When making a big purchase such as a house or car, there are different options for how you can get these big-ticket items. One of these is leasing vs buying. Buying outright is a great option, but for the majority of us, this isn’t always the easiest option, so there is the option to lease the product too. When looking at which option is best, it’s important to assess your budget so you know what you can or want to spend. Deciding which route to take can be difficult, so we are here to help you decide which is best.
Up Front Payments
With all big items, you will need to pay a deposit or an upfront payment to secure the product for you. Depending on whether you buy or lease depends on the cost of these payments. To lease a product you can put down a small payment, which depending on the terms and conditions, on returning the product you may get back. Whereas if you are buying an item, the upfront payment is significantly more. This is due to the overall cost of the product, to lease a product for a length of time, the company will recoup the costs of the product over the length of the term. For purchasing, however, the company will need the overall cost in a lump sum. This is something you need to include in your budgeting for the item.
Upgrading
If you are the type of person who enjoys having new products every few years, such as a new car or house, then leasing is the option for you. Many car leasing companies allow you to upgrade or swap cars when you are due to renew your leasing agreement. This means you will continue to have the newest models for a slight increase in price with every upgrade. However, if you are looking to settle when buying a house, the best option for you may be to buy. Therefore, you know the cost of a mortgage payment each month will remain the same. Price increases are inevitable when leasing products due to the natural market increase with newer products.
Becoming the owner
When you buy a car or house, you know you are the owner of that product. Therefore you are fully responsible for the product. This can seem daunting as you are now responsible for the upkeep of the product and for fixing any damages. If you lease a product, you are more likely to get any fixings covered by the leasing company. For example, when you lease a house and there is a leak, you can contact the company and they will send a maintenance person over to fix the problem, however, if you own your house, you have to be responsible for paying for and finding the person to fix it. Many leasing companies require landlords to have rental insurance for any time the house gets damaged. This protects you and them from any issues. Whereas car leasing companies will have their garages that will fix any issues.
Insurance
As with many things in life insurance is a necessary part of being a car or homeowner. This is to help you cover any costs of damages to your items. When leasing a car, many companies include a servicing and MOT service, which ensures your car is roadworthy, within the leasing cost. This may be similar when buying a car, but is usually only for a fixed period, so outside of that time frame you will have to obtain these checks yourself. Unfortunately, this isn’t the same with houses. When buying a house, from that moment on, you have to pay for checks yourself, however, when leasing these checks are required by law from the landlord. This alleviates any pressures from you having to remember when checks are due etc. If leasing you do still need contents insurance or car insurance, but you will need those if you own a house or car anyway. So it’s another factor to think about when deciding what option you want to take.
Modifications
By owning a product, you are able to make any modifications you want. Such as changing the paint scheme, or upgrading different items, which isn’t an option if you lease. When leasing cars, you are not allowed to modify the car in any way, as the garage will expect the car back in exactly the same condition it was leased to you. For those of you who just plan to drive the car, that is fine, but for motorheads, buying would be the best option. Any modification will mean an increase in insurance costs regardless of leasing or owning the car. Houses are slightly different. Sometimes you may be able to make modifications if you ask the landlord and they agree. As it is their property, you have to ask to make any upgrades. It’s important to remember that any upgrades you make you are making to their property, not your own. So don’t be too quick to change parts of the property, because when you leave you won’t get your money back in return.
If you are planning to own a car or house, you can modify as much as you want because it is yours. By modifying a house or car, if you come to selling, you can gain a bigger return due to these upgrades and modifications. If, for example, you add an extension to your house you can add much more money to your house when selling. The same happens with cars. By modifying your car you may find a niche market of sellers who will spend big bucks on your upgraded car.
As with all big financial decisions, you must research all your options before choosing the right option for you. Whichever option you choose, make sure you seek legal advice regarding contracts so you know what you are and are not allowed to do. If you need any more help deciding whether to buy or lease click here.