Home Ownership
// July 26th, 2009 // No Comments » // Benefits of Home Ownership, Renting vs. Owning
I meet a lot of people in my job which is a good thing right? There is always the certain group of renters that just don’t know that they can afford a home. Now I will be the first to say that owning a home is not for everyone. There’s a right time and a place for everything and some people just aren’t there yet. That being said there are alot of people out there paying down their landlords mortgage on a monthly basis instead of buying up a little piece of America to call their own.
So what’s the big deal in home ownership?? Well first of all, tax deduction. Each year at tax time homeowners get to write off the interest they pay their mortgage company each year. This is big, for example, I got to write off $8000 in mortgage interest last year. WOW! Renters don’t get to take a deduction for the amount of rent paid. Secondly a home is an investment. When you buy a home at a good price and make improvements to it, generally in 5-7 years when you go to sell it you will make a profit. Now the key to this is buying a home at the right price. Many people who purchased homes in 2006 and put no money down are not making any money on their homes right now, THAT is a completely different blog post for a different day though.
Another advantage of owning?? Stability. When you go to your local mortgage lender he or she will most likely get you a fixed rate mortgage, unless you refinance down the road, this payment will always be the same, for 30 years. Know any rentals whose rents don’t rise for 30 years? I don’t.
Lastly, how about the design flexibility of owning your own home? You get board with the green living room, paint it red, 6 months later you can’t paint it brown. Your options are as open as your creativity when it comes to renovating, remodeling or landscaping. Can’t do that in an apartment.
