As time moves on, it’s common to want to find a place of your own to settle into and get comfortable. Making that transition can be quite the commitment. To get you motivated, here are 6 reasons why it is better to buy than rent a house in Metro Atlanta.
Financial Sense
This may seem counter-intuitive to those of us who focus on the short-term plan, but owning a home puts you in a much better financial position down the road.
Buying a house does come with its substantial upfront costs, but these will pay exponential dividends compared to renting. The biggest concern when renting is the likelihood of annual rent increases.
On top of that, rent doesn’t come with an expiration, but a mortgage is a loan with a set price paid back over many years. On a long enough timeline, you’re easily going to pay more in rent than you would pay back a home loan, making the long-term cost savings a reason it’s better to buy than rent.
Build Your Financial Habits
With this change in cost, you’ll be able to build up good financial habits.
Owning a home does come with the additional costs of maintenance, taxes, and saving for the occasional surprise expense. With the ownership of a home comes that feeling of maturity that can help you take a more fiscally conservative approach in your daily life.
A Solid Investment
Once you purchase a home and begin paying your mortgage, you start to build what is called equity.
Equity is the value of the home you have paid off and your financial investment in the property. As your equity in your home builds over time this will also increase your net worth.
Building your net worth and equity can have an effect on your ability to get lines of credit and loans in the future. By owning a home and responsibly paying for it, you could be opening additional financial doors for yourself at a later date.
Possibility of Windfalls
Traditionally, the real estate market has been incredibly stable and is seen as a great way for anyone to build up their financial strength over time.
In part due to this market stability, housing has a tendency to increase – or appreciate – in value over time. This provides another fiscal bonus to you if you choose or need to sell your home later, and makes it another reason it is better to buy than rent.
Save on Your Taxes
Along with all of these other incentives for owning a home, you could end up saving money on your taxes in the form of more available tax deductions.
Some of the deductions for which you could potentially qualify include property taxes, mortgage interest payments, private mortgage insurance premiums, and even energy-efficient appliances and home additions. Doing some research on what appliances and home additions could provide you with the highest return on investment will make this an even more appealing situation.
Your Own Piece of the Pie
Finally, the feeling of pride in owning your home and the work you have done to make it what it is cannot be factored out as a reason it’s better to buy than rent.
By owning the property, you have more freedom and flexibility to shape it the way you see fit.
Your home won’t truly feel like your home until you get to make the decisions that shape the look and feel of the entire property, as well as the added privacy of having your own space. Without any landlord or maintenance people around, you will have a much greater sense of peace and quiet.