To rent or to own?

This raging debate is as relevant in condominium living as it is in the traditional real estate denomination of house and lot.

Frankly, everyone needs to evaluate their own lifestyle and financial situation in order to better determine whether its better to rent or buy.

Of course, the quick and easy answer is always: why borrow when you can have your own? Right?

Wrong. For stuff like sanitary napkins, condoms, toothpicks, and the like, this maybe the universal mindset. But not for real estate. Especially condominiums.

Three L’s

Condos, from the very inception of the concept, has tended to favor the avant-garde of society rather than the traditional family unit.

Singles, transients, newly-formed households, (not to mention just-broken-up households), and the like constitute a substantial chunk of the condo dwelling population.

One might argue that this is usually the case as condominiums have long been seen as a temporal refuge before moving on to more institutionalized traditional residential types. As may be the case, the decision whether to rent or own a condo unit is largely dependent on the three L’s, namely lifestyle, lifestage, and of course, liquidity.

Flexibility

If you’re the “get-up-and-go” kind of person, renting is a viable option.

Compared to owning a home, rental living is easy and fairly uncomplicated. Property management staff is around whenever anything goes wrong, with full maintenance compliment to handle repairs. No worries when you go away for a break or vacation. And a single monthly check that pays for all of the above, as opposed to segregated fees when owning a condo or house and lot.

Best of all, it accords you flexibility. One can opt to just pack up and leave at the end of the lease term without having to wait for a buyer and having the sale to close.

Life stages

Life stage is an equally important factor in making these decisions.

For instance, if you are at that stage in your life wherein settling down is the next most logical step, owning property may be a more likely decision. This equates to the need to be in close proximity of the workplace as this is one of the foremost motivation in moving in a condo to begin with.

Needless to say, making the decision to own should come with it a certain level of forward thinking as condos should not be treated as merely a place to stay, but a long term investment which can prove beneficial in latter life stages.

Cost of renting, ownership

Of course, the two L’s are dependent on the final and probably most important L—liquidity.

Renting would leave you with more disposable income for other “essentials” like travel or recreation. The cost of renting is a bargain compared to total home ownership costs that include taxes, utilities, insurance, and maintenance.

There’s a belief that renting is like throwing money away but if one plans to move in the next five years, one can also pose the same argument for mortgage as the first few years of amortization are applied to interest with minimal amounts going to the principal.

Plus, in some cases, rent may be deductible while home ownership is not. Of course, all of these arguments may pale in comparison with the pride that comes with home ownership.

Suffice to say, renting or owning are both viable options. Ultimately, it all boils down to your priorities in life—not only of the present but also of your foreseeable future.

The author is a practicing architect/planner and is a ranking official for a local property developer.