For many people who are renting, the big decision they have to
make is whether to make the jump to buying a home. A lot of
people don't do it - they're worried about pitfalls of home
ownership or the hassle. But it can be well worth it to own your
home in the long run.
First, owning your own home instead of renting will build you up
equity in the house gradually. Instead of your payments going to
the landlord, a portion goes to pay off your mortgage. That is
money straight into your pocket. Second, houses tend to increase
in value over time. If you're going to live there for more than
two years, you really should buy your house. That is the rough
amount of time it takes to pay off the initial finance fees and
get enough equity to make it worth it to have bought the house.
Third, you get to deduct the interest payments you make on your
taxes. This is a great deal - rent is not deductible, and
depending on your tax bracket you can save a lot of money this
way.
There are some problems - you will have to make and pay for your
own repairs, for example. It will be more difficult to move,
because you'll have to wait for a sale. But the benefits largely
outweigh these - the family home is the single largest asset for
most people, and it just doesn't make sense to have this asset
of your own.
