While there may be few advantages to renting, there are many more advantages to being a homeowner! Think about it. Every time that you write that rent check, you are building equity and providing tax deductions for the owner, not to you!
Building Equity - Unfortunately, those people who say you're "throwing your money away when you rent" are basically correct. You never build any equity in your rental home regardless of how much you pay. Once you move out, you have nothing to show for your years of paying rent. With a home, however, your mortgage payments build equity and if you ever want to move, you can sell your home and get much (if not all) of those payments back.
Tax Advantages - If you own a home, you can take advantage of deductibles for your mortgage, improvements, losses and several other aspects of home ownership. When you're renting, you don't have any tax advantages. You simply pay your rent each month and your landlord or property manager enjoys the tax write-offs and other advantages of owning a property.
You can personalize your living space - In most rentals, you can't even paint your living room without written permission from your property manager or landlord. In some cases, you can't even hang pictures without paying a fee when you move out. You are very limited in ways in which you can personalize your space. For some renters, that can be very frustrating. If you own your own home, though, you can make any changes you want to. You can add an extra room or even paint polka dots on your walls if you'd like. The options are endless!
Renting may be costing
you a bundle - Let's look at an example
:
If
you are paying rent at $1,500 per month and your landlord
increases your payment by a modest 5% each year, you would
wind up paying just about $100,000 over a 5-year period! Worse
yet, after forking over $100,000, you still would have nothing
to show for it.
And
speaking of having nothing to show for it, how about any
improvements you might make to a rental property? It's not
uncommon for renters to freshen up the paint, install new
light fixtures or plant some nice flowers outside. But guess
what� all your efforts, labor and the benefit of that
improvement belong to the landlord, not to you.
With
convenient down payment options still available for qualified
buyers, affordable home prices and low interest rates, the
very same money could have been used towards home ownership.
Even
using a standard 30-year fixed program, a mortgage of $300,000
could be obtained with a total monthly mortgage
payment�including property taxes and insurance�of around
$2,200. Assuming a 25% tax bracket, this would be equivalent
to the average amount spent on rent during the same period
after your tax benefit.
And
the benefits of home ownership are quite considerable. Because
the mortgage is being paid down each month, equity is being
built. After 5-years, the $300,000 mortgage could be reduced
to $279,000, adding $21,000 to your net worth!
But
if laying out the initial increase in monthly payment and
having to wait for your tax benefit to show up next April is a
tough nut to crack, the IRS wants to help. Instead of waiting
to file for the tax benefits derived from your new home
purchase, you can simply adjust the amount of your
withholding. This allows you to have less tax withheld from
each paycheck so you can handle the new mortgage payment more
comfortably throughout the year. In essence, you are taking
your tax refund as you go instead of letting Uncle Sam hold it
all year, interest free.
As you can see, it makes sense to own a home rather than rent one! If you are ready to proceed, click on the arrow below to learn about financing options.
Congratulations on your decision
to purchase a home! If you are looking for assistance with
your first home purchase, looking to up-size or downsize, or
are looking for an investment property, you have come to the
right place! Please call me to arrange a consultation
with my
team
.
We can help you all phases of your purchase, from showing you
your home to referring you to financing.