You’re in need of a office space and let’s presume you have two options – whether to buy a small place or rent another. They are equally suitable both in terms of interior and their place in the neighbourhood. Which one would you go for?

On one hand you could buy a place, which in return would be yours. You’d have full rights deriving from ownership over the place, i.e. refurnishing, remodelling etc. You’d have all the rights to use the place as you see fit and as the neighbours allow obviously. A downside of an ownership is that you’re tied to various obligations to maintain the premises not just clean but also fixed and renovated. Yes, if it’s part of a bigger building, it’s not just you alone, but still. You’d be part of all the other owners who face that obligation. 

On the other hand however you could rent. Now the benefits of renting are obviously lesser obligations – you just have to keep the space, as it is, not break anything and pay a regular rental charge. Unless you’ve agreed on doing something like refurnishing or something similar, that’s pretty much it. As you can see however, you’re also short of all the rights an ownership would give to you. Everything that changes the premises needs to be agreed with the owner and as practice shows, it’s not always as easy as you may think.

So yes, there’s a choice to be made and it’s not always that simple. At the end of the day it’s up to you – risk with the obligations of a ownership or gain more freedom over changing your office as you see fit?