For people considering buying a home for the first time, things can be a bit intimidating. You just have to keep in mind the benefits far outweigh the risks. Benefits to Homeownership Outweigh Risks
There are many benefits to owning a home. Sure, there are the usual obstacles to get over. First, people don’t want to put that much money into it, they’d rather just rent.
Also, they don’t want to have to go through the lengthy process of buying the home and even searching for the right home in the first place. Then they don’t want to have to go through the mortgage process and go into debt to get the home. While these are definitely disadvantages, the simple fact is that there are so many major advantages to owning a home that going through these steps ends up being well worth it.
The most notable benefit to owning a home is equity. Equity is the value of the home. When mortgaging a home, your initial equity is the down payment you made on the home. As you make additional payments, your stake in the equity of the home rises (since the lender owns the rest of the equity). However, it is also important to note that equity also rises when the value of the home rises. This equity is solely yours, the equity of the lender does not increase. That is why many California homeowners are sitting on gold mines.
This equity can be used for valuable things such as home equity loans and home equity lines of credit. These are low interest loans with the home used as collateral. Equity opens up many valuable new doors and is just one reason why owning a home is one of the best things you can ever do.
Another advantage is the tax savings. Every dollar of interest paid in the mortgage payments can be used as a tax write-off. This can be a very considerable amount, especially early on in the loan when the interest is front-loaded, and it can save you a lot of money in taxes.
Of course, it really comes down to the simple fact that you own a home. That home is yours and that with that comes a certain pride. Owning a home is one of the most important things you will ever do. Don’t pass it up, don’t choose to rent if you don’t have to. There are just too many advantages of owning a home to pass up.
Dan Lewis is with Great Western Mortgage - providing San Diego home loans.
