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With home sales on the rise and new construction on every horizon, deciding whether to buy or to rent can be confusing. Thankfully, Kristen Fricks-Roman from Morgan Stanley joins the All About Real Estate segment of Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio to speak with co-hosts Carol Morgan and Todd Schnick and answer our burning real estate questions.
Fricks-Roman, in her role as Senior Vice President at Morgan Stanley, says that the decision about renting or buying boils down to a person’s “financial ability to earn and to save.” She makes it clear that earning is only part of the equation; saving is key. Individuals must also answer personal questions about the stability of their work situation, if they move around a lot, and where they would like to live. In either case, the decision “must make sense further down along the road.”
Buying a home requires a down payment, closing costs and other incidentals. After those expenses, a home buyer accrues equity over time, with the goal of owning the home some day. Owning a home means the buyers are free to make cosmetic and structural changes, and usually buyers expect to be in homes they have purchased for years.
On the other hand, renting may in fact be more affordable if work requires travel or moving, if economical rental areas are appealing and convenient to a career. Fricks-Roman suggests that if people choose to rent, they think about how they will continue to pay for their homes once their ability to earn money has gone. In other words, renters need to be saving in order to pay rent after retirement. She says that four metro Atlanta counties were recently rated as affordable for renters. These are Fulton, Forsyth, Fayette and Jackson.
Fricks-Roman offers more advice about investing, planning for buying, saving as a renter and more in today’s segment. Listen to hear more, or email her.
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Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio’s “All About Real Estate” segment airs on Fridays and highlights the movers and shakers in the Atlanta real estate industry – the home builders, developers, Realtors and suppliers working to provide the American dream for Atlantans. For more information on how you can be featured as a guest, contact please the contact form on this site.
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