154 Raising Capital Advantages and Disadvantages of Leasing Ownership. The most obvious downside to leasing is that when the lease runs out, you don't own the equipment. Of course, this may also be an advantage, particularly for equipment like computers, where technology changes very quickly. Total expense. Leasing is almost always more expensive than buying, as- suming that you don't need a loan to make the purchase. For example, a three-year lease for a $5,000 computer system (at a typical rate of $40 per month per $1,000) will cost you a total of $7,200. Finding funds. Lease arrangements are usually more liberal than commer- cial loans are. While a bank might require two or three years of business records before granting a loan, many leasing companies will evaluate your credit history over shorter terms (six months is fairly typical). That can be a significant advantage for a start-up business. Cash flow. This is the primary advantage to leasing. It eliminates a large, single expense that may drain your cash flow, freeing funds for other day- to-day needs.