Should you buy or rent Santa Fe real estate?

  It really depends on the situation you are in and the current Santa Fe real estate market. If you owed almost as much as the sales price on your house and needed to take money from savings to pay the closing costs and sales commission it might be better to have rented a few more years.

 If you have some money set aside and can handle the responsibility of a home and the expenses that come with it, now is a great time to buy.

One of the first things to consider when comparing buying versus renting is the amount of time you'll be there. Buying and later selling a home will usually cost about 10% or more of the value of the home. These costs mean that if the home only went up in value 10% or so in the year or two you lived there, you won't be gaining anything (equity gain from principal pay-down is very little in the first years). You'll often be better off renting if you'll be in a town for less than a few years.

You will need to do some homework on the area you want to live in. Our agents know the Santa Fe real estate market and can help you figure out the best investment area for your needs.  Even if you ended up selling for the same as you bought a couple years earlier and made out with nothing, it is as if you lived rent free for that time.

 To Buy Or Rent - Cost Comparison

Looking at buying versus renting, you have to take into account that in many places it cost much more to buy. If you can rent the same home for half what a mortgage may be, renting may be what you are looking for at this time.

  Some will say you're at least buying something for your money, and renting is throwing your money away. But sometimes most of your payment will be going towards interest alone, and that's not buying you anything.

  Suppose you can afford the mortgage payment each month but instead you rent for half of that and put the other half into a decent safe investment that makes you 5%? In three years you'll have the amount for a decent downpayment in this account.

Every market and every home can be different. Compare the total costs of owning versus renting, and then make safe assumptions about the rate of appreciation for homes.

If you'll definitely be in one place for some time, it will almost always be better to buy than to rent.  Buying becomes the better choice if you plan on staying four or five years or more. Also consider that if you get a fixed rate mortgage, your payment will never change, a benefit landlords won't offer you that on your rent payment.

To really decide if renting or buying is more beneficial for your situation, contact one of our agents. We are trained and knowledgeable in all aspects of the real estate world, even renting. We are here to be your complete source for all Santa Fe real estate and properties.

ADDITIONAL REAL ESTATE SOURCES: For help with Yuma AR real estate see our connection in the Arizona area. Our Pasco real estate and Richland real estate professional can help in the Washington state area and for all sellers looking for 1031 tax exchange assistance contact Cooney and Associates. Joshua Downey-Mickey Ferrell Realtors - Servicing Lake McQueeney, Lake Placid, Lake Dunlap, New Braunfels, and Seguin residential and waterfront real estate.  Packard and Associates is your source for all Lynnwood homes and Bothell real estate. We are experts in our field and can help buyers and sellers of Edmonds homes, Everett homes and all Snohomish county real estate.