Renting a House vs Buying a House

1060 Words5 Pages
Renting a House vs. Buying a House Renting a House vs. Buying a House People in the United States are always looking for a house, whether it is renting a house or buying a house. Buying a house can be quite expensive, painful, and full of commitment; however, renting a house is significantly less expensive, quick, and painless. With homes averaging $272,900 (Average Sales Prices of New Homes Sold in United States, n.d.) and rent averaging $865 (Handley, 2012), it is no wonder why people are having a hard time making the choice. By examining renting a house versus buying a house, one will be able to determine the process, cost, and benefit that each has to offer. Buying a house takes a lot of time, money, and patience, but has excellent, long-term benefits. The average time it takes to close escrow on a house is 48 days (Swanson, 2013), but it does not cover the pre-process of buying a house either. There are several things to consider in the pre-process of buying a house: credit scores, figuring out how much can be afforded, finding the right lender and real estate agent, looking for the right home, making an offer, finding the right mortgage for the situation, closing on the home, and moving in. It can take up to months if the person is meticulous on choosing a home and to make matters worse, it is even more difficult when a person is outbid. Not to mention, it can be quite the expensive process as well. According to bankrate.com, the average closing costs of a house is 3.77% for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. This is not including the 3-5% down payment on a house and the mandatory homeowner insurance for those rates (How to buy a Home with a Low Down Payment, n.d.). If a person were to purchase a house with the average 3.77% closing costs and a 5% down payment at $100,000. It would cost a total of $8770, which is expensive in the short term. So what is the

More about Renting a House vs Buying a House

Open Document