buying a home? get the answers to your questions

3 Benefits To Renting Your Home Instead Of Buying

For several decades, the American dream has included owning your own home. In today's economy, that isn't always possible. It used to be that people weren't too happy to rent their home instead of buying it, but that is no longer the case. Here are three benefits to renting your home instead of buying it.

1. Landlords are generally required to cover repairs to the home and property.

In most cases, if you rent your home, the landlord has to pay for any and all repairs that the house and property requires. If you actually bought the house yourself and something like the water heater needed to be replaced, that would be a cost you would have to cover. The only exceptions to the landlord having to pay for repairs is if you damage something through negligence or irresponsible behavior or if you agreed to cover certain repair costs when you signed your rental agreement. Other than that, if anything major happens, you don't have to worry about having to find the money to pay for the repairs.

2. You don't have to worry about selling a home if you need to relocate.

If you own a home and you get a job that requires you to relocate, you have to go through the hassle of trying to sell your home—and it likely wouldn't happen before your move, either. Homes can stay on the market for a year or more before they sell, which is not likely something you would be able to handle if you have to relocate far away.

If you rent your home, however, the only thing you have to worry about is how the landlord will settle your rental agreement. Some landlords can be easier to work with than others if you get relocated and can't see your lease through. Others, however, are not. Still, the headache of settling your lease is usually a lot easier to handle than trying to sell your house after you have moved away.

3. Property taxes aren't your concern.

If you know any home owners, you have likely heard them complain about their property taxes. Each town sets their own property tax and that is the amount of money you must pay the municipal government every year for your home. While you can usually pay it in installments every three months, it can still be pretty expensive - especially if you are paying on a mortgage.

With renting, only your landlord has to worry about property taxes. Of course, they could pass on some of the cost to you in how much you pay every month, but you can always not sign another lease if the rent ever gets too high. Unfortunately, homeowners don't have the option not to pay their property taxes without incurring a penalty of some sort.

To have further questions answered on whether to buy or rent a home, consult with professionals, such as those from Century 21 The Hunter Group.