Pros and Cons of Buying a House

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Buying a home is a big undertaking and should require serious consideration. The pros and cons of buying a house should be reviewed before purchasing.  Buying a house is probably the most expensive financial decisions you will make in your life.  Essentially, the pros and cons to buying a house is the consideration of renting versus owning.

Reviewing the Pros and Cons of Buying a House

Pros and Cons of Buying a House… Pros are:

  • Greater privacy.
  • Homes typically increase in value, build equity and provide a nest egg for the future.
  • Your costs are predictable and more stable than renting because they’re ideally based on a fixed-rate mortgage.
  • The interest and property tax portion of your mortgage payment is a tax deduction.
  • There’s pride in home-ownership, which also closely ties you to your community.
  • Affordable options exist, like purchasing a lower cost manufactured home.

Pros and Cons of Buying a house… Cons are:

  • Homeownership is a long-term financial commitment.
  • You’re responsible for all maintenance on your home. This can include inexpensive repairs like fixing a broken toilet to complex and costly repairs like replacing a furnace.
  • Owning a home ties you to your community, making it more difficult to suddenly pick up and leave a location.
  • Although mortgage payments are usually fixed, they’re generally higher than rent payments.
  • Buying a home requires a down payment, closing costs and moving expenses.
  • The value of your house may not increase – especially during the first few years.
  • Borrowing against your home equity, to help you with a debt consolidation, for example, can leave you ‘house poor’

After weighing the pros and cons of buying a house, and you are ready to make the decision to purchase, you should consider taking a homeowner course online, or through a home loan company.