3 Great Reasons to Buy a Home

October 2018 - Issue 12

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Happy Halloween!

It's the time of year for ghosts and ghouls, witches and werewolves.

Scary!

But owning a home? Not scary.

Well, okay. A little scary. But there are great reasons why you should consider it, anyway.

Let's explore some, shall we?

817.903.1112

dbarrett@virginiacook.com

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Home Ownership - 3 Great Reasons to Buy

Some people will tell you that it’s a bad idea – it’s an uncertain investment, you’ll be saddled with expensive repairs, your free time is monopolized with maintenance and yard work, yada, yada, yada.

I believe there are good reasons to buy a home. Very good.

Let's take a look at a few:

When You Buy, You're Not Shredding Your Money

First, buying a home is, in fact, an investment.

How good an investment it is depends upon a variety of things, many of which are affected by geographical factors (i.e., what area of the country you live in), some of which are intrinsic to the home, itself (i.e., year built, condition, and price), and not a few of which have to be viewed in terms of your individual financial situation.

Sure, the real estate market has ups and downs, just like any market. Can anyone guarantee that you’re going to make money on the purchase of real property? Of course not.

Can anyone guarantee that you’re going to make money on any investment? Again, of course not.

But spending money to own a home is trading one asset for another asset - and one that at least has the potential to appreciate at a rate greater than the bank gives you on your savings account.

And any return is more than your landlord will give you.

When you buy a house, you are adding a valuable asset to your balance sheet.

When you pay rent, you’re increasing the value of an asset on your landlord’s balance sheet.

Paying rent is trading an asset for, well, an experience.

Unlike trading money to see a great movie or attend a fabulous concert or eat a scrumptious meal, shelling out rent happens month after month – probably in ever-increasing amounts (when is the last time your landlord reduced your rent?) – for a largely static experience.

So, yeah. It’s possible to lose money on a house. But it’s impossible to add rent you pay to someone else back into your bank account.

What About When the Dishwasher Breaks?

Next, it’s true that, when you own the house and the plumbing leaks, the fix is on you.

There are some ways to guard against those eventualities, however. Home Owner’s Warranty policies for example. And while those premiums add no more to the asset side of your spread sheet than rent payments would, they’re significantly lower. (We’ll cover some HOW considerations more fully in a future edition of Harmonious Home Adventures, I promise.)

That, and you have a lot more control over the timing and quality of the fix.

The home is yours, and your motivation to have the repair done quickly and correctly is far greater your landlord's. There is no telling what his cash flow situation is and whether he's motivated to put off the repair as long as possible. And you can bet that his goal is to have it done as cheaply as possible, no matter the sacrifice in quality.

Not only that, but there are bound to be situations that you believe require landlord action and the landlord disagrees. Something you believe really interferes with your quality of life may seem like a "cosmetic" matter to your landlord.

And, while this may sound weird to some, there are people who like to putter with repairs and who enjoy working in the garden.

Some DIYers get a jolt of pride out of solving small domestic problems – yeah, I installed that dimmer switch! – and many, many people find sticking their hands in the dirt and coaxing flowers from the soil to be calming and therapeutic.

If that’s not you, then hire it done. The expense is sporadic, variable, and all told, probably many thousands less than you’d spend on rent.

The Prerogative of Ownership

Then, there is what I’ll call “the prerogative of ownership.” It’s just different unlocking the door to someplace you own, rather than someplace you’re borrowing for a fee.

This encompasses many things but perhaps the most important is the ability to control whether you love where you live.

You know this is important to me. You also know that I believe it is important for anyone – whether you rent or own. I want everyone to love where they live because I believe, if they did, it would make the world a better place.

When you rent, the degree of control you have over your environment will vary with the terms of your lease. It’s not unusual, however, to see even such basic choices as interior paint color restricted by the rental agreement.

Would your landlord let you re-paint the purple wall in that kitchen? Or replace the pink carpet and the drapes in the living room?

No?

For me, that’s just not acceptable.

When you own your home, you can transform it in virtually any way that pleases you within the bounds of physical possibility, financial feasibility, and code compliance.

Paint, landscaping, even structure – all are within your control. And most changes add value to your investment – something we’ll talk more about in the next issue of Harmonious Home Adventures .

Bonus Reason - Flexibility

And if you own and you choose to do so, you’re free to move on at any time you wish.

Yes, I know. Sometimes Life Happens and moving isn’t a choice but a necessity.

When you rent, though, sometimes the Landlord Happens and moving isn’t a choice but a requirement.

Home ownership.

It’s not always easy. But, all things considered, it’s the surest way to

Love Where You Live!