Case Study: Rent vs Own

You are considering an option to purchase or rent a single residential property. You can rent it for $4,000 per month and the owner would be responsible for maintenance, property insurance, and property taxes.

Alternatively, you can purchase this property for $300,000 and finance it with an 80% mortgage at 7% interest, 25 year - fixed. The loan can be prepaid at any time with no penalty.

You have done research in the market and found that properties have historically appreciated at an annual rate of 4% per year. Rents on similar properties have also increased at the same rate. Maintenance and insurance are currently $2,500 each per year and they have been increasing at a rate of 4% per year. Property taxes have generally been about 3% of the property value each year.

If you purchase, the plan is to occupy the property for at least four years. Selling costs would be 7% in the year of sale.

Based on this information you must decide:

In order to earn a 10% internal rate of return, should you buy the property or rent it for a four-year period of ownership?