Click on a link to the right for the area in which you plan to buy a Houston area home.

Renting a Home vs. Buying a Home

Allen's Landing	Almeda	Buffalo Bayou	Downtown	East End	Galleria
Greenway Plaza	Gulfgate	Heights	Medical Center	Memorial	Memorial Park
Meyerland	Montrose	Museum District	Pasadena	Rice University	Rice Village
	Spring Branch	Theater District	University of Houston	West University

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Buy a Home	Sell a Home	Rent a Home	Rent an Apartment

There are many advantages to buying a Houston home versus renting one.

Savings: Buying
In many cases, the amount of money a renter spends on rent can be about the same as or less than the amount a homeowner spends on a mortgage. With the tax benefit for homeowners, the savings can be significant.

Rent vs. Buy Comparison
The chart below shows a cost comparison for a renter and a homeowner over a seven year period.

The renter starts out paying $800 per month with annual increases of 5%
The homeowner purchases a home for $110,000 and pays a monthly mortgage of $1,000
After 6 years, the homeowner's payment is lower than the renter's monthly payment
With the tax savings of homeownership, the homeowner's payment is less than the rental payment after 3 years.

Years	Rent Payment	Mortgage Payment	Monthly Difference	After Tax Savings	Yearly Difference	After Tax Savings
1	800	1000	-200	-50	-2400	-600
2	840	1000	-160	-10	-1920	-120
3	882	1000	-118	+32	-1416	+384
4	926	1000	-74	+76	-888	+912
5	972	1000	-28	+122	-336	+1464
6	1021	1000	+21	+171	+252	+2052
7	1072	1000	+72	+222	+864	+2664
8-30				Savings go up every year

Monthly Expenses: Buying
Your rental company takes part of your rent payment to cover certain housing expenses. When you decide to purchase a home, you accept responsibility for paying for these expenses (listed below). They are additional costs to your monthly mortgage payment and should be included in your budget estimates:

Property Taxes and Special Assessments
Home/Hazard Insurance
Utilities
Maintenance
Home Owner Association (HOA) Fee: Doesn't apply to all purchases. It pays for trash and snow removal and maintenance of common grounds if applicable.
Membership Fee: It may pay for recreational facilities and other services (cable TV).

Advantages and Disadvantages of Buying and Renting a home:

	Advantages	Disadvantages
Rent a home or apartment	Little/No responsibility for home maintenance	No tax benefits
	Easier to move	No equity is built up
	No yard work	No control over rent increases
	Area convenience*	Possibility of eviction

Buy a home	Property builds equity	Responsible for maintenance
	Sense of community, stability, and security	Responsible for property taxes
	Free to change decor and landscaping	Less mobility than renting
	Not dependent on landlord to maintain property	Possibility of foreclosure and loss of equity

*It is usually easier to find a rental apartment in Houston that is close to your work. Finding Inner Loop Houston homes for sale can be done, but usually for a higher price.

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