Writing for Academic Discussion Economics of renting an apartment or buying a house

Should individuals prioritize buying a home or renting an apartment? (Economics)

 

 

☆Let’s Think

Note: If you pay $800 a month as a rent for an average apartment for 50 years, you’ll pay $480,000, which is a little more than the cost of an average house. If you buy a house and cannot pay for it in cash, you pay in a monthly mortgage that lasts about 30 years.

 

1.        What are the disadvantages of having a house?

2.        What are the disadvantages of renting an apartment?

3.        Which would you recommend to others? Why?

 

 

☆Hints for Points

Renting an apartment

・You have more usable money left in the bank as you don’t pay for the furniture and goods for the house.

・It provides mobility, or flexibility as Ben says.

・You have to consider your neighbors more than you have a house.

・You cannot renovate your apartment. If you break it, you have to compensate for the damage.

・How comfortable the life depends much on the superintendent.

・It is the best lifestyle for a minimalist, who tries limit their possessions at a minimum.

 

Buying a house

・Peace of mind is easier to get because you have autonomy and privacy, as well as a sense of permanence as Tamara points out.

・A house has a yard or a garden and can have a garage.

・You can have a family and keep pets.

・A monthly mortgage payment costs a lot, so it is a mental burden.

・House prices fluctuate, and it is often risky to own a house if your income is not high and stable. You may go bankrupt if you lose your job after you buy a house.

 

 

☆Sample Responses  

【Thesis】I believe individuals should prioritize living in an apartment. The extra money we pay compared to buying a house is worth for the richness at heart they get as a trade-off.

【Supporting Details】When we die, we can take nothing with us, so it is better for us to have as little property as possible while we are alive. However, living in a house increases our possession. Usually, if you get extra rooms, you buy pieces of furniture to fit in the rooms and fill the furniture with the content. You may also buy paintings and plants to decorate the rooms. Very few people can stand leaving a vacant room as it is. As a result, they spend more on household goods, while you spend that much for other purposes such as your hobby, relationships, or traveling.

【Counterargument-treatment】The stability of life and the abundance which living in a house provides both mentally and materialistically cannot be expected in life in an apartment, However, abundance of experience and memory makes the individual much happier in the end as these are in their mind while those are outside of it.

【Conclusion】Whether to choose materialistic life or not depends of the individual in the end, but I think people will be happier when they are fulfilled with good experience and memories. Therefore, people should choose to live in an apartment unless they have a family. (224 words)

 

Write your response in 10 minutes. Show each other your responses. Write down questions or suggestions to each other’s response.

 

                                                   DRAFT