Views #511 | Intermediate 5

Owning vs. Renting

Todd and Akane debate home ownership.

Script
Vocab
Quiz


Akane	Todd

Todd: So, Akane, I was talking with my friend and he’s just recently married and he was wondering should he rent a home or own a home. That’s a tough call. What do you think?

Akane: It is a tough call but I personally prefer to rent.

Todd: Really? So why would you rather rent?

Akane: Well, because there’s just no extra costs. You don’t have to pay for extra things like maintenance and just keeping up your home. When something gets broken you don’t have to pay to get it fixed. Property tax is already included, things like that.

Todd: Yeah but if you own a home I mean first of all I think the biggest reason is you’re not throwing money away, it’s a solid investment. You can actually make a profit on the home later on.

Akane: That’s true but with this day and age you really never know when you’re going to lose your job or if you’re going to have to move for job reasons and for that reason I think that if you’re stuck with a mortgage and you lose your job then you won’t be able to pay it and what if you can’t sell it?

Todd: That’s a good point actually but you could always rent the house out, right, so…
One common thing that rich people all have is that they own property and they own real estate.
So you could just rent it to someone else.

Akane: Well that’s a good idea but still I think that’s a lot of work for somebody as busy as me and I’m not a rich person.

Todd: That’s how you get rich!

Akane: Right! Well, I don’t think I could be bothered with the hassle of renting to somebody and first you have to find someone to rent it and then you have to make sure that they pay the rent and then you have to make sure that things are fixed It’s too much of a headache for me.

Todd: That’s a good point. You know, actually I think the main reason why I would ever want to own a home is because you could have a dog.

Akane: Oh that’s a great reason; I love dogs.

Todd: When you rent a house often they won’t allow you to have a pet.

Akane: That’s true. Well you can have a cat or fish and maybe a hamster.

Todd: True, but if you’re a dog lover its not the same thing.

Akane: I guess so.

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

tough call

He was wondering should he rent a home or own a home. That’s a tough call.

A tough call is a difficult decision to make, where the options have both positive and negative consequences. Notice the following:

It's a tough call sometimes to know whether you should tell the truth.
Make a decision about buying a new car is always a tough call.

throw money away

If you own a home, I think the biggest reason is you’re not throwing money away, it’s a solid investment.

If you "throw money away" you waste it on things you don't need or on something that is not a good investment. Notice the following:

Buying cheap electronics is like throwing money away. They break after a few months.
I can't believe I threw money away by buying him that expensive watch.

stuck with

If you’re stuck with a mortgage and you lose your job then you won’t be able to pay it.

You are "stuck with" something if you can't escape from it, like a responsibility. Notice the following:

I bought new green carpet. I hate it, but I'm stuck with it.
She got stuck living with her parents for another year because she didn't have money to rent an apartment.

bother with

I don’t think I could be bothered with the hassle of renting to somebody.

If you "bother with" doing something, then you make the effort to do it even though it may be difficult. If you "couldn't be bothered" to do something, it means that you don't think it's worth the effort. This is usually used in a negative sense. Notice the following:

I can't be bothered with shopping for presents this year. I will give everyone money.
Although the house was dirty, she was tired and couldn't be bothered to clean it.

headache

It’s too much of a headache for me.

If something is a headache, then it is a problem, a hassle or something that you don't like to do. Notice the following: