What are the Advantages of Renting Over a Mortgage?

Many of us are pretty convinced that owning a home is the way to go, However, in order to buy a home, we will need a mortgage (unless we can afford to buy it outright) and this has a number of disadvantages. The alternative would be renting and although there are disadvantages to renting, it does have some pluses when comparing it to a mortgage. It is good to be aware of these, as often we are not and we might go down the mortgage route without being fully aware of our alternative option.

Flexibility

When you rent a home, it is likely that you will just have to give a few months notice if you want to move elsewhere. This means that you are very flexible and it means that you are able to move around quite easily. Therefore, if you are a contractor or have temporary employment and tend to move around a lot, then this could be very suitable for you. It could also be handy if you are not feeling settled in the area you are working and have not really decided where you are going to live. If you are new to an area, it can be wise to rent for a while until you get to know where you would like to live. All areas have different parts of the town or city which are more or less desirable and you might want to get an idea of that before you settle down.

No Buildings Insurance or Life Insurance to Pay

When you have a mortgage then you will have other obligations as well. The mortgage company will want you to also have building insurance on the property and life insurance on yourself. The life insurance will repay the mortgage if you die before it is fully repaid and the buildings insurance will pay to repair or rebuild the house in the event of a fire or other damage. It will be part of your mortgage agreement that you hold this insurance and so itw ill be ab additional cost that you will need to think about when you are paying a mortgage. When you rent you will not have to take out any of these insurances and so you will save money and not have to worry about finding the money to be able to afford them.

No Maintenance Costs

When you have a mortgage you will be responsible for paying for any damage to the house. Although you may have insurance for this it will still be your responsibility. This means that when tiles fall off the roof, the rain leaks in, carpets are damaged or the taps start to drip, it will be up to you to cover the cost of all of these things. With some homes this will not happen often and will not be very expensive, but it can add up, especially if you want to modernise the house a lot or keep it trendy all of the time. Will a rental, it will be your landlord that is responsible for all of this. This means that if you have any damage or problems, they will have to organise to get the repairs done and not you. They will also have to pay for them.

This does mean that when you rent you tend to have less responsibilities and you will not need to pay for certain things. It is therefore worth considering whether this will suit you or whether you will be better off having a mortgage. Some people are better off renting as if they keep moving around they will have to keep selling a home. Also there are the extra costs which are often forgotten about which could make home ownership more expensive than renting.

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