Pros and Cons of Buying a House
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.