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

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 your monthly mortgage that lasts about 30 years. If you cannot pay for it, you will get evicted.

 

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.

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

・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.

・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.

 

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.

・Monthly mortgage payment can be 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.

 

 

☆Ideas and Expressions  

【Thesis】I believe individuals should prioritize living in an apartment unless they have a family because the total cost can be less than living in a house. Even if not so, the extra money they pay for rent compared to buying a house is worth for the richness at heart they get as a trade-off.

【Supporting Details】First of all, unless you buy a house in cash, you will be burdened by the mortgage payment for the rest of your life and this will restrict your freedom because you cannot easily quit your job even if you want to. The pressure will lead to alcoholism or depression, both of which lead to various costs, such as those for healthcare. You may think you can sell your house if you want to, but real estate usually depreciates like any other tangible commodities unless the land is in a super prestigious area. Also, living in a house increases possession as it makes you materialistic and possessed with consumerism. 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, homeowners spend more on household goods, while you spend that much for other purposes such as your hobby, relationships, or traveling if you live in an apartment.

【Counterargument-treatment】The stability of life and the abundance which living in a house provides 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 on the individual in the end, but I think people will be happier when they are fulfilled with good experience and memories. Therefore, individuals should choose to live in an apartment. (325 words)