Should we buy a house or rent one?
I was deeply touched by the conversation I heard between two strangers sitting next to me on the high-speed train recently.
A asked: "How much is the monthly mortgage?"
B replied: "No, I don't have a mortgage. I haven't bought a house yet, so where would I get the mortgage?"
A was surprised: "You didn't buy a house?"
B replied: "Yes, it is much more cost-effective to rent a house now than to buy one, so why should I buy one?"
A became interested and asked: "Renting a house is more cost-effective than buying one. How do you say that?"
B continued to reply: "Let me give you an example. I am renting a 140-square-meter house. Take this house for example. There are two subway lines downstairs. There are parks and shopping malls. They are all very close. They can be solved within five minutes. My rent is only more than 4,000 yuan a month, 4,000 yuan a month, yes, but do you know how much this house sells for per square meter? It is about 30,000 yuan a square meter. If I want to buy it, this 140 square meters, I have to buy it for more than 4 million yuan. Yes, more than 4 million yuan, that is, the down payment is more than 1 million yuan, and then if you take out a loan of more than 3 million yuan, do you know how much the monthly payment is? The monthly payment is at least 15,000 yuan, more than 15,000 yuan, if you take out a loan of 3 million yuan, the monthly payment for 30 years is nearly 20,000 yuan. Think about it, you pay 20,000 yuan to the bank every month, and I pay 4,000 yuan in rent every month, and I can live in this house. Which one do you think is more cost-effective?"
A couldn't help but retort: "But you bought the house, so it's yours!"
B then calmly said, "Yes, in principle, once you buy this house, it is yours. But think about it carefully. Although you bought this house, don't you still have to pay the bank monthly installments? Is this different from the rent you and I pay every month? There is no difference. The only difference is that you pay 20,000 yuan a month, while I only pay more than 4,000 yuan a month. I think renting a house is much more cost-effective! Calculate it. If you take out a loan of 3 million yuan for 30 years, do you know how much you will have to pay back in principal plus interest after 30 years? How much? Uh, more than 6 million, 7 million is about right. Adding your principal of more than 1 million, the total cost of this house will reach 8 million after 30 years. In contrast, if you choose to rent a house, the monthly rent is more than 4,000 yuan, which is more than 50,000 yuan a year, and 1.5 million in 30 years. Taking into account that the rent may rise, we bet 2 million, then after 30 years your total cost of renting a house will reach 2 million. With this calculation, the difference between buying a house and renting a house is more than 6 million. Moreover, after 30 years, your house may become old and its value may decrease. At the same time, society changes very quickly, and we cannot predict the situation in three or four years. Therefore, in the long run, renting a house is obviously more cost-effective than buying a house. However, renting a house does not give you a sense of security as buying a house. But this is not worth mentioning at all in the face of the price. Just tell me if what I said makes sense."
After hearing this, A fell into deep thought for a long time. I suddenly remembered that a celebrity couple also chose to rent a house for a long time instead of buying one based on this consideration. However, for ordinary people, the lack of security is also true.
So whether to buy or rent a house, it is up to everyone to weigh the pros and cons for themselves!
