Renting Vs Buying: Choices, Choices, Choices!
There are a dizzying array of housing choices when you move to Florida- everything from condos and apartments to million dollar houses. Maybe you’ve looked at the housing prices before you came over and have buying on the brain or maybe you’ve seen the ads for apartment complexes and find the idea of laying by the pool without any maintenance appeals to you. How to you figure out what is the best option for you- renting or buying? Here’s some things to take in to consideration:
Renting when you’re fresh off the plane isn’t a bad idea as it gives you the chance to get to know the lay of the land. Take a friend of mine who moved to Orlando about a year ago. He had only been to Orlando on holiday before he moved, so the only area he knew was around Disney. He and his wife and three children rented a 5-bedroom house with a pool. It was their dream rental. However, they quickly found out that the schools weren’t great, that it was a longer commute to work and that they were working so much to pay the rent that they didn’t have time to enjoy laying out by the pool. Not surprisingly, when their rent was up, they moved to a new, smaller rental in a location more suited for them. They were able to move so easily because they were renting.
The other benefit to renting is that it gives you a chance to build credit and save for a down payment. As mentioned in our article on credit building, you may find that building credit is one of the most important things you can do when you get here. While you are renting, you are (hopefully!) building good credit. This will help you get a mortgage when you come to buying a house. If you can, take the smallest house or apartment you can get away with and save the rest for a healthy down payment on a house.
So what if you have the cash or a healthy enough credit score to buy? Buying can be a great option for several reasons. First, you own it! You’ve got your own little piece of the American dream. You’ll be able to decorate it how you want, do what you want and have something to show for all of your monthly payments at the end of it (not the case when you rent).
In some cases, it a mortgage payment may be cheaper than rent payment. My own circumstances are an example of this. When we moved, we initially lived with my in-laws and house sat for a friend for several months while we both got jobs and got on our feet. When we were ready to strike out on our own (more than ready, truth be told!), we looked at renting, which would have cost us about $1200 a month for a two-bedroom apartment in a decent part of town. We decided to investigate buying and found a cute condo in a great location on a lake for about $77,000 (56,000 GBP). The mortgage payment on this was only $725 a month. The choice was obvious for us.
On the flip side, when you own a home, you also own all of its problems. You might need to fix the roof, or the plumbing or the electrics, or the AC unit…. The list is long! When you rent, those problems are the landlord’s problems (see our section on your rights as a renter).
Both choices have their pros and cons and the trick is to research both the area and your financial situation and cross check it against your wants and needs. Remember- you are on a journey; so don’t worry if you’re not exactly where you want to end up when you get here. You want to make the move of a lifetime in to a move for a lifetime!
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