Rent Buy or Build a House

Are you wondering if you should rent, buy or build your next house? This is seemingly a difficult question because factors such as budget, location, size, permanency, privacy and design all have to be considered. The one thing to help guide your decision is the fact that the form of a house doesn’t matter as much as what goes inside. This is because those are the special things and special people that transform any space into a home. A home embodies how we live and see ourselves, which is why in this article we focus on three (3) major factors that should serve as your guide while considering if you want to rent, buy or build your next house.

Why should i rent a house?

Renting is a viable alternative to buying or building if you are not quite ready to purchase your own home. It is an ideal option for those who want extra flexibility and less responsibility without having to spend years saving for a down payment because you are not tied down to the property long-term and you are less responsible for paying for taxes and repairs. Simply put, renting gives you the opportunity to live in a house without the burden of home ownership.

1. How does my budget affect my decision to rent buy or build?

When making the decision to rent a house the 30% rule requires that your monthly housing costs not go above 30% of your gross monthly income. So, if you earn 100,000 per month, the max you should be paying for housing costs including rent is 30,000.

2. How does the location of the house affect my decision to rent buy or build?

A property situated near essential amenities and services will always accumulate higher rents than a property in remote areas. Properties located near amenities such as schools, hospitals, shops and leisure facilities will be most highly valued among renters and landlords.

3. How does the size of the house affect my decision to rent buy or build?

Unlike when buying or building a new house, the size might not necessarily be a telling factor if you do not plan to grow a family or you travel a lot and do not require a large home. But the size of the house is more important if you have a large family or you are looking to start one or you need more space for house guests.

Why should i buy a house?

Buying a home can involve some serious saving and commitment, because it is easy to feel overwhelmed by this huge life decision and substantial financial investment. Once you have made up your mind on the boxes that a potential property needs to tick, you can then proceed to determine on which matters you are willing to be more flexible with and narrow down your options. If you do your homework, you can avoid the pitfalls and empower yourself for a successful purchase.

1. How does my budget affect my decision to rent buy or build?

Unlike renting, there isn’t one rule to follow but the new property should fit into your budget. How much are you willing and able to spend? Do not leave yourself short by looking at properties you would not be able to afford. Consider all the expenses you need to cover including cost of moving, agent fees, bills and lawyers while taking into consideration if you would have funds left for possible furnishings and renovations.

2. How does the location of the house affect my decision to rent buy or build?

When buying a house you might want to consider that you live close to where you work, where your children go to school, where you go for shopping and leisure, or you may decide not to live in same location as these needs but you should always consider your transportation to places that your life revolves around especially in vibrant and fast paced environments like Lagos, New York and more. Whatever your preference always make sure the dwellings meet your needs.

3. How does the size of the house affect my decision to rent buy or build?

When buying a new home, you need to think about the size of the residence you require. Are you single? A couple? How many bedrooms and bathrooms are you after? Do you enjoy your cooking and require a big kitchen? Do you need a yard or a balcony? These are all very important questions and rely on you having the capacity to think a little ahead. One rule of thumb is that a new property needs not the space to accommodate everything you need immediately if you can see potential to invest in expanding later on.

Why should i build a house?

Alright friends. Let us talk the building experience! Building a house is a learning experience because you know what you are getting into. If you are in a situation where you are already overwhelmed with commitments to work, life and the children, it might not be the best time to build. This is because you would want to spend a lot of time at the house making sure things are getting done correctly.

If you have had no previous building experience you need to hire the right people because you will be working so closely with your architect. Your overall building experience is largely determined by your relationship with them. Part of the learning experience with building is the joy of seeing things at their worst being transformed to their best as evident in this before and after image and also knowing when to trust your gut. A lot of times, your architect or designer might have a contrary opinion about something and that’s when you remember that at the end of the day it is YOU who will be waking up in this house each day. Let’s see how these three factors help in the decision making;

1. Budget

How much does it cost to build a house these days? There are different strokes for different folks. The cost to build a house is based on changing factors like size, location, labor, materials and current price of lands, which makes it impossible to nail down an accurate perfectly one-size-fits-all answer. A good rule of thumb is to keep 10% of your budget for unexpected expenses.

2. Location

Before building a house or purchasing the land you might want to consider factors such as security, land value appreciation and proximity to social amenities. You may be looking for a vibrant and fast paced environment or a quiet and secluded lifestyle. Whatever is your preference always make sure the environment meet your needs.

3. Size

The size of your house must suit both your requirements in terms of space and budget. This can sometimes be very challenging to get right as it is not always easy to understand the concept of space to reality. Your architect will be the person to address this concern professionally.

Key Takeaways

1. When building your own home, every bit of it can be personalized to your exact specifications by telling the architect exactly how you want it to look. Constructing your house also gives you the power to design a home that is specific to your family and your very own unique needs.
2. A renting agreement deal devotes you to hire a property for a specific period of time while offering flexibility, predictable monthly expenses and most importantly someone to handle repairs
3. Buying a home has advantages such as the pride of ownership, sense of stability, sense of belonging, mortgage interest deductions and more.

At the end of the day you might start your home search fixated on building a house and later decide that an existing home is a better fit for you, or  you might be looking for the perfect existing property and you end up deciding to build a house to get exactly what you want. In the case of the latter, working with a qualified and experienced construction company can help assure the process goes as smoothly as possible.