Advantages of Home Ownership

A PLACE OF YOUR OWN:

Your home is your castle as the old saying goes. A home is a place that you can call your own. Perhaps you are ready to settle down in your community, and want the feeling of permanence and involvement that comes with owning your own home. Perhaps you need more space in which to raise a family. Maybe you want more freedom than you have in a rental unit to adapt your living space to suit your individual taste and needs.

FINANCIAL INCENTIVES:

For many people the motivation for home ownership is, primarily, financial gain because owning your own home is a first-rate investment. Here are a number of reasons:

-Scheduled Savings

When you buy a house, your monthly mortgage payments serve as a type of scheduled savings plan. Over time you gradually accumulate what lenders call "equity." This is an ownership interest in the property that you can often borrow against, or convert into cash by selling the house. In contrast, renters must continue paying rent to a landlord for as long as they rent, but without the opportunity to build equity.

-Stable Housing Costs

Another advantage of home ownership is while rents typically increase year after year, the principal and interest portion of most mortgage payments remain unchanged thoughout the entire repayment period (typically 30 years). In fact, because of the effect of inflation, over the years you pay the same amount but with "cheaper" dollars.

-Increased Value

Houses typically increase in value, or "appreciate" over time. It's not unusual to find a house that sold for $50,000 fifteen years ago to have increased in value. This increase value is as good as money in the bank to the home owner.

-Tax Benefits

Homeowners also get significant tax breaks that are not available to renters. Most importantly, the interest paid on a home mortgage is usually deductible. This factor alone can save you a substantial amount each year in federal income taxes.