Many people rent instead of buying homes because of individual circumstances and generational trends. Some millennials are burdened with high student loan debt and face stagnant incomes, making it harder to save a down payment or satisfy the income-to-debt ratio needed to qualify for a mortgage.

One of the major benefits of renting versus owning is that renters don’t have to pay property taxes. Real estate taxes can be a hefty burden for homeowners and vary by county—in some areas the costs can be thousands of dollars annually.

We recommend that people moving to Mexico rent first before buying—unless you have good prior knowledge and experience of the area and feel confident that you want to live there. Some people come to Mexico and rent a home for many years through a long-term and stable contract.

Buyers often need to have anywhere between 5 to 10 times to move into a home than to rent an apartment. Renting costs less money. The funds that would normally be used toward a down payment or higher mortgage payments can be invested into savings accounts that give higher returns.

Renting is not a waste of money. Sure, giving your money to the landlord may mean you’re not investing in homeownership. But you’re paying to live somewhere! And as long as you’re paying to live, your money is being well spent.

In 53 percent of the country’s housing markets, you’re better off buying than renting, according to ATTOM Data Solutions’ 2020 Rental Affordability Report, newly released. Generally speaking, in dense metropolitan regions, it’s cheaper to rent. If an area’s less populated, it’s better to buy.

Economists say that 2020 will be a positive — though not exactly stellar — year for the housing market. And that could be good news for renters and home buyers alike. If the past year is any indication, predicting the housing market’s trajectory a year or more out can be something of a fool’s errand.

For those with high financial resources, buying is better than renting. Yet for those building toward a purchase renting does seem more sensible. While house prices are rocketing, in general, rents aren’t. This should allow renters to save more money in 2021/2022 to allow them to afford a better home in 2023.

Because of the larger payment, the difference in equity after 3 years is much greater: over $23,000. The reason this is important is that, with only 3 years between the time you buy the house and the time you sell it, there is no guarantee that the value of the house will go up in that time.

In general, it’s best to buy when you have your eye on the horizon and you’re thinking long-term. Experts largely agree that you shouldn’t own unless you plan on staying in the home for at least five years. That’s because, thanks to their high start-up costs, houses don’t usually make great short-term investments.

The overall cost of homeownership tends to be higher than the overall cost of renting. That is true even if the monthly mortgage payment is similar to (or lower than) the monthly rent. Here are some expenses you’ll be spending money on as a homeowner that you don’t have to pay as a renter: Property taxes.

In every metro area studied, the monthly expenses associated with renting were more affordable than owning a home backed by a mortgage. On average, renters paid $606 less than homeowners with a mortgage each month on housing costs, which also include utilities, taxes and fees.

The median age for first-time homebuyers in 2017 was 32, according to the National Association of Realtors. The best age to buy is when you can comfortably afford the payments, tackle any unexpected repairs, and live in the home long enough to cover the costs of buying and selling a home.

Calculate your monthly costs of owning a home including property taxes, insurance, and HOA fees using our mortgage calculator.

• Property taxes. Each year, you’ll have to pay property taxes on your home.
• Homeowners insurance.
• Mortgage insurance.
• Escrow prepaids.
• Mortgage points.
• Closing costs.
• Utilities.
• HOA dues.

Disadvantages of owning a home

• Costs for home maintenance and repairs can impact savings quickly.
• Moving into a home can be costly.
• A longer commitment will be required vs.
• Mortgage payments can be higher than rental payments.
• Property taxes will cost you extra — over and above the expense of your mortgage.

Expenses to expect

• Property taxes.
• Homeowners insurance.
• Private mortgage insurance.
• Utilities, such as electric, gas, water, sanitation, phone and cable services.
• Homeowners association (HOA) fees, charged by multifamily living communities.

Buying and owning a house: the costs explained

• Mortgage repayments.
• Short leasehold impact.
• Furnishings.
• Council tax.
• Insurance.
• Utilities.
• Ground rent and maintenance fees.
• Upkeep.

Needs

• Mortgage/rent.
• Homeowners or renters insurance.
• Property tax (if not already included in the mortgage payment).
• Auto insurance.
• Health insurance.
• Out-of-pocket medical costs.
• Life insurance.
• Electricity and natural gas.

Simply take your gross income and multiply it by 2.5 or 3, to get the maximum value of the home you can afford. For somebody making $100,000 a year, the maximum purchase price on a new home should be somewhere between $250,000 and $300,000.

One suggestion, provided by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, is to spend no more than 25 percent of your monthly gross income on your rent. For example, if your annual salary is $30,000 per year, or $2,500 per month, you shouldn’t plan to spend more than $625 per month on rent.

How much rent can I afford on a 50k salary? On $50,000 a year, you’re making $4,167 gross per month. Taking 30 percent of that, you should be able to afford up to $1,250 per month in rent.

But living on $50,000 a year is a very different story. If you’re single, $50,000 is a pretty healthy salary in some parts of the country. On the other hand, if you’re the sole breadwinner in a family of five, you may have a hard time on $50,000 annually.

If you assume 2,080 hours in the work year, your hourly income would amount to roughly $24.04 per hour. In the figure above, this assumes a 40 hour work week for 52 weeks. Do you get vacation or personal time off of work?

As you can see, a salary of $50k is considered good money. However, there is ample room for improvement if you want to improve your situation. The average household income is approximately $63k. Therefore, a salary of $50k is considered below average.

Key Findings. Households earning $60,000 are unlikely to be housing cost-burdened. A family earning $60,000 should be able to comfortably afford housing costs in cities where the median household income ranges from $55,000 to $65,000.

Since there are 12 months in a year, you can estimate the average monthly earnings from your $60,000 salary as $5,000.00 per month.

50 Jobs that Pay More than $50,000 a Year

Computer and Information Science
Job	Median Pay
1. Computer Support Specialist	$51,470
2. Web Developer	$64,970
3. Network and Computer System Administrator	$77,810

Here are nine jobs that pay $50,000 a year or more and don’t require a bachelor’s degree, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

• Insurance sales agent.
• Paralegal.
• Wind turbine technician.
• Electrician.
• Fire inspector.
• Executive assistant.
• Occupational therapy assistant.
• Wholesale and manufacturing sales representative.