By Max Havens – Blogger

Last Thursday, Reuters ran a story discussing whether or not owning a home should still be viewed as a sound financial investment (read the full story here), and the role that emotions can play when discussing home ownership as the American Dream.

The story quotes, Rich Arzaga, an adjunct professor of personal finance, as saying that, “100 percent of the time it was better to rent, rather than own.” This is despite the fact that the article cites Arzaga as being a homeowner himself because he preferred the lifestyle of being a homeowner.

Clearly then, taking such an absolute stance against home ownership is flawed if the same person refers to a superior lifestyle as a reason for still owning a home.

While it is certainly true that renting eliminates many of the headaches that home ownership can bring (namely: maintenance and repairs, home insurance and the dreaded yard maintenance duties), it has yet to find a place in our culture as prominent as ownership.

There certainly is something to be said for the positives of owning a home – after all, it just feels like the American thing to do, right?

What this article really drives at is that maybe it isn’t a good idea to want to own a home just because you feel like you should. At the same time, though, it’s important to understand that even though home ownership can come with many headaches – for most, these don’t even come close to outweighing the positives.

When you figure that it’s currently possible to buy a home at a low price and an incredibly low interest rate, while understanding that rental rates will continue to climb – it’d be foolish to suggest that Arzaga’s 100 percent statement is applicable right now.

But is it just as foolish to dismiss renting as a plausible option just because it doesn’t have the same feel to it that ownership does?

We want to hear what you think – comment below or drop us a comment on our Facebook Page to tell us how you weigh your emotions against financial planning when considering a real estate decision.

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