Renting looks cheaper. The tax and the equity are not in that number.
The rent on a house in the ring is real. The payment on the same house is real too, and it includes a property tax bill that the listing does not show you.
A year of rent does not build the equity. A year of owning does, if the monthly number still works after the certificate. That is the whole comparison. It is not a spreadsheet you can finish on a Sunday.
I do not hand you a calculator. I do not run five years of appreciation so you can decide alone. I pull the tax certificate, we walk the house, and the monthly number is either one you can carry or it is not.
If you are deciding in Austin, Cedar Park, Leander, or the ring, start the file. I will send the agreement so the walk can include the real bill.
