The Advantages Of Buying a Home vs Renting

A lot of people have been paying rent their entire lives, but are willing to take the step in acquiring their own home. Homeownership has many benifits but there are important factors to take into consideration before making such a decision.

The advantages of buying a home

In some instances, the thought of becoming a new home owner can be overwhelming. Homeownership can be a very rewarding thing financially as well as for your personal state of well being.  The benefits of becoming a home owner are as follows:

The Payment of mortgage builds equity

We’ve probably heard that paying rent is a wasted expense that never supports our financial wellness. We pay rent to the home owner as an exchange for the use of their house or appartment. You do not have total control over the property.  However, when you purchase a new home, your mortgage payment is put towards principal and interest in the form of a home mortgage.  The princible paid on your home is the portion of the payment that directly reduces what you owe.  Your equity is what is gained as the principle gets paid down and is considered an asset.  Once you have paid your mortgage over the term of the loan, the property is 100% yours with full ownership.   The interest, on the other hand, is the money that you pay for the financing of the home. Although these funds don’t get applied to paying down your mortgage, they are tax deductible and can substantially decrease your year end taxes.

Full Right To Make Any Improvement

In paying rent, any improvement on the home belongs to the owner. You only enjoy them while you continue to rent. But as the owner of your house, all the benefits of the improvements you make belong to you and can potentially increase your homes value.

You benefit when it comes to taxes

There are also tax benefits that come with buying a home as opposed to leasing a home. The benefits occur both at the point of your home purchase and also as times goes on. The first advantage comes the year you made the purchase; if a discount point is allocated to you on your loan, irrespective of who paid them, that is a deduction on your taxes.   The discount points are prepaid interest which can reduce your total mortgage payment and are tax deductible.  For each point you purchase, you have a reduction in your mortgage interest rate by 0.25%.  In many instances the tax benefit of owning your own home is so substantial, that you can adjust the amount of taxes that your employer takes out from your paycheck and actually give yourself a raise!

Stable living Condition

There is also an unusual feeling of liberty and freedom when you buy your home. The home belongs to you. There is no fear of a lease expiration, or your leased property being sold. You can move within your premises as you like

The disadvantages of Purchasing a Home

However, we must not forget that owing a house is a big responsibility. Although there are not many disadvantages, to be fair we will list some

Repairs and Maintenance:

Unlike in renting, in which the home owner takes responsibility for repairs and maintenance, if you own the home you are responsible for them. The thought of this could be discouraging. Therefore, it is recommended you create a small monthly savings to cater for such occurrence.  One other commonly used option for taking care of unexpected home repairs and maintenance is obtaining a Home Warranty.  A home warranty can be purchased in full upon the purchase of your new home and will cover many home repairs with a small deductible.  In many instances, you may even get the seller to pay for your new home warranty for the first year.

Property taxes are your responsibility

You have the responsibility of handling the property taxes on your new home.  You can calculate the amount you’ll pay in property taxes by taking your property’s assessment and multiplying it by the property tax rate, which is based on your jurisdiction or location.  In many instances, your taxes can be included in your mortgage payment – that is called an Escro Account.  If your mortgage includes an escro account, your mortgage company will pay your property taxes and in many instances your home insurance for you.  One nice thing about property taxes is in most instances, they are fully tax deductible and can reduce your taxes at the end of the year.

Buying a home is surely a new responsibility.  Home ownership can be a very profitable, sound investment and ultmatly is the #1 way that people gain wealth.  For assistance in purchasing a new home, you can start by searching for homes in hood county.  If you have any immediate questions you can contact a licensed real estate agent.

If you are relocating to Hood County, feel free to read our Relocation Guide.