There are times when it is better for a person to rent, but often home ownership has many more benefits and advantages. When considering home ownership, you need to weigh the advantages and disadvantages for yourself. If you are like most people, you will find that homeownership is worth the risks and disadvantages. Listed below are the five major reasons you should own your own home.
1) More Stable Housing Costs
Rent payments can be unpredictable and typically rise each year, but most mortgage payments remain unchanged for the entire loan period. If the taxes go up, the increase is usually gradual. This stable housing cost is especially important in times of inflation when renters lose money and owners make money.
2) Tax Savings
Homeowners can be eligible for significant tax savings because they can deduct mortgage interest and property taxes from their federal income tax, as well as many states’ income taxes. This can be a considerable amount of money at first, because the first few years of mortgage payments is made up mostly of interest and taxes.
3) Debt Consolidation
If you need to, you can refinance a mortgage loan to consolidate other debts (an opportunity you don’t have if you are renting.) And the interest on this is also tax deductible.
4) Equity
Instead of payments disappearing into someone else’s pocket, homeowners are building equity in their own home. This is often one of a person’s biggest investment. Each year that you own the home you pay more toward the principal, which is money you will get back when the home sells. It is like having a scheduled savings account that grows faster the longer you have it. If the property appreciates, and generally it does, it is additional money in your pocket. And you are the one who gets to take advantage of that, not the landlord. You can then use this equity to plan for future goals like your child’s education or your retirement.
5) It is Yours!
When you own a home you are in control. You have the freedom to decorate it and landscape it any way you wish. You can have a pet or two. No one can pop in and inspect your home and threaten to evict you.
Even young people, like college students out on their own, can often benefit from home ownership. It puts them ahead of other young people their age financially by helping with their credit and giving them what is often an excellent investment. Often a college student buying a home will rent the rooms out, and his or her roommates end up making the payments for the house. When the student is ready to move on, he or she can sell the home (hopefully making a profit) or keep it as an investment and continue to rent it out to others.
Buying a home is an important decision. It is often the largest purchase a person makes in his or her lifetime. Contact the real estate professionals at Crown Realty Experts to assist you with navigating this process. We have helped a few thousand people purchase their first, dream, and forever homes with the empathy, experience & knowledge on how to get this done. You call us & leave all your HOME work to us!
