Five reasons why renting is better than buying

A lecturer is questioning why Australians are obsessed with owning their homes.

John Eldridge from Sydney University thinks it’s much better to rent.

Mr Eldridge told Tom Elliott he’s rented for nine years, and has avoided all the peripheral costs associated with owning a property, like insurance and maintenance.

Some of the advantages of staying a renter include:

• Flexibility to move quickly for work or schools;
   
• Freedom from stress;
   
• No owners corporation meetings;
   
• No responsibility for maintenance; 
   
• Money saved on mortgage repayments can be invested elsewhere;

‘As long as you’re disciplined about it, you can end up significantly ahead,’ he said.

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