I'm about to say something controversial...

我接下來要講的是一直受到熱議的話題…

What is it?

是什麼？

The Earth is flat?

地球是平的？

Tomatoes aren't really a fruit?

蕃茄不是水果？

The Star Wars prequels were better than the originals?

《星際大戰前傳》比《星際大戰正傳三部曲》好看？

Renting isn't always a bad financial decision...

租房子在財政決定上並沒有一定不好…

Say what?

什麼？

But isn't renting just throwing money away?

但租房子不就像是把錢都丟到垃圾桶嗎？

When you buy a home, your monthly payments are going towards something you will eventually own.

因為假設你買一個房子，你每個月所支付的房貸到最後是變成實際擁有。

Yes, but not for a long time. [Amortization schedule.]

說得沒錯，但情況已經改變了。[攤銷時程表]

Thanks to amortization, the first five to ten years of mortgage payments are mostly interest. -[Amortization schedule: principal, interest.]

多虧了攤銷 (amorization)，大概前 5 至 10 的房貸都只是在償還利息。[攤銷時程表：本金、利息]

But… but the home is appreciating, right?

不過房子會增值，是吧？

So even if you're not paying down the principal, you're still making money, right?

所以即使你沒有償還部分本金，你還是在賺錢啊，不是嗎？

True, but not that much more than inflation. [1967–2019, home price increase rate: 4.23 percent, inflation rate: 3.99 percent.]

是這樣沒有錯，在通貨膨脹時可就不是這麼說。[1967-2019 房價成長率：4.23%；通貨膨脹率：3.99%]

Home ownership might work out for some, but can become a financial burden for others.

對某些人來說要當業主並不是這麼難，但對有些人來說卻是經濟上的負擔。

So when is renting a good financial decision?

什麼情況下租房子才是個好決定？

And is renting viable as a long-term strategy?

租房子又是否可作長遠的策略？

[Two Cents.]

[Two Cents 頻道]

This is Kira.

這是 Kira。

She just landed a job in a new city, and has already started shopping for places to live.

她才在新城市找到工作並正開始物色住所。

She's trying to decide if she should take the money she's saved up and put it towards a house, or invest it in index funds while she rents.

她在猶豫應該要把積蓄拿去買房子或是在租房子期間拿去投資指數基金。

[Check the P/R ratio!]

[檢查房價租金比！]

A great way to find out whether you should rent or buy is to look at the price-to-rent ratio.

而找出該租還是買的最好方法就是要先考慮「房價租金比」。

Find two similar houses, apartments, or condos in your area; one for sale and one for rent.

在你那區找兩間差不多的房子、公寓套房或是公寓大樓，一間是賣的，而另外一間是租的。

Divide the sale price of one by the annual rental cost of the other.

把買房價除以年租金並會得出一個數目。

Experts say if the P/R ratio is over 15, it's probably less expensive to rent.

專家表示如果房價租金比超過 15 的話，租房子可能會比較省錢。

For example, the P/R ratio for the city of Cincinnati is about 8.3, according to the US Census Bureau.

舉例來說，根據美國普查局的數據顯示，辛辛那提市的房價租金比是 8.3。

In our hometown of Austin, it's 22.9.

我們的家鄉奧斯汀是 22.9。

And in San Francisco, it's 50.1!

而舊金山竟是 50.1！

Put another way, a 600,000 USD home in San Francisco would rent for only 1,000 USD a month!

換句話說，在舊金山一個 60 萬美元的房子租金竟然只需 1 千美元！

There are even free rent-vs-buy calculators online that will help you do the math with your own specifics!

網路上甚至有很多免費「到底要租或買」的計算機，幫助你可以根據自己實際狀況來計算結果。

After shopping around, Kira finds an area that she's happy with.

看過一輪後，Kira 找到合她心意的地方。

The average home price is 270,000 USD.

平均房價約 27 萬美金左右。

And the average rent is 1,100 USD a month.

而平均租金是每月 1,100 美元。

That means her area's P/R ratio is 20.5, and she'll get more bang for her buck by renting.

也就是說她的住所的房價租金比是 20.5，她可以透過租房子省下更多錢。

She also doesn't know if she wants to live in this city long term, making renting an even more attractive option.

而且她並不知道是否會長期留在該城市，所以這就成為她租房子很大的一個誘因。

She decides against buying a home, and will invest the money she saved for a down payment in an index fund instead.

她最後決定不買房子，把原先打算用作頭期款的積蓄拿去投資指數基金。

[Set a budget!]

[設定預算！]

When it comes to affording a place to live, Millennials have an uphill battle.

若要擁有一個容身之所，千禧世代的人可是要面對艱鉅的挑戰。

Baby Boomers spent an average of 36 percent of their income on rent.

嬰兒潮 (二戰結束後) 一代出生的人花 36% 的收入於租金上。

Gen-X spent 41 percent.

而 X 世代的是 41%。

And Millennials now pay over 45 percent of their pre-tax income on housing costs alone!

而千禧世代的住房成本就佔了他們稅前收入的 45%。

This makes it especially hard to invest, save, and give to charity.

這會讓他們更難以有閒錢作投資、存錢或是捐款。

Experts suggest keeping your total housing costs below 30 percent of your income.

專家建議應該要把住房成本設低於收入的 30%。

Kira's new salary is 58,000 USD a year.

若 Kira 新工作的年薪為 58,000 美元。

That would mean her maximum fixed housing expense should ideally fall below 1450 USD a month.

也就是她每個月住房上的花費最多是 1450 美元。

Since utilities are usually 20 percent of housing expense, this would equate to 1160 USD a month in rent and $290 for utilities.

