The Advantages of Buying a Home Versus Renting
You have many options when deciding where you want to live. Living downtown may be appealing to some, others may opt for a suburb, or you may want to call the country home. Once you decide on your ideal location, choosing between purchasing a home or renting is the most important consideration. While signing a lease offers ease and access to your address, homeownership is a cornerstone of the American dream, and in the long run, provides a variety of other benefits. Let’s take a closer look at how buying a home is the superior choice.
Make Your Home Your Own
Owning a home allows you to make all of the changes and renovations that you can imagine. Need extra space? Add on to your home. Need a more open floor plan? Take out that wall. Paint any color you’d like. Renting comes with very strict, if any, options for changing what currently exists. Even if you can make updates, you’ll be spending your money to improve someone else’s property.
A Fixed Rate Mortgage Makes Budgeting a Breeze
It’s likely that each new lease that you sign will be accompanied by a rent increase. This makes your cost of living more expensive, whether your income increases or not. However, with a fixed-rate mortgage, you can rest assured that your monthly payment will be consistent over the life of your loan. Furthermore, you can always pay more each month and accelerate your path to homeownership.
Owning a Home has Tax Advantages
Homeownership can also save you money during tax time. You can deduct the interest that you’ve paid on your mortgage each year. This is especially beneficial for new homeowners as the early years of your mortgage payments are primarily comprised of interest. You can also deduct any energy-efficient or environmentally friendly upgrades.
Home Ownership Provides a Built-in Savings Account
Every month you pay your mortgage, you are actually putting money into savings as an investment. As the balance of your mortgage decreases, the equity in your home increases with every payment. So, while there may be no balance sheet, you are actually keeping more money for the future each month.
When you factor in the steady monthly note of your mortgage, the different tax advantages available to homeowners, and the consistent increase in the cost of rent, owning a home actually costs you less in the long run. These are only a few of the things to keep in mind when you are deciding to purchase a home. The first decision you need to make is to entrust a REALTOR® to help you find your home.
