rent to the landlord. The rationalization behind this myth is that the loan will be paid fully at one point in your life, leaving you owning a real-estate. While money for rent is the same as throwing it away because you’ll never get to a point when you finally own a home.
There is more and more evidence that this attitude is based on nothing but a myth. The reality is that an average family today sees more perks of renting a home, then owning it. But the reality is also that many families are haunted by this thought, not knowing which move is the smartest. That’s why we’ll present you with a number of pros and cons of renting a house for families with kids.
1. Flexibility of choice
Pro.
For large families, a couple of things should be considered when renting a home, but some are considered highly important. These include safety and schooling options, as education is the top priority for most parents. The times we live in do not offer us much choice when it comes to choosing a neighborhood for buying a house since most of those ranked as safe and with good schools are quite expensive when it comes to real-estate. That’s why renting a home in this case is a good option, when the prices are out of your reach. Another advantage is the variety of choices. Renting services such as huurstunt.nl have a much larger offer when it comes to the type and locations of the houses.
Con.
Even though it might sound exciting, not owning a piece of property in the district where your kids go to school can also have a negative effect on their growing up. Especially if they like the place and have many friends. If the landlord decides to sell the house at one point, you’ll be forced to move out. That means kids will have to settle elsewhere, and that might not be what they want.
2. Less responsibility
Pro.
As it usually happens, upon renting a home you will sign a contract with the landlord, specifying yours and his obligations. The best thing about the contract is that it says you are not responsible for the major house repairs and maintenance. Those who own a house know how demanding it can be, maintenance- wise and how challenging it is to find a suitable repairman who will do the work properly. Especially for parents with small kids, it’s really something they have very little time for. Your responsibility is to simply notify the landlord when something needs to be done – the rest is on him to take care of.
Con.
Sometimes it’s not so easy, since you never know what kind of person your landlord will be. It can happen that the person is simply not interested in reacting to your notifications. Or if you agree to take care of it, a refund for the bills might be a hard thing to pursue.
3. No debt
Pro.
People turn to ban loans for buying a home, as soon as they settle with a good job offer. When you buy a house, you expect it to be yours for 15 to 30 years, depending on the duration of your home loan. First of all, you will end up paying for it much more than it is worth because the bank will profit very well on your desire to own your home – every month actually.
You are buying an apartment on the assumption that the world and the financial market will exist in a status quo, which is a bad assumption. It is very likely that it will not, and fluctuations can turn the lives of home loan owners into hell in a short period of time.
Con.
Nobody really knows how their life will develop, so being scared of bank loans is also not a good idea. If the odds in the financial market started to work against you, you can always sell and move on. If you have enough money to buy an apartment with cash, that is a slightly different story.
4. More family time
Pro.
We’ve mentioned in one of the points how renting a home leaves you with less responsibility for maintenance, therefore reducing the time you spend on choirs significantly. This is the precious time you can therefore choose to spend with your family. There was also some research performed to analyze how much time an average homeowner spends with the family in comparison to the one who rents. Turns out renters have more family time.
Con.
Family time is precious, but with a little bit of organizing, everyone can enjoy it. It’s just much better in the warmth of your own family home.
5. The list of expenses is shorter
Pro.
Expenses you will have in any case, just a lot less when you’re not a direct owner. You are obliged to pay rent, and the rest is not your responsibility. That’s only one point on the list.
Con.
After buying a home, you will have a number of other costs that you would not have as a tenant:
- apartment maintenance
- repairs
- renovation
- real estate tax
- insurance
- payment for utilities
- various other costs
Renting a home gives you a sense of freedom, as well. You can choose to move out whenever you feel like it, without going through the stress of selling.
