Where you live is one of the most important decisions that you'll make. Choosing the right house or apartment is generally a mix of deciding on a location, distances from work or school, and how much it's going to cost you each month. When trying to make this decision, however, another important decision must also be made you need to decide whether to rent your new home, or to take the next step and buy it.

Each option has its own advantages and disadvantages, some of which are presented below to assist you in making your own decision.

Advantages of renting

One of the main advantages of renting a house or apartment is that the property belongs to someone else, meaning that all of the responsibility for keeping up the property and paying taxes on it also belongs to someone else. By law, landlords are required to maintain a certain standard with their property and must pay the expense of restoring the property to that standard should repairs need to be made.

Generally, it's also much easier to move into or out of a rental home than one that you own the most binding agreement that you and a landlord have is a lease, and many do not even require that.

Disadvantages of renting

Unfortunately for renters, they are forced to adapt to their landlord's schedule in regards to when rent payments must be made, when maintenance occurs, and to a certain extent even when required repairs will be made provided it is within a timeframe set by law.

Another disadvantage of renting is that you generally continue to make rent payments of a certain amount for the entire time that you live in the rented residence, after which time you have nothing to show for the money paid.

You also must abide by some of the landlord's rules, whether you agree with them or not failing to do so can result in eviction.

Advantages of owning

Owning your own home has a number of advantages you set your own rules in regards to pets, decoration, and landscaping (provided that none of your decisions are prohibited by law), you don't have to plan around a landlord's schedule of maintenance, and once the mortgage is paid off you have no further payments to make toward ownership of the home.

If needed, you can also use the equity that you build up in your home (or the home itself) as collateral for loans later in life.

Disadvantages of owning

One of the main disadvantages of owning a home is that you are responsible for all taxes, fines, and repairs to your home. You also have to go through the mortgage loan process to borrow the money to buy the home, and when deciding to move you have to find a buyer for the home or at least a renter.

If you decide to rent out your home later, then you are also responsible for maintaining the home for the renter and meeting all civic codes that deal with property management.

Making your decision

The best way to make the decision as to whether to rent or own is to stop and consider your current finances and goals. Figure in exactly how long you plan on living at the residence, as well as whether or not you'd be able to get a good interest rate on a mortgage loan if you decided to buy.

Weigh your options carefully, taking the time to make the right decision for your current needs.

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