Buying vs. Renting     

Buying vs. Renting

There are many advantages to buying a home versus renting one. View these advantages in the Buy vs. Rent Comparison Chart, or view a financial comparison of buying versus renting in the Buy vs. Rent Calculator.

Your income, savings, and monthly expenses play an important role in determining how large a mortgage you can afford. To figure out the amount you can afford, please click Affordability.

Savings: Buying

In many cases, the amount of money a renter spends on rent can be about the same as or less than the amount a homeowner spends on a mortgage. With the tax benefit for homeowners, the savings can be significant.

Buy vs. Rent Comparison
The chart below shows a cost comparison for a renter and a homeowner over a seven year period.

  • The renter starts out paying $800 per month with annual increases of 5%
  • The homeowner purchases a home for $110,000 and pays a monthly mortgage of $1,000
  • After 6 years, the homeowner's payment is lower than the renter's monthly payment
  • With the tax savings of homeownership, the homeowner's payment is less than the rental payment after 3 years

Years
Rent Payment
Mortgage Payment
Monthly Difference
After Tax Savings
Yearly Difference
After Tax Savings
1 800 1000 -200 -50 -2400 -600
2 840 1000 -160 -10 -1920 -120
3 882 1000 -118 +32 -1416 +384
4 926 1000 -74 +76 -888 +912
5 972 1000 -28 +122 -336 +1464
6 1021 1000 +21 +171 +252 +2052
7 1072 1000 +72 +222 +864 +2664
8-30     Savings increase every year


Monthly Expenses: Buying

Your rental company takes part of your rent payment to cover certain housing expenses. When you decide to purchase a home, you accept responsibility for paying for these expenses (listed below). They are additional costs to your monthly mortgage payment and should be included in your budget estimates:

  • Property Taxes and Special Assessments
  • Home/Hazard Insurance
  • Utilities
  • Maintenance
  • Home Owner Association (HOA) Fee: Doesn't apply to all purchases. It pays for trash and snow removal and maintenance of common grounds if applicable.
  • Membership Fee: It may pay for recreational facilities and other services (cable TV).

Additional Information on Buy vs. Rent
Buy vs. Rent Comparison Chart
Buy vs. Rent Calculator