The Smart Money Debate: Renting vs Buying

Posted on August 8, 2012 Written by 7 Comments
Smart-Money-Debate-RFZ

This month, in collaboration with ReadyForZero, I’m participating in the Smart Money Debate series. This debate will highlight the most controversial questions that relate to your money and how you spend it, to help you make good financial decisions in the future.

Every two weeks, the ReadyForZero blog is going to feature two awesome bloggers, each taking opposing sides of an issue. Then YOU as the reader can chime in and say if you agree or disagree.

My debate topic is Renting vs Buying, where I believe renting is the best option. 

I understand the allure of buying a home. I myself bought a home (and later sold it). But I simply think that right now it makes far more sense to rent instead of buy. Owning a home may still be the great American dream, but with the recent economic problems and foreclosures all across the country, owning a home has become a nightmare for millions.

If you’re thinking of buying a home, I challenge you to take a hard look at the advantages of renting before you decide to buy.

  • No down payment
  • Less risk
  • More money in your pocket
  • More flexibility
  • Less of a hassle

Click here to READ MORE…

 

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Filed Under: Personal Finance Tagged: , ,
  • Shannon_ReadyForZero

    Thanks for sharing this on your blog Carrie – and for sharing your experience with us!

  • http://www.modestmoney.com/ Modest Money

    The Smart Money Debate series sounds pretty cool. If I wasn’t so busy I totally would’ve taken part in that. I love a good debate even when I know my side isn’t truly the best answer.

    I’ve been wanting to buy a home, but I’ve come to realize it just isn’t the right timing for me. I think if you can afford it and have job security, I think it is the right decision to buy.

    • http://carefulcents.com/ Carrie Smith

      I realized that too @modestmoney:disqus Timing is probably just as important as saving enough money and having job security. At least that’s how it is for me!

    • http://www.twitter.com/bwfeldman Benjamin Feldman

      We’d love to have you participate in a future Smart Money Debate! We’ll be hosting one every two weeks, so just let us know if you’re interested.

  • http://twitter.com/brightblur777 Robb

    This is probably one of the most frustrating things to debate with people because most of the reasons thrown out for buying a house are purely emotional and arguing against that kind of thing is very difficult because it isn’t logically based. Not to mention most pro-buy folks have idealistic blinders on and have no problem throwing out some argument like “Well your rent might go up next year!” while ignoring the fact their property taxes, insurance, and repair builds might easily go up as well. I get it though that having your own space that you can make up to your own vision is great, that is something I think is awesome too – there definitely are times I wish I could do that. However I also remember how when I was working as a NASA contractor seeing lots of people get hammered when layoffs sent housing prices into the basement because of the bad economy. Then you had people who needed to move but couldn’t because they couldn’t sell their homes.

    • http://carefulcents.com/ Carrie Smith

      You make some excellent points @twitter-56905548:disqus all of which I agree with too. I almost wasn’t able to sell my home but thankfully made it just in time before the market got really bad. I think your point about buying a house from a purely emotional aspect is what A LOT of people do. I know I did. And those are always the most costly purchases.

      • http://twitter.com/brightblur777 Robb

        I will admit that as a single guy it is a lot easier probably for me to ignore the emotional side that say a married couple with kids. I imagine when you get to that point there is probably more a desire to have “the nest” so to speak – plus I get the impression a lot of people feel more secure when they buy rather than rent. The thing is though I could see someone with kids benefiting from being a renter as well – what if you move in and find out the schools aren’t as good as you thought or the neighborhood isn’t that great? I think for myself if I was able to put up a down payment of 15-20% and found an area I knew I’d be happy with for at minimum 5 years I’d probably feel comfortable with it. When I see people bragging about buying a house with no down payment I just shake my head because that really isn’t something to brag about, it is really bad financial judgement.