Advantages of buying a new home over renting

If you’ve been looking at homes for sale in Philadelphiaor the immediate surrounding area, you’ve asked yourself the question, “Do I rent or buy?”

In a recent blog entry in the Philadelphia Business Journal, Francis Hilario refers to a Trulia study that finds it’s 48% cheaper to buy a median priced Philadelphia home than it is to rent an apartment for $1,600 a month.

Emily Guendelsberger, in an opposition piece in the Philadelphia City Paper, attempts to debunk the 48% figure as too high, but finally says, “…It probably is cheaper and more financially smart to own a house than to rent. We admit it. But certainly not 48% cheaper.”

48% or 24%…it doesn’t really matter. There are more than enough reasons to buy a home rather than rent. Let’s look at a few…

Landlords always want to raise your rent

A lot of cash has been hidden away for the last several years in investors’ pockets waiting for the Philadelphia real estate marketto improve. These investors are now out in force looking for real estate buys, and one place they look is multi-family housing for the profits they can earn each year by raising rents. You can always count on your landlord raising your rent when your lease is up. If you move to another rental building, that landlord is looking to do the same.

As a tenant, you live at the whim of your landlord who is running a business where profit is uppermost. If the landlord decides to cash in and sell the property, you’ll need to look for a new home.

Rental housing is often lower quality than condos built to sell

Landlords generally build apartments to “rental standards”. The landlord assumes that the tenant does not have the same pride of ownership in the premises that a homeowner does, so the landlord uses less expensive construction materials, appliances, and flooring to save money and that costs less to replace if damaged.

Condos and townhouses are built to far more exacting construction and design standards meant to attract a buyer who is willing to invest in quality housing for the long term. Solid and reputable developers like the builders of Darley Green make construction decisions with permanence and quality in mind.

Tenants in rentals live with what’s already there, with little or no opportunity to modify. At Darley Green, you can customize your new home to your individual needs.The Darley Green design team will help you choose from a variety of floor plans and custom finishes.

You deserve a great home, and Darley Green has a top-quality design staff waiting to help you.

You can beat the Philadelphia real estate market

One of the big news stories in the Philadelphia real estate market has been the skyrocketing Philadelphia rental market. According to a 2013 Zillow Real Estate Market Report, the average cost of rent in Philadelphia has increased by 8.2 percent, as compared to the same time period the year prior.

Why pay more for lower-tier rental housing that goes up every year when you can own an affordable luxury condo or townhouse in Darley Green for the same cost, build equity in your home, and still be only twenty minutes from Philadelphia? And remember, your own home is an investment you can live in.

The American dream is to own a home, not rent one. At Darley Green, our condo and townhouse owners have a sense of permanence and a feeling of being part of a community.

It makes little sense to pay rising rents each year when you can enjoy up to 2,500 square feet of gracious and luxurious space for below-market-value pricing at Darley Green. To learn more about our affordably-priced homes, please call Amy Maluski at 302-655-2600.