Seeking and buying one’s own dream house is a milestone in itself for every Indian. But buying a house calls for huge financial requirements and expenses that follow. So before you decide to buy a house, you need to evaluate your financials and affordability.
Let’s understand todays topic with an example.
Arjun has been working from last 10 years and has now come to Mumbai and stays in a 2BHK apartment on Rent of 50,000/- in Vile Parle area.
Scenario 1: To buy a house
Arjun is looking to buy a house in the same area as he likes the locality. But to get a house in Vile Parle area with the same amount of EMI as his rent amount is not possible. He has two options, compromise on his choice and look for a house in suburbs or outskirts of the city or pay a higher EMI to get his dream home.
He chooses option two of not compromising on his dreams and pay a higher EMI. Now if the house that he wants would cost him 1.5 Cr. Now let’s see how much it would actually cost him.
Arjun took a loan of 1.2cr after making a down payment of 30 lakhs towards his home. His monthly EMI is 1.03 lakh, a 100% rise from 50,000 rent that he was paying. By the end of 20 years, he has paid the bank double the amount of his actual loan. 1.2 Cr was the interest rate itself.
Now this is the loan and the EMI side of it, which is very expensive for Arjun. To attain this, he will have to make massive adjustments to his lifestyle and amp up his savings and investments to help cope with the payments.
But the plus side is the Tax benefits he gets on his loan.
The thing to keep in mind here is that when you are buying a house, there is going to be property appreciation and over a period of 20 years, a house which was worth 1.5cr would be anywhere around 8-10 CR. Time again has earned you the highest money.
Scenario 2: Rent it
When you rent a house, you can take a breather as you don’t have to pay a chunk of your savings away as down payment and also have enough time in hand to build wealth to buy a house in the future. But again, the property prices will always be on the upside and a house which cost you INR 1.5cr today would cost you INR 5-7 CR in the next 8 to 10 years.
Now look at this table and try to understand it.
So, from the above table you can understand that
If Arjun stayed on rent for 20 years, he would pay a rent of 2.7 Cr in total and earn 1.3 Cr in investment.
But if he had bought the house, he would pay an EMI of 1.03 lakh a year, that makes 2.06 Cr for 20 years, down payment of 30Lakhs but the property appreciated to 8-10 Cr. from 1.5 Cr. over the period of time. An overall gain of around 6-8 Cr. Plus the tax benefits that followed.
It’s a tricky situation after all. If you look at short term, renting is a better option, but if you look at longer term, buying is a better option. Buying a house is an achievement in itself but the time and money plays a crucial role. If you have saved up well to pay a good amount as your down payment, go for buying a house. The other way to go about is, go for a smaller property which fits your budget and collect more money over time and later upgrade to a bigger house.
Buying a house is a goal everyone should fulfill but go for what you can afford or plan accordingly and budget it right. You want to enjoy the house that you got for yourself rather than being burdened by the loan and also not saving for your other goals like child’s education and retirement.
With this I have completed the segment on housing and mortgage. In the next few blogs I will talk about kids and investments and the next topic for my blog is “How to raise financially savvy kids”
Till next time
Be indoors and stay safe
This blog is a part of Blogchatter’s A2Z challenge #blogchatterA2Z
21 replies on “To Rent or To Buy?”
Buying a house is always a good investment in the long run. You not only have an asset, but you also get tax savings.
One of the biggest dilemmas of adult life. Even with the loads if responsibilities and investment, I feel buying is better at the end of the day.
Very good topic and nicely explained. Yes buying is a good option if you have enough money for down payment and EMI. Otherwise Rent is a good option.
Very true. I’m hoping the money for down payment comes before I become 40. Good tips. Will save this for future.
This is a very well written article. I have always wondered which is better, and your explanation makes it easy to plug in our own numbers to see what is the right fit for us at this time.
Buying house is best option and dream. We also invested accordingly and brought our house.
Very good explanation. I have always preferred renting a home as opposed to buying because I consider many factors that influence me which is locality. And most times I cannot afford to buy a home in that locality so I have always rented. I know on a long term buying a house is beneficial. But I just cant seem to compromise on where I want to stay usually.
A home can be a smart investment. It is a fairly big decision and requires a huge investment. We might need to put the entire money saved over the years while investing in a home.
A home can be good investment but it depends on our money or job too. I guess , I need to plan accordingly to buy a good home within budget
I bought an independent floor in 2010 and that was one of the best decisions of my life. Buying it without a loan ensured there was no headache of repaying whatsoever ☺️
These are great tips and case study that will help people in making a plan. Glad you broke it down so very simple terms for easier understanding
Me and my husband always discuss this topic. Buying a house is always a good option if you have good amount for down payment . Very well explained about pros and cons of buying and renting a house.
It’s really important topic to discuss whether buying house is good option or to rent. You explained very well. Thanks for sharing
Buying a house is always a great option. However, you have explained the entire thing very well in here.
Such a complex issue is explained in such simple terms. You have done it wonderfully, Hansa. I have seen my parents struggling to pay the rent and my dad used to say renting a house and paying rent every month is like throwing the money into a well. But you have shown both the sides and it does depend on your financial situation to make the best choice.
You always explain complex financial topics so well. yes, we all go through this dilemma at one stage of life, and have many questions regarding either buy or rent a property. I feel wait for sometime and create a good financial foundation before buying a house is good idea, to avoid financial stress in routine life.
Financial limitations always make us think twice about our investments. According to me one should always go by a priority list and then plan to save money for the same.
Hansa, you have brilliantly explained the complex topic in simple way with an example. I am sure many people who are in fix will read the post and find the solution.
Your post makes. It easier to. Understand the vast topic which many find difficult to understand and terms involving around it to be comprehend
Honestly I never gave much thought to these things till quite recently, but now that I know better, I’m saving up to buy a property in my name. That is after all, the ultimate assurance!
This topic comes to handy ..when we are analysing the options..whether to buy or not.working in one city and parents staying in another.we were dilemmma whether to buy or not.This article is one of the positive hope which supports my wish to buy it.Thank you for this article.