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PaperclipPerfector  2mo ago (text post)   37693 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of July 8, 2024

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Purchase price and rental price are often strongly disjointed:

https://www.newsweek.com/real-estate-map-where-cheaper-rent-versus-buy-1896130

https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/countries-with-the-biggest-real-estate-gap-between-buying-and-renting-182644895.html

There are only two countries where buying is cheaper than renting. Average mortgage payments of $1,258 in Finland are 2.1 per cent cheaper than rent of $1,285. The other is Italy. Mortgage payments of $997 are slightly lower (0.9 per cent) compared to rent of $1,006.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/24/realestate/buying-vs-renting-home.html

Of course there are further considerations (like mortgage payments building equity.)

Don't forget that rent is a fixed amount that you pay each month which includes stuff like repairs and home taxes etc. (in some countries, but alas, not the UK) while mortgages though are a lower bound on your housing costs because you're responsible for all the repairs and taxes etc.

It's often no taken into account that with the American fixed rate mortgages people almost always use what a mortgage today would cost rather than a mortgage entered a decade ago. You lock in a flat payment that doesn't increased with inflation like rent does.

Taxes and insurance are often included in US mortgages, in the form of escrow.

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