“Everyone said I was throwing money away on rent. Today, my investment portfolio says otherwise.” ๐ ๐ฐ
Rahul, a 35-year-old software engineer who made a controversial choice in 2015
โhe chose rent over a home loan. While friends bought โน60L apartments with โน48L loans, he stayed put in his โน20K/month rental.
The math seemed crazy to everyone around him. But Rahul had a plan.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ป (๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐):
๐ก The Home Loan Path:
โ EMI: โน45K/month (โน54L paid over 10 years)
โ Property tax & maintenance: โน3K/month (โน3.6L total)
โ Home repairs: โน5L over 10 years
โ Opportunity cost: Money locked in down payment
โ Property value today: โน95L (appreciation varied by location)
๐ผ The Rent + Invest Path:
โ Rent paid: โน20K/month (โน24L over 10 years)
โ Amount invested: โน25K/month in equity mutual funds
โ Total invested: โน30L over 10 years
โ Portfolio value today: โน2.05Cr (at 15% CAGR)
โ Liquid wealth: Accessible anytime
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ณ๐ถ๐๐ ๐ก๐ผ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ ๐ง๐ฎ๐น๐ธ๐ ๐๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐:
โ
Job flexibility: Switched cities twice for better opportunities without property hassles
โ
Zero EMI stress: Survived pandemic layoff for 8 months comfortably
โ
Compounding magic: Equity returns beat property appreciation significantly โ
Liquidity power: Used โน15L from portfolio for emergency medical expense without selling home
โ
Tax efficiency: LTCG on equity more favorable than property capital gains
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฉ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฐ๐?
Rahul can now BUY a better homeโcash down โน50L, small loan of โน30L, still keeping โน1.25Cr invested. His EMI? Just โน28K for 10 years.
Meanwhile, his friends are still paying โน45K EMIs on the same old property, with โน25L principal remaining.
The lesson? Homeownership isn’t wrongโbut timing and opportunity cost matter more than emotional decisions.
Real estate is ONE asset class. Not your ONLY asset class.
What’s your takeโrent or buy? Drop your thoughts below! ๐
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