Celebrating Homeownership Month!
Owning a home carries many more benefits than financial security
In the wild world of real estate, sometimes it’s easy to think, “Why bother?” It can be an overwhelming process and make you second guess everything. But the positives of homeownership far outweigh any negatives of the process of purchasing your first (or second, or third) home.
First off, you’re no longer renting. You are no longer subject to changes in the market raising your rent every year, no longer putting your money into a landlord’s pocket, no longer potentially paying pet fees, no longer paying deposits, and there is no risk of the property being sold out from under you forcing you to move last minute. Depending on where you purchase and what kind of home you want, it may also come with a lot more privacy. There’s a lot of freedom that comes with being a homeowner and not depending on the ever-changing market or property manager. In the long term, you spend less money when you aren’t moving from rental space to rental space, hiring movers, renting moving trucks, putting deposits on utilities, and coming up with first and last month’s rent.
Speaking of the financial side, it’s easier to make and stick to a budget when you are in control of how much you are spending on housing costs. Your mortgage is going to be pretty much the same, with some variations if you refinance down the road, or if your insurance and taxes change in price. You know your budget when making the purchase and if things change for you, you are able to sell the home and downsize – or supersize! Get more land and spread out. Or move closer to a new job. Or further from the city, depending on your preference.
Building equity is a big part of home ownership. Basically, you want your home’s value to be higher than the amount owed on the property. There are a few ways to build up that equity:
- Buying a fixer-upper at a low price and renovating it
- Putting down a larger down payment
- Making additional payments towards the principal
- Refinancing down the road to get a better interest rate and/or a shorter loan term
- Improvements/renovations to the property
Before you start working on any big projects on the home in the hopes of increasing the value, make sure you look into what other homes with similar specs are worth in your area. For example, if you put $10,000 into the project and it will only increase the value by about $5,000, that money might be better put elsewhere.
Being a homeowner and making regular payments improves your credit. And nowadays, credit score really is power.
A higher credit score can:
- Help get lower interest rates on loans and credit cards, which could save hundreds or thousands of dollars across a lifetime
- Help get better rates on insurance – most states pull credit to include it in calculating premium, and higher credit scores can lower your premium saving money in the long term
- Help get the dream job – most big companies run credit and background checks at the same time, so having a better score than other candidates can only improve chances of employment
- Help get a better interest rate when it comes time to refinance, or purchase a new home
On a personal level, there are many other benefits to owning a home. It can give you a sense of stability and roots and a sense of community. A home is more than just an address, it can be a symbol of belonging. This is a large reason why so many people take pride in their cities and towns.
If you are ready to start the discussion around your personal journey towards homeownership, contact us! We’d love to get you started on your road home.
Enjoy the month of June, Home Remodeling Month, it’s a great time to reflect on your accomplishments or make moves towards your goal of homeownership. If you’re ready to start your way on the road home, get in touch with us here!