Owning a home is one of the greatest feelings in the world. While owning a home is not for everyone, a lot of individuals will find that having a place to call their own is for them. There are many advantages to being a homeowner. If you are on the fence on if you want to be a homeowner or not, here are a few facts that may help sway one’s mind.
If one purchases a house, one will most likely have payments each month that are stable. After all, the most common kind of debt is the fixed-rate mortgage. This means your payment will be the same each month, therefore, one can plan accordingly.
Now one could be saying if I rent each month the payment is the same. While that may be true, after your lease or contract is up, the landlord has the right to up the right if they desire to. One has no control over that. Therefore, with a house of your own, one can plan exactly what they’ll be paying each month for where they’ll be living.
If one is renting, they probably don’t have equity. But if one is a homeowner, they are building equity. And the longer one lives in a place that they own, the higher the equity they will have. Equity is defined as the market appraisal of a house after all liens are subtracted from the price. For instance, if the market value of your home is $250,000 and you currently owe $150,000 on the home, the equity you have is $100,000.
So many people say that they can not afford to purchase a home. But did you know that living in a home you own is actually cheaper in the long run than renting? Upfront it may cost you more, but in the long run, you will save a lot. And many times, the place that you buy is a lot bigger than the place that you had rented.
Did you know that being a homeowner has tax advantages? You are allowed to deduct paid interest on your taxes each year. This is huge because the first several years of your mortgage, the monthly payment is almost all interest.
And the biggest thing that many homeowners find the nicest is that one can make changes to the place whenever they wish. Many times when someone is renting they are only allowed to possess white walls and can not make any changes at all. Or if one does make changes, one must first obtain the permission of the landlord. If one is tired of the paint in their bedroom, they can quickly paint it. If they decide they want a deck added on to the front of the house, they can do so. One may have a tree that was given to them, so they can plant it in their yard knowing that it will be there for years to come.
Speaking of backyards, homeowners possess the right to build a backyard oasis if they desire to do so. They can own a pool, build a deck complete with an outdoor kitchen, install a hot tub, or have a fire pit for campfires. Flower beds and gardens, rock gardens, or ponds all make great options as well. Volleyball nets are great for sports and hammocks are the perfect way to end the day. And if you do not like all the maintenance in your yard, consider adding artificial turf, such as one from Turf Pro Synthetics, for a beautiful landscape.