[walshemj]

but renting has lots of additional costs in the UK you can have the following just to move in:

Tenancy Fee £360 Admin Fee £90 Referencing Fee £60 Checkin Fee £90 Guaentor Fee £90 Deed of Guarantee £120 Sat Checkin £72

[calgoo]

Here in Barcelona, Spain, we normally have to do a deposit of normally 2 to 5 months and depending on your contract and share some communal costs such as garbage collection etc (might be included in price already). There could be 1 month more if it was contracted using an agency.

[DamnYuppie]

Those fees, by comparison to home purchases, are very minimal. The doc fees to buy a house in the US alone runs well over $1300, that doesn't even include paying for points or inspections. You have the same type of fees to rent in the US as well, credit checks, deposits, pet fees, and move in fees for certain buildings depending upon access and parking.

[walshemj]

but that is amortized over a much longer time frame than renters

[DamnYuppie]

That is probably true yet that time frame is on average 4-7 years, not the 30 years most people think.

[firebird84]

Really? Are those paid yearly or only when signing a new lease?

[Hates_]

Those are normally all just at the start of a tenancy. Agents still charge around £100 to extend the agreement after a year.