而通常水電佔了住房花費的 20%，因此她每個月房租應該落在 1160 美元，水電費大概是 290 美元。

Now she has a budget to start shopping for her new place.

現在有了這個預算，她可以去物色房子了。

[Location! Location! Location!]

[地點！地點！地點！]

Kira's new job is downtown.

Kira 新的工作地點在市中心。

But rents in that area are pretty high.

但那一帶的房租都頗高。

Further out of town, costs are lower… but then there's the commute.

離市中心越遠，花費越低... 但還要考慮到通勤。

One study found that every mile she has to drive to work costs 795 USD a year through depreciation, gas, maintenance, and lost wages.

有一項研究指出，由於車子貶值、汽油、維修保固和損失的薪水，她開車駕駛的每一英哩每年要花 795 美元。

For Kira, a 10 mile commute might cost her 8,000 USD a year!

而 Kira 的情況來說，一年 10 英哩的通勤路程可能會花費她近 8 千美元。

She makes a mental note to add public transit and carpool meetups to her list of search criteria.

她在心中記下要加上搭乘公眾交通運輸和共乘於找房準則。

One often overlooked resource for renters in a new city is to work with a licensed realtor.

還有一個要到新城市租房子的房客會忽略的就是要和有證照的房仲合作。

That's right, they're not just for home buyers!

沒錯，房仲不只是對買家而已。

A good realtor will know the best areas to begin your search.

一個好的房仲會知道最適合你的地方。

They might know about better deals that aren't widely advertised.

而且他們可能會知道很多不廣為人知且更好的交易協定。

And best of all, their commission is paid by the property owner, not you!

最好的是，他們的傭金是由業主支付而不是你！

Kira would be smart to engage with one to help narrow her search.

Kira 聰明地找了一名房仲以協助縮小找房的範圍。

[Consider a roomie!]

[考慮跟室友合住！]

Kira's starting to get a little frustrated because none of the areas of town she likes fall within her budget.

Kira 開始感到沮喪，因為在市內沒有一個她喜歡的房子的租金落在她的預算內。

She's momentarily tempted to throw her budget out the window, when a thought occurs to her.

她突然有一刻想把預算拋諸腦後，可卻有一個念頭閃過。

Maybe she can keep her housing costs in line and live in a great area, if she will consider living with a roommate.

一個也許不用調整住房成本，又可以住在不錯的地段的方法，就是和室友合住。

30 percent of working-age adults lived in a so-called "doubled-up" household.

有 30% 的打工仔會住在所謂「共住」的房子。

She could rent out a spare room to offset the higher costs!

她可以出租一個多餘的房間作抵消較高的房租。

And if she wants to cut costs even more, she might even look at "homeshare" networks.

如果她想再減低更多成本，她可以透過「房子共享」尋找房子。

For example, Senior Homeshare or Golden Girls Network pair younger renters with aging homeowners.

例如：Senior Homeshare (與長者共享空間) 或 Golden Girls Network (銀髮族女子) 等會把年輕房客與長者業主配對。

Rent is highly reduced in exchange for a little help around the house or rides to a doctor's appointment.

如此一來，房租可以大大降低，長者亦藉此換取一點幫助，如打掃家裡或載去看醫生。

[Protect yourself!]

[保障自己！]

Another common pitfall renters face is failing to closely read their lease terms.

房客還有面臨另一個常見的陷阱是沒有仔細閱讀租賃條款。

A lease is a legally enforceable document and it's your job to arm yourself with the knowledge of exactly what it says.

租約是法律上強制性的文件，而你的責任是要完全了解租賃內容。

For example, if you move out early and don't abide by the lease-breaking rules perfectly, you could be liable for the rent of the entirety of the lease!

舉例來說，如果你要提早搬離而又不遵守違約條款，則有可能需承擔合約上剩餘月份的租金。

And if you plan to sublet or rent out the apartment, terms will be covered here too.

而倘若要轉租或出租公寓，這裡亦將涵蓋條款。

Some people are surprised to find out that damage of their belongings is not generally not covered by their property owner.

有的人可能不知道個人財物的損失，房東是沒有責任負責。

But renter's insurance is designed to protect against just that.

不過房客的保險旨在防止這種情況發生。

In the event of water damage, fire, smoke, or even theft, she can rest easy knowing her belongings are safe.

萬一發生水災、火災、短路冒煙甚至遭盜竊，她可以放心且確保自己的財產安全。

The best part?

好消息是什麼？

Renter's insurance is quite cheap.

就是房客的保險蠻便宜。

For the price of a pizza, Kira can know that her possessions will be fine, even if her building is not.

即使 Kira 住的大樓沒有保險，但她只需付一個薄餅的價錢就可以買到一個保障。

Kira is relieved to have found a place at last.

Kira 最終可以放下心頭大石了。

And because she has that index fund, she knows she'll keep pace with her homeowner friends.

而且她投資了指數基金，所以她知道自己需與房主朋友保持關係。

Renting may be the right choice for Kira, but it's not for everyone.

租房子也許對 Kira 來說是對的選擇，但並不是每個人都一樣。

If you're not strategic about it, it can feel like throwing money away.

如果你沒有策略性地計算，這就只會像把錢丟到垃圾桶裡。

But if you're careful to keep housing costs low, and invest the money you save, it can be a viable long-term alternative to owning.

但是如果你懂得謹慎地將住房成本保持在低水平，並將節省下來的錢進行投資，那麼這可能是替代買房子的長期可行的選擇。

And that's our two cents!

我們的影片要結束了！

What's the P/R ratio in your neighborhood?

不知道你們家附近的房價租金比是多少呢？

Calculate it and share it with us in the comments!

歡迎大家把計算好的答案在下方留言留告訴我們！