While its seemingly obvious that buying a property is the preferred method of housing for most people, and renting can often seem like a fluke temporary investment – there are some major positives to renting, and realistically, it’s one of the most affordable ways that you can live in today’s economic climate, so you may as well look at the brighter sides of it – as it’s not all bad!
Renting has many benefits, so much so that even some previous homeowners choose to rent once they’ve maintained and upsold their bought properties, as many people consider their properties to be more of financial investment, rather than your average family ‘homeowner’. This could be due to renting’s multitude of benefits.
Here you’ll find some main points that highlight the good parts of renting.
Freedom
The flexibility and freedom that comes with renting is unmatched when considering renting and/or buying. You can have contracts as short as six months and if you’re with an estate agent, even some shorter terms are considered. You can upsize, downsize, or relocate without having the hassle of sorting out the baggage of who is going to occupy your owned property next. It is a great opportunity for freedom lovers who like to move quite frequently. If you’re a young person also, renting is a fantastic option for getting a feel for living alone for the first time.
Savings
While buying a house is a great long-term investment, if you have no interest in making money in the property industry, (which, to be honest, this is the major ‘plus’ of owning your own property) and if you just can’t afford the huge down payment and additional fees – then by renting it comes with far less fees, a much smaller deposit, and sometimes even smaller monthly payments.
Renting can save you lots of money if you move around a lot and aren’t quite ready to settle down and commit to years or sometimes decades of repayments.
Commitment
If you don’t want the responsibility or the commitment of owning your own home, as maintenance costs such as broken boilers, leaks, general repairs and so on are not your responsibility as you do not own the property. It can take a great deal of money worries off your shoulders and in turn, responsibility! Any property is a huge investment, and with renting – you don’t risk the consequence of dealing with a long-term financial investment that come with huge consequences if repayments are missed. Getting a mortgage takes a lot of maturity, money, time, and planning, and if none of this sounds like something that is in reach or you’re not ready for yet, then go ahead and start renting your first home, you won’t regret it!
While you’re in the planning process of renting your home for the first time, why not check out these top tips on what to look out for when signing your first tenancy agreement!
By Caitlin Stimpson