Are you ready for home ownership?

Home ownership has many advantages over renting. You get a tax break for your mortgage interest payments, you can customize your property and you are building up home equity instead of throwing away your monthly payments. Another great benefit of home ownership is the sense of pride and commitment to your community. You are no longer traveling, looking or searching, but you’re putting down roots and building your life in a new way.

Tax breaks for mortgage payments
A huge plus for homeowners is that they can deduct the annual mortgage interest payments on their tax returns. This puts more cash back in your pocket that you can spend on yourself and on your family. You can maximize this return by making large monthly payments on a small down payment. The majority of your payments for the first couple of years will be interest payments. You can use any online mortgage calculator to check the numbers and see the tax benefits that you can get with a mortgage instead of paying rent.

Control your space
Another big advantage of home ownership is the ability to customize and personalize your living space. You can paint, tear down and rebuild according to your taste. There is no need to get the approval of your landlord or a rental company before you add the perfect splash of color your living room. Generally you will also have much more space in your home than in an apartment. So you control how much closet space you can afford up front, and you can make minor renovations later on to give yourself a better backyard, more closet space or a larger kitchen. It’s all up to you with no one leading the way.

Build up equity.
Owning a home is like setting up an automatic savings account. Each mortgage payment is like making a small deposit into a bank account that secures your future. After two or three years you can use the built up equity to purchase more properties or get an equity line of credit in case of emergencies or a sudden job loss. All of these possibilities are options that are not available to renters.

Build ties in your community
Home ownership is on of the signs that you have fully matured and are ready settle down. You will probably remain in your first home for at least a couple of year so you will have an incentive to participate in your community as a way to protect your financial investment. As you are building up your homeowners’ equity, you are also building relationships within your local community and that benefits you, your neighbors and your city or county. It is the ultimate sign of responsibility.

These are just a few things that should keep in mind if you’re wondering if home ownership is the right thing for you.

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