When the need arises for a roof over your and your family's heads, you basically have to contemplate three choices - to rent a place, to buy a place, or to build your own place. Each option has its merits and drawbacks and there are no rights or wrongs. The choice you make depends on your own circumstances and are usually linked to your current life-stage.

When renting a place, whether it be a tiny apartment, a comfortable townhouse or a luxury house, your initial financial outlay is usually limited to a deposit and the first month rent in advance. Most landlords require a refundable deposit equal to one month's rent. Note that the rental agreement should stipulate whether the deposit will be invested in an interest free account or not. You are usually only liable to pay your own utilities, usually water and electricity consumption and sometimes refuse removal. You are usually not liable to pay any municipal rates and taxes, nor any levies payable to a body corporate. These are usually payable by the landlord and may be included in full or in part in your monthly rent. When renting, you are not bound to your current location, and can relocate quite easily whenever you need to do so. The downside of renting may be the fact that you will never own a place of your own. Every Rand that you pay in rent, simply goes to somebody else's pocket, and your ideal of owning your own place may dwindle every year. Any escalation in property prices is to the benefit of the property owner, while the tenant will simply have to pay a higher rent.

On the other hand, owning your own home will require substantial initial capital. Unless you are one of the very fortunate few to have millions on your name, you will most probably require a mortgage loan (also referred to as a bond) from a financial institution. This capital can then be used to either buy an existing house, or to buy a suitable stand and build your own home to your own design and specifications. You will have to service your mortgage loan by making monthly payments to the financial institution. The monetary difference between paying monthly rent and making a monthly payment towards your bond is a topic for a future post. Apart from the monthly bond payments, a homeowner will also be liable to pay monthly utilities as well as municipal rates and taxes. Should the house be located within a gated community like a security or golf estate, monthly levies may also be payable. However, when you own your own home, it becomes an asset that will (usually) increase in value over time.

Whether it is cheaper to buy an existing house than to buy a stand and build a new house from scratch, surely depends on a lot of factors. However, the only sure way to get the house that you want or need, is to look for a proper stand and build your own house the way you want it.

To provide you with the building blocks you need to do just that, look no further than BuildingBlog.net for information and advice!