Siegal and Yacht (2009) listed four general advantages and four disadvantages of renting a home as well as six advantages and four disadvantages of owning a home. The first advantage that comes to my mind when renting a home is increased mobility. This occurs because renting a home is accompanied by a housing contract or rental or lease agreement that specifically spells out the length of the time the renter can occupy and live in the house. This length of time can range from several months to several years. In any case, there is a time limit and at the time that the rental lease ends, …show more content…
For instance, because renting a home is a temporary or time-limited arrangement, the renter will not reap the home equity and appreciation benefits that come from owning the home. Also, many home renters are limited by the terms and conditions of the landlords’ rental agreement. Some of these agreements will not allow the renters to smoke or have pets in the home (Siegal and Yacht, 2009). On the other hand, some landlords will allow pets, but they will charge the renters extra monthly or annual fees for having them. In comparison, most homeowners are free to choose whether to smoke or have pets in their homes or not. However, there are some places operated by homeowner’s associations that may place restrictions on what type of pets the homeowners can have in their neighborhood. Another disadvantage to renting a home versus buying one is that renters are often not allowed to change the home in way, such as re-pain the walls a different color, renovate, or re-arrange or remove appliances that belong to the landlord (Siegal and Yacht, 2009). Homebuyers are not subject to this limitation because they own their homes out …show more content…
A title search verifies “that there are no liens or claims outstanding against the property” (Siegal and Yacht, 2009, p. 169). These liens must be cleared or addressed paid before the homeowners can finalize the purchase of the home. Sometimes, these liens have additional financial costs associated with buying the home, such as requirement or contingency for the new owner to pay any back taxes owed. This proves it is definitely important for all potential homeowners to perform title searches and to understand all the advantages, disadvantages, and risks that come with purchasing their homes.
In conclusion, many of the advantages of renting a home are disadvantages of owning a home. Likewise, many of the disadvantages of renting a home are advantages of owning a home. Also, buying a home involves extra steps that renting a home does not involve, such as doing a title search, which allows the potential homeowner to find out liens against the property, if any, and to address them before completing the purchasing