Hidden Costs Associated With Renting Rather Than Buying

rental fees

The age old debate over renting or buying never goes away. While we know that it’s always better to buy than it is to rent, many people fail to realize that renting for even a few years in college is a gross waste of money. That’s why so many parents are willing to pay for a second home in or around their children’s college. Their kids can live there during their school years and they can rent it out during the school year to cover the mortgage when the kids graduate. The point is that rent is expensive, and it also comes with a number of hidden fees and costs. If you’re not sure whether or not renting is right for you, perhaps you should take a look at what you’re getting for your money.

Big Up Front Costs

Perhaps you’re someone who thinks that renting sounds cheaper up front. You can rent something and you don’t need a big down payment or closing costs, right? Wrong; you still have to have money up front to rent. This includes your first and last month payments as well as a security deposit. This always ends up being in the thousands of dollars, and it’s not a cheap way to enter the world of living on your own.

Renter’s Insurance

Let’s not forget this fee. If you own things in someone else’s home or apartment, you need renter’s insurance. Let’s say that the apartment above yours floods and everything you own is damaged and ruined. Without renter’s insurance, you will not be reimbursed for these items.

Storage Rentals

The other thing that comes along with renting is that you typically do not have a garage, which means you’ll pay for a rental storage space. That’s probably not going to cost you much, but it’s going to be an added cost on top of everything else that you are already paying.

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