Buy a home if you can, but rent if you must

Today I would like to say a little something to anyone who might be considering renting instead of purchasing a home.  

Have you ever had someone tell you that renting is a necessary evil at best and that you should avoid it at all costs?  I've heard that more than a few times.  The rent vs. buy debate is possibly as old as real estate itself and there will  always be those who take one extreme position over the other.  I am directing my comments to those people who have always been told that there are no benefits to renting yet necessarily find themselves faced with that option. 

Let's face it.  You may not be able to purchase a home right now.  You may have less than perfect credit, lack of credit, no possibility of saving enough for a down payment right now, or a number of other obstacles in your way.  So you may just have to rent for now.  Just for now.  But let's take this opportunity to look at the upsides of renting before you hyperventilate.  How wonderful that you have no ties to the dwelling you live in!  Yes you may have to stay for 6 months or a year, but when that time is up, you can pick up and leave.  That's it.  It's done.  You're out.  You don't have to hire a REALTOR to sell your home, you don't have to pay that REALTOR any fees, and you don't have to worry that the new tenant might not take care of your baby as well as you did while you were there.  

In addition, if you have to pay any utilities while you're in your apartment, they're probably minimal.  You of course don't have to pay property taxes.  I doubt you have to pay for any normal wear and tear repairs that might come up.  You don't have to get up and mow the lawn every Saturday during the summer, and neither do you have to shovel all that snow in the winter.  Let the landlord take care of that.

See?  If you must rent, there is an upside.  But if you are like most renters you will want to purchase some day.  That's a wonderful goal and you should desire it.  It will happen, but you must look at this time that you are renting as a time of preparation.  All that money that you aren't spending on maintenance and utilities should go into savings for a down payment.  Get your finances into order with the help of a trained professional.  Talk to a mortgage consultant about what you need to to get into a house when the time comes.  Consult a real estate professional to find out where you might be able to buy when you are ready for that.  Just be disciplined with your money and you'll achieve your dream of getting into a home.

Please just don't get into a home when you are not ready.  You do not want to be a foreclosure statistic.  What you can afford is different than what you should afford.  Being house poor is not a fun thing, so don't let it happen to you.  Don't feel rushed to keep up and you'll be fine.