Buying a home VS renting a home

Buying a home VS renting a home 

Although having home ownership can be a fulfilling wish, or milestone, it requires a huge sum and is a long term commitment that not everyone can commit to. Moreover, more people are jumping into the property investment bandwagon, hoping to earn or profit from property investment. Buying a home on your own can be a really exciting milestone in your life. However, buying a home can be expensive, and unaffordable, especially for young working adults who have just started working. Make sure you use the home loan calculator Malaysia to check if your affordability before you decide on whether to buy a house or rent a house. Fret not, this article will guide you through whether to buy a home or rent a home in Malaysia. 

Buying a home

1. Greater privacy

You get to enjoy greater privacy. As the house belongs to you, you get to have the whole place to yourself without worrying about invading spaces, or privacy. You need not to worry about sharing spaces with strangers or losing your privacy. Furthermore, you get to decide how things should be done the way you prefer at your own house. There is no need to worry about other people’s preferences or having someone telling you off. Most importantly, you will not need to deal with messy or dirty housemates. Great for those who have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder as you can always clean or design your house to your preferences and timing. 

2. Avoid unreasonable landlords

One of the most frustrating problems with renting a house is dealing with unreasonable landlord. Of course, there is nice and reasonable landlord too, that is if you are lucky. However, if you are unlucky, your landlord will be your biggest nightmare throughout your tenancy. Having a house on your own will save you from dealing with unreasonable landlord. 

3. In control

You are in control of everything at home. Literally everything. From the design of the house, to cleaning schedule and so on. You do not need to find time and spare time to fit the owner’s timing on when to clean the house or renovate the house. Furthermore, you are in charge of when you want to fix the house’s problem, instead of waiting for the landlord to fix it. In addition, owning a house also means you get to decide how you want to design or decorate the house. Most importantly, there is no need to fight for the bathroom or kitchen when you need them. 

Renting a home

1. Landlord deals with maintenance and repairing costs

If you are financially tight, renting a house is definitely more suitable for you. This is because the landlord will be the one to bear all maintenance and repairing costs. For example, you will not need to fix the clogged drains, faulty electrical appliances, water leakage and so on. It is your landlord’s responsibility to fix whatever that is faulty or not functioning in the house. That being said, you get to save on maintenance and repairing costs, unless you cause the damage. 

2. Lesser commitment

Renting a house also means you have lesser commitment as compared to owning a house, as you do not need to replay the mortgage loan. Renting a house will only require you to find the right house to rent, contact the landlord, sign the tenancy agreement, pay monthly rental and that is it. You do not need to worry about down payment, stamp duties fees and monthly mortgage repayment. In addition, should you dislike the house or find better deal, you get to leave the house after the tenancy ends as this is not a long term commitment. Other than that, you do not need to worry about value depreciating for the house. 

3. Low upfront costs

Buying a house requires higher upfront costs  as you need to pay the down payment and stamp duties fees and so on. You will also need a huge amount for renovation and purchasing of house furniture. After that, you will also need to pay for monthly mortgage repayment. Therefore, renting a house is more affordable as it has lower upfront costs as compared to buying a house. As you are only renting a house, all you need to do is find the right house that suits your budget and preference. 

In a nutshell, buying a home or renting a home comes with its sets of pros and cons. Owning a house gives you a home ownership, However, if you are not looking for home ownership, and your budget is tight, renting a house would suffice. At the end of the day, it still boils down to personal preferences and also your financial situation. Make sure you stay within your budget. Buying a house and owning one can be exciting, but not when you have other commitments lining up. In addition, before diving into the decades long investment, or commitment, you will need to study the property market thoroughly before you sign the documents and buy that property. You definitely do not want to end up regretting.