Hot Water Tanks: Buying Is More Affordable Than Renting

If you’re like most homeowners in Vancouver and the surrounding cities and towns, you rent your water tank.

It’s what your parents did. It’s what many of your colleagues do. It’s what everybody does!

But it’s not the only option, and it’s not even the most affordable option. So why is everybody still doing it?

Mostly it’s a simple lack of knowledge. The large rental companies find themselves in a sweet spot where the majority of homeowners don’t even know there’s another option.

But we think if you and your neighbours knew about the perks of buying, you’d be on it in a flash.

The best part of the buying vs. renting discussion is your ability to verify it. You can get a quote from us and weigh that against the long term outlook of your current rental contract.

But before you do that, take a look at the argument for buying as it stands today.

Predictable payments with an end in sight.

Your rental contract probably includes annual rental cost increases, somewhere between 3.5% and 3.8% (standard for the industry).

Your rental contract term is also probably 15 years in duration (a typical rental contract term).

So if you start with a $25 a month rental fee, calculated over the 15 year term with an annual increase of 3.8%, you’ve paid more than $5,900 for that old water heater, and you will just start a new cycle of payments again.

When you buy, it’s a little different.

Let’s say you buy a water tank for $3,525. By the end of your payment term, you’ve paid $3,525 for it.

You might enter a monthly payment plan for $25. The plan will last 12 years. You’ll still be paying $300 a year on your ownership plan when you would be paying more than $450 a year on your rental.

But I get free repairs from the rental company.

Your rental company takes care of repairs and you have to call them any time the tank breaks down, which is at least once a year. So every year your family has to deal with a lack of hot water.

When you buy, we include the annual maintenance required to keep your tank working perfectly for the full duration of your payments. That means we’ll schedule your annual maintenance based on your install date, and we’ll call you every year to make sure there’s a convenient time to come perform the maintenance.

It’s better to do things preventatively, so your family is never stuck without hot water. Is there anything worse than a cold shower on a winter morning? Yes, lots of things. But it’s still pretty bad.

So buying your water tank is more affordable and includes better coverage than your rental contract.

Call us for a quote today and then weigh our quote against your rental contract. Remember – when you buy, your payments will eventually stop and you’ll still have a water tank that works perfectly for another decade.