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6 reasons why buying property is better than renting

6 reasons why buying property is better than renting

Author: Pranil Maharaj
Date: 2018-04-13

There is never a bad time to buy if you do your homework, plan your budget properly and get the right help to find the right property. Here are some tips on when it's better to buy.

1. You're paying off someone else's bond - If you find a property priced at a point where your bond repayments would be close to what the market-related rent would be, you should seriously consider buying rather than renting.

2. You are incurring upfront and recurring costs - Rental costs include security deposits or non-refundable deposits, rent and utilities (none of which gives you any return on investment).

3. You have little or no creative freedom to renovate and decorate - As a tenant, you need to get permission if you want to paint the cupboards of that depressing pine kitchen in your rental home. Even if you want to install rainwater tanks, you need to get approval.

4. You have no control over annual rent increases - Rentals increase annually and are usually set at 10%; way above inflation. If you wait for the perfect time to buy you may wait forever.

5. The property you are letting may be sold out from under you - Renting is insecure by its very nature. It can be stressful when you expect your lease to be renewed, but instead be given one or two months' notice that you need to pack up and find somewhere new.

6. You can't put down roots and settle into responsible 'adulting' - The longer you put off entering the property market, the harder it will be to do so. Most middle-class tenants are renting properties that they couldn't afford to buy, considering that rentals are usually only 75% of bond repayments.