Are you feeling confused between buying and renting a house? Almost every individual struggle to decide which the right option is. Buying a home can take away all your savings and will be a big lifetime expense. Additionally, you have to deal with the recurring formality of paying property taxes and home insurance payments to keep your asset safe and protected. Day-by-day maintenance of the house may get expensive. It is recommended that a homeowner should have a plan to save between 1% and 4% of the house value so that he/she can use the saving in the account of maintenance as and when required.
Keeping aside the costs for investment as a house value, buying a home has many benefits too. Someday, the house you purchased will be more than its purchase value. You can even opt for an income with the house you own. Paying all your mortgage will make you the owner, it will add more score on your financial credibility, and you can easily plan for a comfortable life after retirement with a permanent shelter as a standing support. The sense of satisfaction that one has when he/she says “I too own a house” is invaluable.
Buying a Property instead of renting is of course an individual decision. Gharpedia herein tries to help those like you who are dwindling between two options. One is to buy a home and the other is paying rent to stay in a home. You can count on us and consider these 12 great reasons to decide while buying own home is smarter a decision than renting a place to live. Keep reading, and you will get to know the benefits of buying a home vs. renting.
Benefits of Buying a Home vs. Renting
01. Easy to Customize Your Dream Home if You Buy a Home
Whether you require a bigger bedroom or you wish to renovate the terrace garden, or you have a plan to add an extra space in your basement, owning the house means that you have the sole freedom to do whatever you like and not to worry about your security deposit also. Whereas rentals come with a list of do’s and don’ts. Living in somebody else’s house compels you to follow the petty rules of the homeowner as the landlord has the ultimate control on the house. You need to take prior approvals to implement even a small remodelling in the premise. Purchasing your dream home gives you a better liberty and access over the house to reinvest and redecorate as per you plan. You can colour the walls of your choice. If you like to customize your dream home, buying the house is the best way to make your dream come true. In your own home, you will get more flexibility to do all the improvisation that you like and enjoy.
02. Purchasing a Home is an Investment for your Future
Owning a house is an investment for you and it is a security in the future for your family. The house you own will be left as an asset for your family. Purchasing a home can be your smartest decision in life. You can even purchase a home and then sell it after some time with a profit. A house is a financial asset for many people that constitute a major share of their net worth. The value of the house can leverage to help some people to reach their financial goals with easier progress. Even if you plan to retire early, you can decide to take a reverse mortgage to start a small business and be your boss. Renting is always more expensive than buying in the long run. Except for getting a place to stay you do not get anything else in return in the process of renting. Hence it is a kind of recurring spending and not any mode of investing.
03. Benefits of Buying a Home Would Provide Tax Benefits
Home ownership can fetch you tax benefits by deducting the mortgage interest as well as the principal payments. However, the problem does not end here, as homeowners will have to deduct their eligible expenses and need to avoid the federal taxes on the earnings they get by selling the house. You will not get tax benefits if you rent a house, however, purchasing the house will give you manifold benefits. You can even deduct mortgage interest amounts as well as you can get energy-efficiency improvements, and many more. You can even avoid the federal taxes that you can get from the earnings from the sale of the house. As per the Indian law, the interest part of the EMI can be claimed for deductions. As soon as you purchase a house, the wealth building on the property purchased goes on an auto pilot mode. Income tax savings and property price appreciation will always happen simultaneously, which acts as a recurring investment.
04. Owning a Home is much Cheaper than Renting
Considering many situations, paying rent is more expensive than purchasing. Indirectly, you are paying your homeowners mortgage and helping in building your landlord’s equity and credit. Homeowners often ask for a high rent to make a profit. They charge their mortgage cost and additionally charge money to pay for the rental management of the house and upkeep them. They sometimes even charge more than their regular mortgage payment. This excess payment indirectly helps them to build their equity so that they own the property very soon. The costs also add up in owning the home that is often more affordable than renting a home.
05. Buying a House means Building Equity
The most significant benefit of purchasing a home is building equity. This is your share of the value of your house. If we speak in strict technical terms, it is the difference between the market price of the house you have purchased and the amount that you still have to pay. However, if the value of the house appreciates, the equity of the house will increase no matter if you owe the amount or not. You can imagine by the time you retire how much of equity you can have if you purchase a house instead of paying money into the pockets of the landlord every month? You will be paying the amount for something that will be more valuable over time, and it will belong to you only.
