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Buying vs. Renting a Home: What’s the Smartest Choice? (Ep. 248)

Last Updated October 1, 2020

As it turns out, most of us want to live somewhere at some point. As it also turns out, unfortunately, the vast majority of most of us won’t be inheriting a delightful seaside cottage from our loving, coastal parents.

So when we do finally decide to strike it out on our own, should we rent or buy?

It’s been said that any money paid toward rent is wasted in a sense, as it’s not going toward the value of something you will eventually own. When you buy a home, all of those mortgage payments are technically going right back to you; they’re just being converted into home equity instead of cash on hand.

But, as with basically everything, it’s not that simple.

What if you aren’t sure where you want to live? Or what if you want to live somewhere where it’s incredibly expensive to buy, but you can afford to rent there for a little while? Would you give up a job or the chance to live in a dream location just to maximize your home equity potential?

Maybe this doesn’t pertain to you quite yet, but it’s something to keep in mind. By the time it becomes necessary, you might be just a little closer to knowing how to realize your ideal life.

Things mentioned in this episode:

This week’s episode is sponsored by:

  • Skillshare: with over 25,000 courses in a wide range of different skills, Skillshare can help you take things to the next level. Get started with 2 free weeks of unlimited learning (including Thomas’ Productivity Masterclass!) at Skillshare.com/geek.
  • Brilliant: Accelerate your learning in math, science, and computer science. Start learning for free at Brilliant.org/CollegeInfoGeek — and if you’re one of the first 83 people to use this link, you’ll also get 20% off your subscription.

Other things we mentioned in this episode:

Want more cool stuff? You can find all sorts of great tools at my Resources page.

Timestamps:

  • 0:05:57 – Where we’re at in our house-buying journey
  • 0:10:01 – Researching and deciding if you should buy or rent a house
  • 0:17:34 – Figuring out how long you want to live somewhere
  • 0:23:02 – Sponsor: Skillshare (Learning new skills)
  • 0:24:47 – Sponsor: Brilliant (Learning problem-solving skills)
  • 0:26:36 – Making sure you don’t spend all your savings in a house
  • 0:44:49 – Establishing a good relationship with your landlord
  • 0:49:53 – Conclusion

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Buying vs. Renting a Home: What's the Smartest Choice?