subject: Apartment Living [print this page] Those who are homeowners can certainly attest to the fact that when you own a home, you cannot simply 'walk away' from a mortgage. Instead, you are held responsible for that home's mortgage regardless as to whether or not you are able to pay for it. The finances and legalities involved are far more complicated when you own a house than if you were to rent an apartment.
There are certainly pluses and minuses to owning a home versus renting. For instance, when you rent, you don't have to worry about paying property taxes on your home or homeowner's association dues (HOAs). Typical apartment expenses include paying a set amount each month for the base rent as well as paying for your utilities (ie. water, electric, phone, etc.), which can fluctuate depending on the amount of usage. For instance, the utilities at my apartment were greater this last month because we ran the heat more due to the colder weather. Once it starts to warm up, the electric bill will more than likely be cheaper due to the decreased usage.
One of the positives to owning a house is that you are always guaranteed a parking space, you have a piece of property that you can legally claim as being your own and you while you may owe property taxes, you can still write some of these off when you file your taxes each year. Additionally, you can also borrow against your home for things that you may need (although it is always a good idea to think through this thoroughly before doing so). For instance, it is not uncommon for people to borrow against their homes in order to finance the purchase of a new car or for something like paying for education, etc. Additionally, when you own a home, you own a piece of land which means that you can alter your property in any way that you see fit. For example, if you wanted to plant a garden in your backyard or fence your property in, you could do so without getting into any trouble. The only time when you would have to check up on any of this is if you were to purchase a townhome or a home within a subdivision where there are HOAs. For example, in the subdivision where my boyfriend's parents live, you have to get approval from the HOA before you decide to put a fence up because there are certain restrictions in place as to what kinds of fencing is appropriate. On the other hand, in a more established neighborhood where there is no HOA, you could put up whatever type of fencing you wanted.
Living in an apartment, especially if you live in a cheaper apartment, you are subject to all of the noise that your neighbors make. Because apartments are typically less expensive to live in than if you were to live in a home, the walls are thinner and allow for more transmission of noise- something that you quickly adjust to after a while. You have to be cognizant of things such as what time of day you vacuum as well as how loudly you are playing your music.
