If you are purchasing a house for the first time, most likely, you have consulted your colleagues, friends, and family to know their take. Their opinions are different, and they probably confuse you the more, and you are not yet sure whether purchasing a home is what you want. That is the purpose of this article to show you why you should purchase a home, and if you think it's a good idea, in the end, Movoto.com can help you get that house. Below is a list of 11 reasons you should purchase a home.
1. Prices of Houses Keep Increasing
Over time, the prices of houses increase, meaning if you purchase a home now, its value in a decade will be more than your initial purchase price. This means you can resell the house for profit in the future. It's only a few years before witnessing the biggest property bust, and prices are at their lowest. In the United States, in the last 5 years, there has been a rise in house prices from 3% to 6%. Moreover, it seems it's just the beginning, and the trend will continue. That implies that purchasing a home now is a significant investment.
2. Ownership Pride
The feeling of owning a home makes people purchase houses, and you also would want the same. You can transform the place to look the way you want when you are the owner. You can paint your favourite colours, keep pets, put on music when you want, and add permanent fixtures to it. Owning a home makes you stable and secure.
3. Deductions on Mortgage Interests
Owning a home shields you from paying several taxes. Provided the amount you should pay to clear your mortgage loan is smaller than your house price, interest in the mortgage will be exempted from your return on taxes—the most significant percentage of your house loan interests.
4. Capital Gain Exclusion
If you have stayed in your house for two of the last five years as an individual, you will exclude a maximum profit of $250,000 from capital gains and a maximum profit of $500,000 if you are married. There is no need to relocate or buy another home. A person of any age can live in that home, so the over 60 rule is not applicable. Every 24 months, you can exclude these amounts from taxes. This means after every two years, you can sell the house and get your profit-tax-free.
5. Appreciation
Even though real estate is very cyclic, for many years, real estate has proven to be an appreciating asset. Many people invest in property so that they can shield themselves from inflation.
6. Sell the House at Your own Time
If you want to finance other projects in the future, you can sell the house. These projects include paying children's school fees, clearing hospital bills, buying a larger house, etc. This is unlike when you are renting.
7. It's a Saving
Purchasing a home is a forced saving because the more you pay your mortgage loan, the larger the percentage of the house that belongs to you. That is why you should not think of house purchases as a cost. In the real sense, you are building equity, which is highly useful after retirement.
8. Borrowing Power
As stated earlier, the more you clear your house loan, the larger the house that belongs to you. You can use that portion of your place to access low-cost loans to finance other purposes like maintenance, car loan, etc. Since they are secured, house equity loans have a lower interest than consumer loans like auto loans. Interest in these equity loans is also tax-deductible.
9. Having Own Garden
Most people would prefer to plant several vegetables like tomatoes, and having your own home means you can plant whatever you want in a garden. This is an added advantage of purchasing a home. In an apartment, many restrictions prohibit you from doing some of the things you would want to. So consider buying a home.
10. Belong to a Community
When you are renting a house, you live an insular life. However, when you own a home, you will know who lives next to you, participate in community activities, connect with babysitters, and engage in several communal events. In this way, you gain a sense of belonging.
11. You Can Contribute to the Affairs of the Community
Homeowners usually have a louder voice when there is a development in the community, for example, concerning routing, altering traffic rules, schools, and project proposals. Since renters are always on the move, they cannot have an impact on policies.
Final Words
Hopefully, you can now decide to purchase your first home with the tips given in this article. Owning a home may seem expensive, but in the long run, it pays in both financial and non-financial ways, like giving you security.
