Renting can sometimes be more appealing than owning a home. For the first two years of our marriage, my husband and I lived in a tiny apartment. All we had to pay for was the electricity; everything else was included in the rent. The only downer was that we felt like we were throwing away more than $7000 a year with nothing to show for it.
We decided to purchase a home in order to build equity as well as to have a place of our own with a small backyard. We soon discovered that our expenses shot way up due to water bills, heating bills, maintenance, insurance, and property taxes. Although our expenses increased, we at least had the sense of satisfaction in knowing that we were no longer “throwing away” our money to rent payments. We also had a lot more space to enjoy.
Although home ownership has been a positive experience for us so far, it doesn’t mean it’s the best option for everyone at every life stage. We definitely couldn’t have afforded to own a home when we were first married, so renting was a sensible option for us. There definitely is a time and a place for both renting and owning a home.
When you move from an apartment into a house for the first time, you may be surprised by all of the extra costs associated with owning a home. Rent often includes some or all utilities but once you live in your own house you are stuck paying for everything! When my husband and I first moved from our apartment into our house, we discovered that our living expenses increased significantly. Water bills, natural gas bills, and property taxes weren’t even a part of our vocabulary. But that all changed when we bought our house.