Traditionally it is considered that you rent temporarily, till you get yourself together and have enough money to buy a home of your own. But actually this is not the absolute truth, or at least not for everybody. Certainly, owing your home has many advantages, as described below but it also has many disadvantages, which often outweigh the benefits of living in your own home. It turns out that the advantages of renting are not always disadvantages of buying and vice versa but more often than not they are and that is why we'll examine only the advantages of both options and we'll leave to you to draw conclusions about their respective disadvantages. So, let's see what the advantages of renting are.

Advantages of Renting

• More flexible and mobile. You can always pack your baggage and leave, if you need to. And you can do it quickly, in less than a month or so, while if you owned the home and you need to move, for instance because the region has become too expensive or you need to relocate because of your job, it might takes months, even years to sell the property at a reasonable price.

• Cheaper. You pay only the rent and a small renter's insurance. You don't have to pay mortgage interest and principal or taxes for your property.

• You can always get an extra room. When you rent, you can always move out when the premises don't suit you anymore. For instance, if you were single but you found your better half, or the opposite - plan a divorce, these changes in your marital status affect how many square meters a month you need. Besides, if you are divorcing and the property has been obtained during marriage, you might have to leave it to your soon-to-be ex, thus losing all the money you have invested in it.

• Easier to maintain. Generally renting is not only cheaper but it is also easier to maintain because you are not responsible for major repairs and the related costs, which can be really staggering.

• No risk to lose your investment. Besides divorce, there are many other occasions when one risks to lose the home he or she has been investing in for a life. One very prosaic reason is that the prices on the real estate market will go down and even if you want to sell, you will sell at a loss. Another case is if you become unemployed and you can't pay your mortgage, you will lose your home but if you rent, even then you can find somewhere cheap to live temporarily till you find a job.

Advantages of Buying

Buying immobilities has also its advantages:

• Security. You will not have to move, unless you want to and except when unpredictable events like natural disasters happen but still you know that you have the roof over your head and the landlord will not kick you out.

• Ownership. You are not nobody, you have property. If necessary, you can sell it and get your money back. If prices continue to go up, you can later sell it at a profit.

• Tax advantages. As an owner, chances are that you are eligible for tax advantages. Your lawyer or accountant could be of more help here but there are legal opportunities to deduct the mortgage payments from your taxes.

• Customizable. You can make the home as you like it, no need to ask the landlord for permission.

• You can make money from leasing it. Depending on the location of your property, it is very likely that you will be able to find tenants and lease the property. In some cases you can even get a rent that exceeds your monthly mortgage payments.