Time to Choose: Purchase or Rent
For those of you who are on the fence regarding should you purchase or rent, well here is something to assist you with your decision. The housing market is in full-swing bounce-back mode. Everything is turning around. The Jobs market is recovering, interest rates are rising, Brexit happened (and yes it affected our markets), lending is Loosey-Goosey again and best of all it appears that the Bull market will take another run.
But there is more to this equation that we must consider. Where we live and the life-styles that we want to maintain plays a huge part in this decision, not just building wealth. For some of us, like my children, they want to be in the thick of the city, close to the clubs, restaurants, parks and the business district where they are employed; i.e. no commute. Others like myself, we want a suburb; quiet surroundings, private pools and wealth building. So let’s begin there with building wealth for our golden years.
This is a no-brainer if you are in the middle class and want to build wealth. We must purchase! One of the primary reasons that we purchase is to save money for our golden years. But before we can save money through equity we must save in order to purchase our dream home or use one of the new zero down payment programs which are now available. With all of the newly available financing options there is one out there to fit your fancy. Be it an affordable monthly payment; one similar to your monthly rental fare or finding the most attractive interest rate or be it a zero down payment, there is an option available to assist you with your purchase while saving you money. Just remember that the more money you initially invest is the more money that you will save in the long run. 20% down will save you from paying monthly PMI. If you put that monthly savings in a jar over time it will add up to at a minimum a nice annual vacation.
Remember the old adage, location, location, location? Well this continues to ring true not only for purchasing but for rentals as well. Many young people are scooping up the prime no-commute rental neighborhoods close to the city. They have decided that the rental option while being close to everything is more important (at the moment) than living in a more affordable location and purchasing. Or they are purchasing an expensive city loft with the upside of selling in the future at a much higher price reaping a greater return so that they can move to the suburbs at a later date. Yes, there is the additional cost of (transportation) while living in the suburbs but you just cannot beat the lifestyle.
Finally let’s consider housing shortages. There are some areas like Rosenberg, Texas that is suffering from a shortage of upscale rental housing. Only in the past six years has there been an uptick in the building of Class A rental properties in the area yet there remains a shortage. Due to the shortage purchase home prices and rents are much higher than in other Houston metropolitan southwest areas. So if the price of rentals are high and the price of homes for purchase are high, which do you choose?
To purchase or to rent is an inevitable choice unless you plan to live on mommy’s sofa for the remainder of your life. If you decide to purchase please give me a call, Brian @ 832.767.9375, I can assist you with the best possible financing options available. Let’s make your choice of Home Ownership a profitable one!