To buy or to rent - that is the question
Category News
Being a home-owner and being a tenant each come with their own set of advantages and challenges. It's up to everyone who's on the hunt for a new home to understand the pros and cons of both and to choose which is going to work best for them. It's important to strike the right balance between considering what one can afford and doing what is in one's best financial interest in the long term.
Advantages of buying a home
There is a long list of advantages to being the owner of your own home. While your rent is likely to go up every year if you are renting a property, your bond repayments will only fluctuate if the interest rate changes. In the long term, you are paying off an asset that will become yours — rather than paying rent money which goes into your landlord's pocket and pays you no dividends in the long term. While paying rent can be seen as a liability, buying your own home is considered one of the most valuable investments that one can make, and for good reason. The value of your property will appreciate over time, and if you decide to resell your property after some years, you can make a sizeable profit if market conditions are favourable. This is especially true if you have done renovations or carried out improvements to the property.
Being the owner of your own home gives you the freedom to renovate and decorate as you want to, without having to ask anybody for permission. This freedom also extends to the garden in the case of a freehold property, allowing you to make any changes that you see fit. For example, you could build a carport, put in a pool or plant new flowerbeds — the property is yours to do with as you wish.
Disadvantages of buying a home
The challenges of owning your own home include the fact that it tends to be more expensive than being a tenant. While your bond repayment can be close to the rental amount that you would pay on a similar property, home ownership comes with other responsibilities such as the payment of rates, levies (in the case of sectional title properties like flats or complexes), buildings insurance and maintenance costs. In addition, families who value flexibility may find home ownership less than ideal, as there is far more work involved in selling a home than simply terminating a lease.
Advantages of being a tenant
On the other hand, renting a home comes with its own set of advantages, particularly if your lifestyle or your work dictates that you need to move around a lot. As a tenant, the only insurance that you will need is to cover the contents of your home, and whenever anything goes wrong, all you need to do is get hold of the landlord or letting agent, as it will be their responsibility to fix whatever it is.
Disadvantages of being a tenant
On the down side, being a tenant means there is always an element of uncertainty, because there is no guarantee that a landlord will choose to renew your lease at the end of the six or 12-month lease period. If your landlord chooses not to renew your lease — or to increase the rental amount that you are required to pay — you can find yourself having to move at the end of every lease period. This can be both stressful and costly.
Whether you choose to rent or buy, Jawitz Properties has a wide range of listings available for sale or to rent in every corner of South Africa. Contact the property experts and allow us to take the stress out of finding your next home.
Author: Jawitz Website