06. No Landlord will Kick you Out When You Own a Home
You may not be able to find homeowners who are desperately looking to rent after receiving the eviction notice from current landlord. If you own a house, unless the bank decides to foreclose on the house, the house will be yours until you plan to sell the house. Sometimes landlords evict the tenant even if the tenant has not done anything wrong. On the other side, being the homeowner of the house, no one can ask you to evacuate the house. Staying in the rented house may call for vacating the house anytime if the landlord decides to sell the house for any reason. You will have no choice; instead it will put you in an unexpected burden that can create financial problems for you which could have been avoided if you had purchased the house.
07. Risk Capital
Never consider your house as a stock market and view it as the earliest way to get rich. But there are chances that economy can surprise you and all of a sudden the graph of economy starts blooming, the price of real estate starts rolling faster with better price hike. Equity in the house is the other way to link a part of your portfolio to the changing growth of the economy. You can even go with that equity if you need a chunk of cash. The house you purchase builds equity, so every time you pay the mortgage of your house you add value to it. As you build equity, the value of the house also increases. This means you can get a good amount of profit if you plan to sell the house.
As Gharpedia is always ready to help, we have written an article on how to sell your property fast. If you are in the process of selling your house, below linked article would be a great read for your need!
08. Having Your Own Hone Means More Energy Efficiency
You can make your house as maximum as possible energy-efficient. Purchasing the new glasses of the windows or frames can be done later at the end of the year. The energy-efficient improvements that you require from upgrading the unit of the air conditioner can reduce the monthly bill which can help you in saving. Owners can make ample green improvements. They can even install an energy-efficient roof. This is simply not possible if you rent a house.
09. Monthly Mortgage won’t Increase if You Buy a Home
Owning a house will lead you to deal with the fixed mortgage rates that will never go up even when other expenses tend to go up. You can protect yourself by making a 20% down payment and take a fixed mortgage for the next 15/30 year. This will help you to lock the interest rates at today’s date. Locking the mortgage in a low monthly payment will help you to take a big step to protect yourself and your family from inflation. On the other hand, if you rent a home, the landlord will raise the rent every time when you will plan to renew the lease amount. With a fixed-rate mortgage, the mortgage payment will remain the same every month for many years. The groceries or utilities that you buy may cost more, but not your house-instalment.
10. You can Rent Your Purchased Home to Earn
Owning a house is not the end of your goal. However, purchasing a house is a long time commitment. Many homeowners rent their houses if they purchase a second home. They even rent out the extra space that they have in their present home. Homeowners can earn more if they plan to rent their houses instead of selling and make an instant profit.
If you own the home and want to give on rent, these three articles are a must-read for you.
Things to Know Before You Give Your “House on Rent”
How to Choose the Right Tenant for your Rental Property?
Tips for Getting Your Property Ready to Rent
11. You Can Opt for a Second Mortgage in an Emergency if You Own a House
The house you purchase is an investment and is valuable when you pay the mortgage and are building equity on it. However, if ever you have an emergency, you can opt to take out a second mortgage on the house that you own. You can never have this option if you live on a rent. When you take the second loan on your home, you are borrowing from the accumulated equity of your house. This is done either from one of the two options: the first option is the home equity loan and the second option is the home equity line of credit. If you plan to use your house as collateral for the second loan, the decision should be weighed carefully. If you default, the bank can take the repossession of the house. Taking a second mortgage should be your last option. Consider it just as an added advantage of owning a house.
12. Buying a Home Gives You the Sense of Satisfaction
Can you estimate the cost of mental satisfaction and happiness that you have, when you own your home? It can never be equated in terms of money. You cannot put any cost to sense of security, stability and freedom against the day to day worries or tension of eviction notice or of finding and moving to a new house.
Final Words
Your first purchased home should always be for an investment purpose. As when you are young, you can save, and get time to earn more. You can even get a second source of income. Before deciding to buy or rent, consider the above mentioned points like how long do you plan to stay in the same area, how much of flexibility do you like to enjoy, and finally are you prepared to take the responsibility of homeownership, etc.
Conclusion
In the end, buying or renting a property depends on your preference and personal financial strength. It is all about your discretion. But if you do not have huge bottlenecks, it is always wise to buy a house than living in a rented home.
We hope this blog on the benefits of buying a home vs. renting will help you to make your home buying journey hassle-free.
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Author Bio
Sai Charan Gundreddi – Sai Charan Gundreddy is an author and a freelance content writing specialist with over 3 years of experience in the field. A writer by day and a reader by night, he is loathe to discuss Hinderer in the third person, but can be persuaded to do so from time to time.