Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, Aug 29, 2025

Should you rent or buy a home? Ask yourself these 3 questions

Should you rent or buy a home? Ask yourself these 3 questions

Deciding whether to rent or buy a home can have you talking yourself into financial circles.

"Take advantage of low mortgage rates and build equity!," your "buy" brain says. "Have flexibility and keep your costs of getting in and out low!," your "rent" side says.

Ultimately, the decision comes down to your financial fitness, how long you plan to live in the home and what your cash flow looks like.

While the number of home purchases reached a 14-year high in 2020, prices also went up considerably. Meanwhile, with so many people leaving major cities, landlords have been left in the lurch, and that has translated into some attractive rental deals.

Ask yourself these three questions to find out whether renting or buying makes more sense for you.

1. Are you financially fit?


The first step is to figure out if buying is even an option.

The decision between renting or buying is less about home prices or rents and more about whether you're ready to be a homeowner. What does your savings look like after a down payment is taken out? What is your credit score?

Andrew Dressel, a financial planner with Abundo Wealth in Minneapolis, likes people to have six months of expenses saved up in an emergency fund, $10,000 in cash to cover closing costs and moving expenses, and a credit score of 720 or higher.

"The emergency savings is of high importance and the 720 credit score has more wiggle room," he said.

In addition, the overall cost of owning the home, including the mortgage and utilities, taxes, maintenance of appliances and the yard and the expense of everyday wear and tear should not exceed 40% of a person's take home pay, he said.

"They need to also make sure they are not sacrificing their retirement or other goals just to own a home right now," Dressel said.

Leo Marte, a certified financial planner with Abundant Advisors in Charlotte, North Carolina, said people should also strive to be debt-free before buying a home.

"If you are not financially ready, paying rent is essentially buying patience and insurance against homeownership costs," he said.

2. How long will you live there?


If you only plan to live somewhere for two or three years, experts recommend renting. Especially now.

"If you are in a city and need to stay there, now is a great time to continue to rent and get more for your money," said Jay Abolofia, a certified financial planner with Lyon Financial. "People are able to rent in the city for dramatically less because other people have fled and landlords have had to drop their rents."

If you're feeling overwhelmed or rushed by purchasing in some hectic markets with low inventory, he said, renting is not a bad place to land, if it's only for a year or so.

He dismissed the sense of urgency many potential buyers are feeling to lock in mortgage rates at their current record lows, saying that interest rates and home prices often have an inverse relationship.

"When interest rates are lower, that puts upward pressure on housing prices," he said. "Just because interest rates are low doesn't mean it is a good time to buy and higher interest rates doesn't mean it is a bad time to buy a home."

But, Abolofia said, it is always a good time to buy if you're planning on staying there for a while.

"The longer you're going to stay, the more it makes sense to buy," he said.

Once you've determined your estimated time in this home, cross check yourself by asking if you're being too conservative about how much house you should buy, said Leonard Steinberg, an agent at Compass in New York.

"You should be conservative enough that you can sleep at night and eat," said Steinberg. "But many people are too conservative."

He said he often sees people buy homes that are too small and, after a few years, they realize the space isn't working for them.

"Now they have the costs of selling and buying again," he said, which includes closing costs, inspections, appraisals and realtor's commissions. "Moving a lot is expensive."

3. What are your monthly payments?


There is a certain amount of money you will need to buy a home, complete the transaction and maintain it, and there is no sense in rushing into homeownership before you can comfortably cover those costs.

"If you can afford the mortgage on a monthly basis, can maintain an adequate emergency reserve and are at the right point in life, go ahead and buy," said Noah Damsky, a chartered financial analyst with Marina Wealth Advisors in Los Angeles. But, he says, do the math first.

Damsky recommends that your monthly mortgage payment should not exceed 35% of your gross income. But that is the upper end. Other models are more conservative and suggest 25%, in order to keep your debt-to-income ratio lower. A middle-ground recommendation says you shouldn't put more than 28% of your monthly gross income toward your mortgage payment.

Also consider what you can afford upfront.

While traditionally buyers are encouraged to purchase a home with a 20% down payment, Damsky said, it could be advantageous to accept a larger mortgage balance with a lower down payment since mortgage rates are currently below 3%.

"I encourage clients with less than a 20% down payment to purchase a home if they can obtain mortgage insurance at less than 0.2% per year and can maintain six months of emergency reserves after the purchase," said Damsky.

And while some potential buyers may look forward to the tax benefits of homeownership -- including deducting mortgage interest, property tax payments and other expenses from their federal income tax bill -- Damsky cautions not to go overboard.

"I try to temper their expectations by explaining that the tax benefits will often be substantially offset by a roughly 1% annual maintenance cost."

And they should be warned: The out-of-pocket costs of caring for a home could be even more, said Matt Hylland, a financial planner at Arnold and Mote Wealth Management in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He advises homebuyers to budget 2% to 3% of the home's value to cover upkeep and maintenance.

"Making sure you find a monthly payment that you can afford is important," said Hylland. "But don't forget to add to that other expenses you will face as a homeowner."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
A new faith called Robotheism claims artificial intelligence isn’t just smart but actually God itself
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
Labour set to freeze income tax thresholds in long-term 'stealth' tax raid
Coca‑Cola explores sale of Costa coffee chain
Trial hears dog walker was chased and fatally stabbed by trio
Restaurateur resigns from government hospitality council over tax criticism
Spanish City funfair shut after serious ride injury
Suspected arson at Ilford restaurant leaves three in critical condition
Tottenham beat Manchester City to go top of Premier League
Bank holiday heatwave to hit 30°C before remnants of Hurricane Erin arrive
UK to deploy immigration advisers to West Africa to block fake visas
×