Buying or Renting a Home

We put tremendous pressure on ourselves to buy a home because property has traditionally represented wealth. North America is a fantastic conduit for acquiring land because of its perceived abundance. Countries like France, Britain and Germany suffer from a land crunch that prevents most average income earners from buying property. Consequently, most people rent their homes. Contrary to our land hungry North American view, this is not always an undesirable situation. Many large and medium sized cities in Canada are growing to the point that real estate is becomming unattainable for average wage earners. Although Canada is a vast nation, most people don't want to live vast distances apart. Therefore, real estate in popular urban regions is at a premium. High real estate costs is also a contributing factor to urban sprawl.

There are a number of benefits and detriments to both owning and renting a home. Television has been a powerful influence over how we measure personal success and it has often been television that has prompted us to beleive that home ownership is a key symbol of this success. However, buying a home may not be the answer for everyone.

Buying a Home

Why do you want to buy a home?

Sense of security / stability

Control over your environment / no landlord

States your level of personal success

Investment

We expect to have what our parents have because that is what we are brought up to value. Thus, buying a home is considered a natural phase of "growing up" and taking responsibility for ourselves. It suggests stability and security. One of the biggest perks to owning a home is the sense of control you gain over your living conditions. There is no longer a landlord making the rules. Owning a condo or townhouse, however, means becomming part of a common interest development (CID) where you must abide by set rules and regulations. If you buy a strata it is important to recognize the possible limitations you may have as an owner. Such limitations can include whether or not you can rent out your unit, hang fixtures on outside walls, special assessments you may have to pay and many others. Nevertheless, your strata unit is your own.

One of the biggest reasons for buying a home is its investment potential. No one ever accumulates equity by paying rent. Because most people live in the homes they buy, a home should be purchased with quality of life in mind. Most purchasers engage in a balancing act where the value of the quality of the home must coincide with its value. Very few people will live in a dump just to make a few extra dollars in the long run. Real estate is a long term investment and buyers should acknoweldge this when they are shopping for a place to live.