Determining whether to buy or rent your home involves a complex decision-making process. The SmartAsset rent vs. buy calculator shows when you’ll reach the break-even point and integrates some of the following questions to help make an informed choice:
- How long do you plan on staying in an area?
- How much flexibility do you enjoy?
- Are you prepared for the responsibility of homeownership?
Perhaps the most important factor to consider when making this buy or rent decision is how long you plan to stay in your home. If you’ll only be in town a year, renting will almost always be your best choice. In that scenario, if you’re planning to pack up and leave in the short term, you probably don’t want to spend the time and money necessary to buy a house, with a down payment, closing costs, loan charges, appraisal fees and so on.
How does NH stack up? Check it out:
All told, the upfront costs of finding a house and taking out a mortgage can be in the tens of thousands of dollars (or higher). As a renter, by contrast, you’ll likely just have to pay an application fee, fork over a broker’s fee and make a refundable security deposit of a few months’ rent.
On the other hand, if you plan on staying put for 50 years, renting could be more expensive than buying over that time frame. In the long run, there are significant advantages to homeownership. You’ll own property, which you can later sell, rent out or pass on to family members down the line. Another possible advantage is mortgage interest deduction, a tax benefit that allows you to deduct mortgage interest payments from your taxable income. This requires filing itemized taxes and is only beneficial if the interest deduction totals more than the standard deduction.
See more and try the calculator at: https://smartasset.com/mortgage/rent-vs-buy#newhampshire
Current Issue - April 2024