Ask many people what their ultimate dream is, and they will tell you that they want to own their own house, rather than rent their home from someone else. This is a good dream to have for many of a number of different reasons, including the ones below.
It’s Yours to Do What You Want With
If you rent your home from someone else, then your landlord is the one who is in ultimate control of what happens within it. If you want to make any changes, you will need to go through them first. However, if you own your own home, you can do anything you want with it (within reason). If you want to change the wall color, that’s your choice. Change carpets to hardwood flooring? You can. If you want to extend, or make a room over the garage, or put in a new kitchen, it’s all up to you. There is a certain amount of freedom that goes with owning a home rather than renting one. When you own a home, no one can tell you whether you can or can’t have a pet, and no one can prevent you from turning a study into a nursery, or vice versa. Renting can come with a big list of dos and don’ts, and it can make living somewhere feel a lot less like being at home.
It’s an Investment
Buying a property is an investment for the long term. As each monthly mortgage payment is taken, you know that you are paying off that big loan and earning more money due to the property price rises that will occur over a period of time. Buying a house may not be something that makes you money quickly (in fact, it is extremely expensive to move house, and there is a lot to consider), but if you can stay in your home for a good number of years, or even until the mortgage is paid off completely, you can walk away with a lot of money. You don’t even have to sell your home if you remortgage or take out an equity loan at https://www.manasquanbank.com/loans/home-equity-loans/. If you rent a place, your monthly payments are simply going to the landlord, and you are not making anything out of it. It’s also an obtainable goal to own a house with government programs like the Help to Buy Scheme in Australia making it easier for first-time home buyers to put a deposit on a home.
Tax Benefits
Although taxes can be complicated, especially with all these tax law changes, there are ways for homeowners to deduct mortgage interest in their tax returns. This means that even more money can be saved. It is a good idea to put this money into a high yield deposit account if possible, because that way you really can make your investment work as hard as possible for you.
Fixed Price
There are a number of great fixed price deals when it comes to mortgages, especially now that the dust has settled after the 2008 financial crisis, and lenders are actively seeking out customers again. This means that you can guarantee that your mortgage payments will stay the same for two, three, five, or even more years. It’s a relief to have that kind of stability, and it makes budgeting for the future much easier. Rent, however, can – and often do – rise annually.
Build Credit
Owning a home can help to build your credit. Having a good credit score allows you to borrow money to buy the things you really want and need in life, and one of the ways to build that credit score up so that it is attractive is to take on a long–term investment, exactly like buying a property. You will have more financial stability and – because of the equity built up in your home – you will also have a financial safety net. Moreover, if you are looking for more ways to boost your credit score, you might want to consider reaching out to a financial services provider such as Aspiration for some advice about how best to manage your money. Accordingly, you can learn more about some of the services provided by Aspiration by taking a look at this aspiration bank review and by doing some research online.
It’s Cheaper
Despite the expensive initial outlay (including the down payment and removals costs), owning a home is generally a lot cheaper than paying rent. This is because when you rent, not only are you paying your landlord’s mortgage, but you are also paying an additional sum on top because they will want to make a profit. Your money is going towards building up your landlord’s equity in the property, which means that they could choose to sell it at any time thanks to your contributions.
Become Energy Efficient
When you own a home, you can make it as energy efficient as possible by making changes to it (solar panels are just one idea, and there are plenty more including new windows and doors). Your landlord isn’t paying for the energy bills, but they would need to pay for any changes to be made, so it’s not likely that they would want to. If you own your home, you can make the changes you want and save yourself a lot of money over time. It’s also good for the environment.
It’s All Yours
When you own your home, there is a certain feeling of pride that comes with it. Although it may have been a hard slog to get there, once you are holding those keys there is no feeling quite like it. Although renting can be fine, there is that one thought at the back of all renters’ heads that they don’t and never will own the place they call home. It can make them less comfortable, and ultimately less satisfied. With life expectancy getting longer, paying off your mortgage means that you could have twenty, thirty, even forty or more years without needing to pay out.
There Is an End
If you live in a house for twenty–five or thirty years or so and you are paying your mortgage for all of that time, eventually it will come to an end. One day, there will be no more mortgage payments, and you will own your house entirely. If you rent somewhere for the same amount of time (which is unlikely because landlords move on, retire, pass away, or choose to sell the houses they own), there will be no end. You will still need to pay the rent each month, and that could become difficult once you retire or if you have no savings to pay your rent with.