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Is buying better than renting?

Making sense of buying your storage

Is buying better than renting? I can answer that in one simple statement.
How much money are you going to get back when you finish renting?

Since many of us are accustomed to the idea of depreciating assets (RV's, boats and other toys), renting storage may not seem that bad of an idea, after all, I never bought my RV to make money off of it. But stop and think for a moment, it doesn't have to be that way.

While storing your vehicles is certainly an expense, why not capitalize on the idea and leverage your hobby into a potential money maker?

The monthly cost to buy your storage is about the same as renting, in some cases even less than renting. You vehicle is certainly more secure and will stay much cleaner and the finish will not be eaten away by our Southern California sun. Storing inside has always been the optimum storage solution. But where do you find it? How much does it cost? Is it really secure?

Yes, buying your storage does require more of a commitment than renting, but so does buying a home. You could have rented a house. It would have been easier and frankly much cheaper than buying. Did your home purchase work out for you? I'll bet it did and you are glad you went the extra distance and effort.

There is no reason why storage cannot offer the same benefits as home ownership. Yes, it is a commitment, and yes renting is easier, but down the road, (no pun intended), the potential benefits could be fantastic. Even looking at a worse case scenario, if your storage stayed the same value in 5 years as when you bought it, you still will get your money back when you sell it. Again, what do you get back when you are finished renting? That's right, nothing. After five years of renting at $350 a month, that is $21,000 hard earned after tax dollars lost-spent-gone.

If I told you you were assured of losing $21,000 over five years on your owned storage, would you buy? No, that would be ridiculous. However, when you go to the rental office, that is exactly what they are telling you ... your money is gone.

Here is why buying works

Purchase	Payment	Appreciation	Net Cost
$60,000	$350	1%	$300
$60,000	$350	2%	$250
$60,000	$350	3%	$200
$60,000	$350	4%	$150

The example above is greatly simplified, but I think you get the point. It doesn't take much appreciation to really begin to see a solid return on your investment. Can you say that about renting? We have not even touched on the potential tax benefits, but I will leave that up to you and your tax person.

Since you have read this far, I suggest you go Here to understand what other forces are working to your advantage.