5 Major Reasons Why You Should Buy a Home Instead of Rent

5 Major Reasons Why You Should Buy a Home Instead of Rent
Word Count:
865
Summary:
There are times when it is better for a person to rent, but most often home ownership has many more benefits and advantages... When considering home ownership, you need to weight the advantages and disadvantages for yourself.  If you are like most people, you will find that homeownership is worth the risks and disadvantages.

Keywords:
real estate, debt consolidation, bad credit, home ownership, buy home, buy house, rent

Article Body:
There are times when it is better for a person to rent, but most often home ownership has many more benefits and advantages. 
About 10 year ago a had a retired aunt and uncle who rented a condo in Las Vegas. Uncle Jim (not his real name) was a retired minister. Throughout his career he and his wife lived in parsonages, which are homes furnished by the congregation while they ministered there. 
He and his wife told me that the biggest mistake they ever made was not to invest in buying a home.  In their retirement years, when their other retired friends were living in homes that were almost paid off and had appreciated greatly, Uncle Jim and his wife were using a huge portion of their limited retirment money to make expensive condo rent payments. They strongly cautioned me not to make the same mistake they had.

Recent studies are showing that there are many benefits for both the owners and the community for owning your own home, including increased education for children,  lower teen-age pregnancy rate and a higher lifetime annual income for children. Besides these, listed below are some of the primary advantages for owning your own house.

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 especially important in times of inflation, when renters lose money and owners make money.
2) Tax Savings
Homeonwers can be eligible for signifigant tax savings because you can deduct mortgage interest and property taxes from your 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 deductable.
4) Equity
Instead of payments disapearing into someone elses pocket, home owners are building equity in their own home. This is often one of a person's biggest investment assests.  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 schelduled savings account that grows faster the longer you have it. If the property appreciates, and generally it does, it is like money in your pocket. And you are the one who gets to take advanatge 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 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, her or she can sell the home (hopefully making a profit) or keep it as an investment and continue to rent it.
Buying a home is an important decision. It is often the largest purchase a person makes in his or her life. Home ownership also comes with some increased responsibilities, and isn't for everyone. There are some disadvantages to homeownership that you should take into account.
1) Increased Expenses
Your monthly expenses may increase, depending on your situation. Even if the monthly payments are the same, home owners still have to pay property taxes, all the utilities, and all the maintenance and upkeep costs for the home.  Often you need to supply appliances that were furnished with a rental.
2) Decreased Freedom of Mobility
Homeowners can't move as easily as a renter who just has to give notice to the landlord. Selling a house can be a complex and time consuming process. 
3) Risk of Depreciation
In some areas with overinflated prices, there may be a risk that the house will depreciate instead of increase in value, if the prices go down. If you then sell the house, you may not get enough money from the home to pay back your mortgage, and you will still owe the mortgage company money.
4) Possibility of Foreclosure
If for some reason you are unable to make your payments, you risk having the lender forclose on your propety. This can result in the loss of your home, any equity you have earned, and the loss of your good credit rating.
When considering home ownership, you need to weight the advantages and disadvantages for yourself.  If you are like most people, you will find that homeownership is worth the risks and disadvantages.

3 Ways Renters Lose Money

3 Ways Renters Lose Money
Word Count:
572
Summary:
Are you still renting a home or apartment for yourself or your family? If so, you're losing money. Besides losing out on making money with real estate, renters don't get the same satisfaction of home enjoyment that benefits home buyers. If you're renting, find out how to to buy your own home.

Keywords:
renters,buy home,home ownership,Jeanette Fisher

Article Body:
Are you still renting a home or apartment for yourself or your family?
If so, you're losing money. Think about these three ways you lose money by renting:
1.  You're paying for someone else's mortgage payment. You're missing out on the appreciation that the property gives to the landlord. Appreciation is a term used in accounting relating to the increase in value of an asset, which means in real estate terms, added value to the property. Over the past five years, houses appreciated significantly, making many new real estate investor multimillionaires.
2.  Renters don't get to freeze their monthly housing expenses like home buyers can. Of course, many home buyers get mortgage payments with adjustable interest rates and their payments go up over time. However, these payments will not go up over the long term like rising rents. Just think about how much an apartment costs today compared to ten years ago. A two bedroom apartment in Lake Elsinore, California leases for $1,000 today. The exact same apartment rented for $325 in 1996, when it was brand new. Home buyers who had low monthly payments in 1996, who did not refinance their mortgage, enjoy low payments and don't have to worry about rising rents.
3.  Renters don't benefit from tax advantages. Home owners get income tax deductions. Tax deductions for interest costs, for instance, save tax payers thousands of dollars.
<b>Emotional Satisfaction of Home Ownership</b>
Besides losing out on making money with real estate, renters don't get the same satisfaction of home enjoyment that benefits home buyers. Many landlords won't allow you to paint your walls in colors that you desire. Also, you won't feel like fixing up the property with custom window coverings and you get little say in flooring materials. Because you can't make your personal statement, you won't feel like you're HOME as much as home owners who feel emotionally connected to their property.
<b>How to Buy Your First Home</b>
The biggest barrier to home ownership is often accumulating funds for a down payment. People think they have to have thousands of dollars for a down payment. However, if you have good credit and a decent job, you can get a mortgage for a home with zero down. And you can finance some of your closing costs as well as ask the seller to help you pay a good portion of your purchase costs. With today's mortgage finance plans, you may be surprised to find out how much of a home you can afford with payments similar to what you currently pay in rent.
You may have to go out of the major metropolitan areas to buy a home. That's why so many people commute in Southern California. Affordable housing costs much less in outlying areas. But so do the rents. If you're renting an apartment for $2,300 in Los Angeles, you could buy a $500,000 home in Wildomar. Our daughter just purchased a home in December 2005 and her mortgage payment, for a 3,000 square foot new home, costs less than $2,300. With her tax savings, she will pay even less than renting a small apartment closer to downtown L A.
If these amounts sound high to you, check your local area. Perhaps your monthly rent is only $1,000 and houses cost less than $200,000. Talk to a mortgage loan officer and see how much of a home you can afford.
If you're renting, make one of your priorities to buy your own home.
Copyright © 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher