At Palm State Mortgage Company, we advise couples to make a list of the pros and cons of both owning and renting, before they commit their energy to finding a house and a mortgage plan. If you are considering home ownership in 2015, this article will help you examine some of the pros and cons of home ownership. 

A Short Scenario:  Apartment renters, Lisa and Guy, have not taken a vacation in three years. There have been very few dinners out at quality restaurants during that time. Guy has resisted tickets to see his beloved Orlando Magic Games. Lisa has kept her addictive shoe purchases to a minimum. They both just paid off their economical cars. Can you guess what has caused their thrifty habits?

They craved the privacy and freedom of home ownership. They have economized, avoided big debts and saved a little extra money, and they have recently made the leap to home ownership.

Take a look below at the top issues they faced, and you might be facing, as you consider  a similar choice in 2015.

1.  Building Equity

If you are paying rent, that money is never going to add anything to your net worth. If such things are important to you, it will also never become part of your legacy, or your children’s inheritance. Those payments just go into the landlord’s pocket.

2.  Growing PainsPalm State Mortgage ends rental payments.

Speaking of children, you might have to get permission from your landlord to expand your family, much less add an extra room. Likewise, when Guy and Lisa in our opening story wanted to adopt a pair of dogs, they were informed they had to pay some hefty deposits.

 

 

3.  About Maintenance Chores

On the one hand, if you own your own home, lawn care, plumbing, heating, and all other maintenance issues will be your responsibility. On the other hand, when you are a renter, you are not accountable for solving these problems. It is the landlord who decides how to fix things that go wrong. (Do you want to find your own plumber?)

4.  The Keys To The Kingdom

If you are a homeowner, only you will have the keys to your property. In most states, a landlord can enter your rental home or apartment or authorize others to do so.

What value is privacy to you?

5.  Individualizing Your Space:  The Privilege of Home OwnershipFind your best mortgage situation at Palm State Mortgage.

On the one hand, as a homeowner, you can paint your kitchen bright red. You can rip out that haggard hedge and add rosebushes. You can remodel that ugly side porch. Go ahead, pour a new patio in the back yard or add a room for the new baby.

On the other hand a renter would not dare do these remodeling tasks without the express permission of the landlord.

6.  The Tax Man Cometh

When you own a home, you will probably be permitted to deduct a portion of mortgage interest and property taxes from your federal and state income taxes.
In many loan situations, this is especially advantageous in the first few years of the mortgage, when interest comprises the biggest part of the payment.

Renters simply do not get tax breaks.

Only you can be sure if you are ready for the rights and responsibilities of home ownership. Palm State Mortgage is here to help you seek the best possible mortgage option when you reject the right to pay rent!

(By the way Guy and Lisa, and their two new puppies, are very happy in their own little house.)