There are times when it is better for a person to rent, but most often home ownership has many more benefits and advantages.
About 10 year ago a had a retired aunt and uncle who rented a condo in Las Vegas. Uncle Jim (not his real name, but that’s what I’ll call him) was a retired minister. Throughout his career he and his wife lived in parsonages, which are homes furnished by the congregation while they ministered there.
He and his wife told me that the biggest mistake they ever made was not to invest in buying a home. In their retirement years, when their other retired friends were living in homes that were almost paid off and had appreciated greatly, Uncle Jim and his wife were using a huge portion of their limited retirment money to make expensive condo rent payments. They strongly cautioned me not to make the same mistake they had.
Recent studies are showing that there are many benefits for both the owners and the community for owning your own home, including increased education for children, lower teen-age pregnancy rate and a higher lifetime annual income for children. Besides these, listed below are some of the primary advantages...