Renting a flat or buying with mortgages

Thanks for your reply. As long as you need a place to live which is not already owned by you. You always need to pay for it unless your are getting any kind of assistance from your family/friends/government. So, the point is which one to go is better. Lose money on the rents or lose money on the interests.

I think in the long run, mortgage is better. My husband just got this house about four years ago (before we even met). So it's still a long way to be able to pay off the rest. At the moment he is the only one who's got a decent job but he's receiving only an average wage. I on the other hand earn only between 50-100 a month. Anyway, what's helping us pay the bills is that we got two tenants and my husband is a very wise spender.

I wish you all the luck and hope that things will get better for you and your husband soon. In fact, it is sensible to believe that our wages will get higher rather than lower in a long run as we improve in skills and gain more experience. The mortgage, on the other hand, will only change due to fluctuation of interest rate.

Thanks for your reply. I also think that the crisis has pushed down the housing prices and with the valley of interest rate, it is a good time to make the purchase. I understand that having a stable income is required but then you need to pay the rent otherwise, so why not just draw a loan up to 30 years and buy a flat? At least I think it that way. :)

Of course in the end we have to pay. But paying for the place to live seems to be quite a reasonable thing. I am just curious why so many people insist of renting a house when in fact they can use mortgage to buy the flat out. The monthly payment is very similar but you obvious get the ownership of the house in the end.

Thanks for your reply. I also think that it maybe a good time to buy. Good not in the sense that the price will not go down in the near future. Moreover, everyone is saying that inflation is around the corner now and having a flat is one of the way to offset the adverse effect of that.

Thanks for your reply. But even if you rent a flat, you still need a stable income or otherwise you will be forced out by the flat owner. The fact is if you go to purchase a flat, you can still walk away if you really cannot handle the monthly payment. As far as I know, other than not able to keep the flat, there is really no adverse effect of leaving the flat and let the bank have your flat in US if you just walk away.

Thanks for your reply. Of course it depends on the financial situation especially the income. But even if you don't buy a flat, you still need to pay the rent which in effect is helping the flat owner to pay off his mortgage where in the end, you get nothing.

Exactly! But I want something at the end, not to get nothing! For this reason I will want to buy my house!

Thanks for your reply. What is the average interest rate for taking out a mortgage at your place? Is is rather low in where I live that it is next to free money. It is always said that the banks are full of money without any purposes and thus they are willing to loan money at very low interest rate now.

Thanks for your reply. To get at a good price is difficult. It is just like asking people to only buy low sell high in the stock market. I believe that as long as you can pay off the monthly mortgage payment, then you should consider purchasing a flat. In the end, paying the mortgage and paying the rent are not that different as long as you still want a place to live. I think that the crisis is actually because people have a misconception that the interest rate will be low forever which is simply not necessarily true. I will say that when we calculate the amount of monthly payment we can handle, we better factor in the fact that interest rate can increase over time and that our earnings can actually cover the extra interests when the time comes.

Thanks for your reply. I also think that having a house give your more freedom as you can do whatever you like with the house without the fear of the house owner want you to undo everything when you leave it. Still, there are so many people prefer renting a flat instead of owning one for the sake of flexibility in choosing locations. I just want to tell them that as long as you have found one location good enough, there really isn't a reason to change at all.