The decision of whether to rent or buy your housing is a personal decision that is based on both your lifestyle and your finances.

While the financial aspect of the decision is important, it is important not to base your rent$-$or$-$buy decision solely on the numbers. Your personal

needs and housing market conditions are important.

The freedom to decide what, when, and what color you're going to paint can't be quantified, but it is very relevant to the rent$-$or$-$buy discussion.

What are the theoretical and lifestyle aspects of the rent$-$versus$-$buy decision?

Among the personal and lifestyle factors that are relevant to this decision are:

Your desire for

Your desire to fix up your living space and

The personal

$\_$ that results from homeownership

Read each of the following situations and determine whether it makes more financial sense to rent or to buy the home.

Andrew

Andrew is in his mid$-60$s and currently lives in Boston; his wife passed away six months ago. He's now considering moving closer to his children in

Denver.

His retirement income, investments, and inheritance are sufficient to make his current bills require only $35\%$ of his income. He is young for his age,

and he enjoys performing or dealing with necessary maintenance tasks around the home.

Based solely on these factors and assuming that everything else remained constant, should Andrew rent or purchase?

Rent

Purchase