Same with homes, renting can provide lower monthly payments vs a mortgage. But with a mortgage you own the home and eventually you'll have no monthly payment, whereas renting means you'll always pay and the landlord has the final say in matters.

[–] CyberMonkey404@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 months ago (2 children)

But with a mortgage you own the home

Do you? Or do you start owning it after paying off the mortgage?

[–] shreddy_scientist@lemmy.ml 6 points 2 months ago

Ya, the house is in the persons name. But if they struggle to keep up with payments, it can become the banks home.

[–] jonne@infosec.pub 3 points 2 months ago (2 children)

At least you can't get kicked out or have your rent raised for arbitrary reasons. Some renters are basically moving every year.

[–] CyberMonkey404@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 months ago

Fair enough, I suppose. Although I'm relatively sure that the bank can mess with the credit conditions

[–] DScratch@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Mortgages can change repayments amounts as the central lending rate changes.

We’re in a squeeze in Canada right now because rates went up and a bunch of mortgages are up for renewal. (5-year fixed rate is standard here)

[–] fushuan@lemm.ee 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

In Spain you can decode between fixed or variable rates, and although fixed rates are usually a bit higher, having the peace of mind that suddenly the mortgage won't raise next month and being able to plan around a fixed monthly cost is such a big peace of mind.

Fixed rates are the best.

[–] DScratch@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 months ago

Fixed rates are safer, for sure.

But during the pandemic, when rates went to near zero, I was very glad to be on a variable.

[–] jonne@infosec.pub 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

It went up a little, but nothing compared to the equivalent in rent you'd pay for the same place.

[–] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 months ago

It's actually pretty comparable for me. My mortgage went up 40% which made the whole monthly cost of housing go up by 28%. Rents in the same building went up similarly but actually haven't quite caught up.

[–] mephiska@fedia.io 2 points 2 months ago

Mortgages can change repayments amounts as the central lending rate changes.

Not in the US if you have a fixed rate mortgage, and most do. There's tons of people who locked in rates at below 3% back in 2020-2021.