y when you sell.

-Control over your environment: A lease may not allow you to have pets, paint your walls red, or have a roommate. With owning you can choose a building or home that allows you to have pets, decorate to your taste, have roommates, or add a washer and dryer.

-Stability: Your landlord can increase your rent, sell the property, or convert your rental to condos and force you to move on short

For first time home buyers deciding to take the plunge and buying a home can be a tough decision. Especially in today's real estate market with prices flat or declining. Here are arguments for both renting and buying.

The pluses for renting versus owning:

- Monthly costs: Renting can be more cost-efficient than owning if utilities are included. The monthly cost of owning is usually more than renting after you total the cost of mortgage, maintenance, taxes, and utilities.

-Features: Some rental apartments offer amenities that are not found in smaller condo/co-op buildings or single-family houses such as 24-hour door attendant, dry cleaners, or a grocery store. Unless you purchase in a full-amenity building you will most likely have to go off-site for some services you are accustomed to having only an elevator ride away.

-Maintenance and repairs: Renting allows you the luxury of repairing or maintaining nothing; if the air-conditioner breaks you call the manager. With owning you have to either repair the air-conditioner yourself or locate, meet, and pay a repair person.

-Mobility: Renting offers you the convenience of leaving your home when your lease expires. When owning you are tied to other persons’ timeline of moving when a buyer or a tenant agrees to a date, which might not fit your timeline.

The pluses for owning versus renting:

-Equity: Renting has no equity benefits. Owning provides a forced savings because part of each monthly payment is principal, which builds your equity. Potential property appreciation can also increase your equity. Note: If property values decrease in your market you could owe money when you sell.

-Control over your environment: A lease may not allow you to have pets, paint your walls red, or have a roommate. With owning you can choose a building or home that allows you to have pets, decorate to your taste, have roommates, or add a washer and dryer.

-Stability: Your landlord can increase your rent, sell the property, or convert your rental to condos and force you to move on short n

r you total the cost of mortgage, maintenance, taxes, and utilities.

-Features: Some rental apartments offer amenities that are not found in smaller condo/co-op buildings or single-family houses such as 24-hour door attendant, dry cleaners, or a grocery store. Unless you purchase in a full-amenity building you will most likely have to go off-site for some services you are accustomed to having only an elevator ride away.

-Maintenance and repairs: Renting allows you the luxury of repairing or maintaining nothing; if the air-conditioner breaks you call the manager. With owning you have to either repair the air-conditioner yourself or locate, meet, and pay a repair person.

-Mobility: Renting offers you the convenience of leaving your home when your lease expires. When owning you are tied to other persons’ timeline of moving when a buyer or a tenant agrees to a date, which might not fit your timeline.

The pluses for owning versus renting:

-Equity: Renting has no equity benefits. Owning provides a forced savings because part of each monthly payment is principal, which builds your equity. Potential property appreciation can also increase your equity. Note: If property values decrease in your market you could owe money when you sell.

-Control over your environment: A lease may not allow you to have pets, paint your walls red, or have a roommate. With owning you can choose a building or home that allows you to have pets, decorate to your taste, have roommates, or add a washer and dryer.

-Stability: Your landlord can increase your rent, sell the property, or convert your rental to condos and force you to move on short

ide away.

-Maintenance and repairs: Renting allows you the luxury of repairing or maintaining nothing; if the air-conditioner breaks you call the manager. With owning you have to either repair the air-conditioner yourself or locate, meet, and pay a repair person.

-Mobility: Renting offers you the convenience of leaving your home when your lease expires. When owning you are tied to other persons’ timeline of moving when a buyer or a tenant agrees to a date, which might not fit your timeline.

The pluses for owning versus renting:

-Equity: Renting has no equity benefits. Owning provides a forced savings because part of each monthly payment is principal, which builds your equity. Potential property appreciation can also increase your equity. Note: If property values decrease in your market you could owe money when you sell.

-Control over your environment: A lease may not allow you to have pets, paint your walls red, or have a roommate. With owning you can choose a building or home that allows you to have pets, decorate to your taste, have roommates, or add a washer and dryer.

-Stability: Your landlord can increase your rent, sell the property, or convert your rental to condos and force you to move on short

of moving when a buyer or a tenant agrees to a date, which might not fit your timeline.

The pluses for owning versus renting:

-Equity: Renting has no equity benefits. Owning provides a forced savings because part of each monthly payment is principal, which builds your equity. Potential property appreciation can also increase your equity. Note: If property values decrease in your market you could owe money when you sell.

-Control over your environment: A lease may not allow you to have pets, paint your walls red, or have a roommate. With owning you can choose a building or home that allows you to have pets, decorate to your taste, have roommates, or add a washer and dryer.

-Stability: Your landlord can increase your rent, sell the property, or convert your rental to condos and force you to move on short

y when you sell.

-Control over your environment: A lease may not allow you to have pets, paint your walls red, or have a roommate. With owning you can choose a building or home that allows you to have pets, decorate to your taste, have roommates, or add a washer and dryer.

-Stability: Your landlord can increase your rent, sell the property, or convert your rental to condos and force you to move on short notice. With a fixed-rate mortgage, you can control your monthly housing expense and peace of mind that you can stay as long as you want.

-Tax benefits: Renting offers none. Owning allows you to deduct mortgage interest and home equity interest from your taxable income. Consult a tax professional for more information.

A quick apples-to-apples housing comparison:

-You pay $800 per month in rent for a two-bedroom house, which does not include heat or electricity.

-You purchase a home for $90,000 putting 10% as your down payment and borrowing $81,000.

-$81,000 at 7% interest equals a P and I payment of approximately $538.90.

-Property taxes are approximately 1.5% of purchase price ($90,000) which equals $1,350 ($112.50/month) plus $250 ($20.83/month) for homeowner’s insurance. $538.90 + $112.50 + $20.83 = $672.23.

-In this scenario, the mortgage payment is actually less than the rent.