Read the opinion piece below about whether it is time to rent or buy a house, and consider what is the main claim and what are the sub-claims and evidence.
According to some, now is the time to buy a house. However, renting is still preferable to buying, because a house is no longer a good investment.
Houses are rarely profitable. Even before the housing crash in 2008, houses generally only appreciated a small percentage of their worth over 30 years. In addition, the high initial cost of a house isn’t the end of its drain on your finances. When a pipe bursts, you can’t call a landlord to deal with it. You’ll suffer the cost of the plumber, the parts, and the repairs to the carpet that’s now moldy after being saturated with water.
While some point to tax breaks for homeowners as a reason to buy a house, these tax savings are nothing but a blip on the financial radar. They don’t make buying over renting worth it.
What is the main claim of this passage? What are the reasons listed to support that claim? You may use the highlighter tool to identify the reasons.
Answer
The main claim is that renting is still preferable to buying.
The reasons given are that houses are no longer good investments, houses are rarely profitable, repairs drain your finances, and tax breaks aren’t enough to offset the cost of buying and maintaining a house.