If you have the money for it, and you have a clear idea of the type of area you’d like to live in, you should at the very least consider buying a home. It can be difficult to focus on just a few reasons for buying a home, as there are many, but it’s important to look into whether the particular benefits of home-buying fit your lifestyle to the extent that it’d warrant doing some hunting of your own.
If you’ve made the decision to rent, you’ll be sending a set amount of money to someone on a monthly basis- specifically, someone that isn’t you. While this may seem obvious, it’s important to remember that the money you spend on renting an apartment, house, or condo is money you could have invested in something for yourself. By spending money on a house through mortgage payments, you’re able to build equity, which will allow you to sell the house (hopefully) for more value at a later date. This distinction between spending money for someone else versus spending money to invest in yourself is vital to make, and possibly the strongest reason for deciding to buy.
Another consideration to keep in mind when it comes to deciding whether to buy or rent is the degree to which you value being able to make changes to your living space. If you own your home, you can remodel or add space whenever you’d like. Most rental places, however, have restrictions on components of your living situation, ranging from how many people can live in your space to what you can hang on the walls. While you may or may not have a clear idea of the type of design you’d like to have now, your preferences very well might change down the road. If design flexibility is important to you, consider buying your own place.
Do you love paying taxes? If so, you should keep renting- homeowners receive great tax deductions for mortgage interest and insurance premiums, and for those that work from home, some of your living expenses related to your work. This also applies for installing solar panels, which are not only a great way to save on your taxes but to save the environment as well. If you’re interested in gathering more information on homeowner tax deductions, check out the IRS’ page on how you can save more by being a homeowner.
As most fans of nature will attest, owning a home is a great way to have quick and easy access to the outdoors. While some apartment buildings have plenty of common space for residents, they’ll rarely have private pools, and I can’t think of any that allow residents to swing from tires that they hang from trees on the property. By owning your own home, not only can have quick access to the outdoors, but you can tailor it to meet your own preferences, be it by planting flowers or shifting the land to allow for a mini-waterfall.
As a homeowner myself, I couldn’t imagine any other option than owning my own property. For anyone that can afford it, I’d strongly recommend buying a home. If you don’t fall into that category, start saving right away so that you at least have the option if/when the time comes for you to consider buying.
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