4 Reasons I Choose to Rent Instead of Own a Home

For my entire adult life, I've always been a renter. Like almost everyone, I've heard the cliche arguments for why buying a home is so much better. I'm supposedly paying the landlord's mortgage. Why wouldn't I want to start shopping for mortgage lenders so I can just swap out my rent payment for a mortgage payment?

I've read the homeowner horror stories, so I know that it's a more nuanced decision than people make it out to be. Even though I've been able to afford a home for a while, I still prefer renting, for a few important reasons.

1. I haven't wanted to settle down in one place yet

Renting gives you much more flexibility than buying. Want to move somewhere new? Finish up your lease, and you're free to go.

It's much harder to do that when you own a home. You can sell it, but that can be a lengthy process. If your home has dropped in value, you might not want to, because you'll lose money on the deal.

Flexibility is key for me. I've moved to new cities a fair bit (13 times, to be exact) as an adult. If I had bought a house early on because someone else told me it was the smart thing to do, I would've been tied down.

2. I don't want to handle repairs and maintenance

As a renter, if something in your home breaks, you call your landlord. As a homeowner, you basically are the landlord. It's on you to either fix things yourself or call someone who can. Any repair and maintenance costs also come out of your bank account, and those are costs you don't deal with as a renter.

I don't want to spend a Saturday figuring out why the dishwasher is acting up or looking for a contractor on Yelp. And I'd rather not have to figure out how long the roof has until it needs…whatever it is that roofs need. Renting means I have a lot less to worry about as far as my home is concerned.

3. Interest rates are way too high right now

Starting in 2022, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates significantly to fight inflation. That means mortgage rates have also gone up quite a bit. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage went from under 3% in 2021 to over 6.5% now.

To put those numbers into perspective, let's say you're buying a $400,000 home, putting $80,000 down, and getting a 30-year mortgage to finance the rest. With a 3% interest rate, you'd pay a total of $485,688. With a 6.5% interest rate, you'd pay $728,445 -- nearly $250,000 more!

Mortgage rates may not reach the same historic lows of 2020 and 2021 anytime soon. But I'd still rather wait to see what happens over buying a home right now.

4. I prefer having my money invested

A home is a big financial commitment. There's a down payment, which normally ranges from 3.5% to 20% of the purchase price, depending on the type of mortgage and how much you want to put down.

Homeownership also comes with other costs that renting doesn't, including property taxes, homeowners insurance (which is generally much costlier than renters insurance), and the aforementioned repairs and maintenance. And I know if I buy a home, I want something nicer than what I'm renting, so I'd likely spend much more on housing if I decided to buy.

Instead of putting all that money into a home, I'd rather use it to invest in stocks. I know the money that goes into a home isn't exactly a loss. You do build up home equity, after all. But for the time being, I want to build my investment portfolio as much as possible.

The choice is yours

Those are just my personal reasons for why I haven't bought a home yet. Homeownership has plenty of advantages, too, and I'm open to it in the future.

Despite the cliche advice that gets tossed around, buying isn't better than renting. It's better for some people, and renting is better for others. The best thing to do is compare the costs and carefully consider which one fits your lifestyle better. This is one of the most important decisions most people make, so don't let anyone else make it for you.