Housing Options: Is It Better to Buy or Rent?

Deciding to buy a home is a big personal step in many ways. It could be your key to independence or simply a more comfortable place to raise your growing family. Buying a property is a significant investment and one you shouldn’t take lightly. If you’re unsure whether you can afford a home at the moment or not, it’s completely fine to rent while you work on a savings plan towards buying your dream home.

Considering if you can afford to buy
The first step towards buying your own home is deciding if you can afford it. How do you determine if you’re financially ready to buy a house? A good first step would be to do a self-check by obtaining your full credit report with credit score, such as the MyCTOS Score report. Generally, your debt should not be more than 60% of your total net income when applying for a loan or credit facility.

A MyCTOS Score report will provide you with a full, comprehensive information about all major aspects of your credit health and current credit obligations, as well as your credit score. This way, you’ll know where you stand when it comes to credit health, and will be able to make more informed decisions.

Here are some of the benefits and downsides to purchasing and owning your home:

Pros:

• Once you’ve paid off your mortgage, you will own your home and won’t have to worry about constantly looking for a place to live.
• Your property will likely increase in value over time, so you could consider using the equity to buy a bigger home or fund a comfortable retirement.
• You’ll be able to modify and improve your home without needing permission from the landlord. Renovations could also increase the value of your property, should you choose to sell it in future.
• In the long run, it could be cheaper to buy than rent – plus, you’ll own the property after a number of years of payments, unlike renting.
• If you pay your monthly instalments on time, your housing loan could reflect positively on your credit health and help build a good credit history.

Cons:

• It’s a big commitment, so you need to be sure you can afford the deposit, monthly payments and any additional expenses like maintenance costs. Defaulting on monthly payments could really hurt your credit health.
• If you’ve overstretched your budget when buying, you may have to forgo other luxuries such as meals out and entertainment for some time.
• You’ve less flexibility compared to renting. For instance, selling the property and moving is more expensive as you’ll have real estate agency and legal fees to settle.
• Depending on the economy and the value of your home, it may not always be easy to sell your property.
• If you purchase the property with someone else such as a spouse, complications could arise if the two of you decide to go separate ways (such as in the case of a divorce), as the property may need to be liquidated.
• You’ll need to consider unexpected extra expenses that could arise, such as major repairs (plumbing, roof, etc.) or damages caused by natural disasters like flooding.