To Rent or To Own?

This has been a question to many especially young couples who want to have a life of their own. It’s not just an “American Dream” to own a house. It’s also a dream for many.

This topic has been argued about over the internet for quite a long time now. Experts have their own take on weather it is smarter to rent or to own a house. I am not going to argue to any of them. Rather, I’ll just present facts according to my point of view. I repeat, according to my point of view.

Let me introduce myself first so that you can place yourself on my shoe. I am a 26-year old lady who works in Quezon City, Philippines. My province is La Union, which is about 6 hour-drive away from my workplace. I cohabit with some friends and maintain a good attitude on saving and investing.

When is it advisable to rent?

For me, it is advisable to rent if your family house is away from your work like me. It will be impractical to drive all the way down to our house. I only have 24 hours a day and I can’t afford to waste my precious 12 hours just driving back and forth. Point taken? Good!

Another factor that can affect the decision is the amount of money I have. As of today, I don’t have the money to buy a house yet.

If I am going to buy a house I’ll see to it that it will be near my work place so as to avoid too much time on the road. Until today, I haven’t found one that suits my taste.

It is cheaper to rent than owning a house. We rent our house for 12,000Php (roughly 700USD) and we split it into 6. So that’s 2,000.00Php (roughly 45USD). Great deal for a house located inside a guarded community that is walking distance from the workplace. Unlike owning a house which will be mortgaged for 12,000.00PhP for a long period of time.

Aside from the convenience we get from our rented house, we are not worrying on repairs and association dues because our landlady takes care of them.

Renting with friends also lessen my expenses since we split our city services to six.

When is it advisable to own a house?

In my point of view, it is advisable to own a house if you have the money to pay. Oooops! I’m not talking about down payment here. I’m talking about the total cost of the house. But don’t get me wrong. I am not against the common house-purchasing scheme. I have just set my mind that I should pay my house (if ever) in cash so I can have that haggling power. Discounts discounts! Ching! Ching!

For me the right time to own a house is if you can see yourself living in that same house until you get old.

The biggest factor that I consider is LOCATION LOCATION and LOCATION.

It is also advisable to own a house if you are ready to take all the worries from your landlord/landlady regarding repairs, maintenance and other dues.

It is indeed an argument one should settle. It is confusing at first but when you try to discern all your objectives, at least you will have a vision of what you want.

In conclusion, renting is advantageous for me today since renting provides me more cash flow. This cash flow is put into a fund that will someday buy me a house of my own.

~Till then.