Renting vs. Mortgages: who wins?

6 minute read

Renting vs. Mortgages: who wins?

To rent or to buy a property - what’s the better option? Our latest blog touches on the benefits of renting or home ownership, and the support & tools we have access to, when looking to step onto the property ladder. Learn & read more, here.

In this blog we touch on the difference and benefits of both options, what support there is out there for first home buyers, and what tools are available for individuals and couples to use, when looking to step onto the property ladder.

RENTING VS. HOME OWNERSHIP - WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

The answer may seem obvious but there are some subtleties that you may not be aware of that will help you decide where to focus your thoughts. When you rent a property, this means you are paying to live (or work) in a residential home or commercial property that is legally someone else's. Renting offers many benefits including flexibility through short-term commitment to your residence, reduced maintenance, predictable monthly expenses and more.

Home ownership, on the other hand, means you are legally (and financially) responsible and bound to your home/property. This is a common goal which many individuals, couples and families strive for. If you’re fortunate enough to be in the position to buy a home, you will also reap many intangible benefits, such as;

Pride of ownership
Reminder of the hard work it took to get it
Sense of belonging
Sense of security

You also gain equity as your home increases in value and, if the property is for a business, (and this includes an investment property) tax deductions.

Home ownership can come in two forms; buying an existing home or building your very own new home.

Whilst it's easily assumed that it’s more expensive to buy or build your own house, in 2019, Stuff released an article stating in many parts of the country, it was now cheaper to buy a home than it was to rent one, with some areas gaining savings of 30%. Now, in 2021, that trend has steadily increased and the market is now described as home buyers and reluctant renters. Although prices of existing homes have risen dramatically so too have rent prices and the financial benefits of building a new home have become very favourable.

It’s important to be mindful that no individual is the same, meaning neither are their circumstances when asking themselves whether it’s ‘better’ to buy or to rent. Living preferences, dependencies, location & income are just a few of the long list of factors which can affect one’s decision or ability to buy or rent.

MAKING THE LEAP FROM RENTING TO A MORTGAGE - WHERE DO I BEGIN?

Many of you caught up in the owner vs renter trap are likely to be first home buyers.

Choosing between renting and home ownership is a big decision and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Whilst there may be a never-ending list of questions or worries in your mind, we’re here to bring you the good news. Over the past decade, the amount of support for first home buyers, (or anyone that is looking to invest) has increased significantly.

Thanks to many businesses, financial advisors and even family & friends, you have access to an endless pool of supporting articles, blogs, downloadable guides, podcasts, seminars and webinars that lend a helping hand when it comes to advice on this topic.

Here are a few topics that you will want to research before taking the leap onto the property ladder;

Home loans types
Applying for a mortgage
The house hunting journey
KiwiSaver first home grant
Parental guarantees

TESTIMONIALS

We anxiously took on our first build with Latitude Homes in 2017. Sue and Darrin were extremely professional and helpful throughout, answering questions and guiding us through the process. We love our home and would gladly recommend to others thinking of building.

Tania Heke

These guys are amazing. Worked with me to design something specific for my site. No delays with the build, everything up to standard and built to budget. 100% recommend them to anyone looking to build!

Karl Swanson

I couldn't reccommend them enough. Mike and Gauri were awesome to deal with as were all the contractor coming and going. They project managed the whole thing so I didn't have any of the stress. Thanks team, you are all amazing :)

Hwan Kim

The thing that impressed me most about Latitude Homes was the prompt response we received from Alix when we contacted him via the website - he was even on holiday and responded! Other house builders we contacted never got back to us. My husband and I were also thrilled that we could do shell only as this enabled us to start the build sooner than we had thought and helped us to save money by doing some of the interior work ourselves once the shell was finished. All along Alix has been supportive, always available to talk to and ready to fix anything we were not happy about during the build process. The only thing that was not so good was that the shell build took much longer than we had hoped - 3 1/2 months longer - and cost a bit more than expected. The build however looks awesome and is our dream come true! Brenda

Brenda and Mark Ennever

As one of the first clients of Mike & Gauri, at Latitude Homes in the Auckland North West area, we felt they provided excellent service. They provided regular inspections and met with us on the site at Snell's Beach, whenever we requested. Well done, and highly recommended.

Guy & Stella

After selling our first home we decided to buy land in Waimauku and looked around for a building company that best suited our budget and what we wanted. After many phone calls and meetings with all the common building companies, Latitude Homes were the only company that ticked all the boxes for us. We are very happy with the standard of work everyone put into building our home. From the quality of materials used to the quality of appliances put into the house, we couldn't recommend them enough.

So once again, big THANK YOU to Mike, Gauri and team at Latitude Homes North West. We will be in touch if we decide to build again.

Michelle

This wonderful company built our first home and we are very pleased, very professional and approachable (exceeded our expectations) built a two storey home from one of their many plans, which was a single storey home to begin with. Easy to follow build with plenty of ideas and made to suit us. Gavin and his Family, Jason and the Team are wonderful! We Love it, Thank you so much, Warmest Regards Lance, Carlota, VJ, and Sophia.

Lance Visser

We couldn't speak more highly of Haimona Matthews and his team at Latitude Homes Northland. Our home was built extremely well with good quality fittings and workmanship, with the added bonus of no holdups along the way. It was finished when they said it would be finished.

Paul and Pat

Very trustworthy, very happy with our home.

Hamish Murphy

We’re coming into the last few weeks of our build and couldn’t be happier with the service, Ross and Lee were both so helpful right from the start answering any questions we had, to the end with having everything organised and here on time. Even dealing with my annoying last minute changes haha. Massive thank you, I highly recommend getting in touch to discuss a future build

Jacob Kneebone