Sunday, 05 July 2009

• Should You Be Renting Or Buying Your First Home?

  You may have doubts in the home buying process if you have rented a property for several years. We will explore the pros and cons of both buying and renting a home in this article to help you finally decide which path to take.
  
  Long time home renters might feel uneasy about the idea of buying their own home. This is because buying a home is much more complicated than the renting process. Homebuyers are obliged to apply for home insurance, pay for monthly home maintenance costs, and settle real estate taxes and fees. It might seem daunting at first, but anyone can be more comfortable with the home buying process by knowing more about it.
  
  It's a good idea to make up your own checklist of all the different payments involved with your prospective home. You can typically get a lot of this information from your realtor; ask them for average fees, taxes and maintenance costs for the home and create a spreadsheet of all the different elements involved. If you do this in a digital format, you can create side-by-side comparisons of each home you're interested in so you have an accurate view of all the costs involved and the total monthly expenses you'll be responsible for.
  
  Author Ilyce Glink of '100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask' explains that buying a home also means you're buying into your local community, because you're responsible for local taxes, trash pickup and other services that may not accompany renting in the same area.
  
  Next, you'll need to do some extensive research about tax benefits. Home ownership usually does give you several tax advantages over renting, but this will vary significantly depending on your current income and the total amount of real estate property tax you will be paying each year.
  
  The idea here is to figure in all your deductions and current income level into the calculation of your tax benefits. You can ask an accountant or financial advisor for assistance in determining the exact tax benefit you'll get.
  
  Finally, think about your future for the long-term. Are you intent on staying in a specific neighborhood for the next five years? For the next ten years? Where do you see yourself living 30 years from now? One of the biggest psychological benefits of renting is the 'temporary' mentality and ease of moving. Since you can choose to rent a place on a month-to-month basis, sign a short term lease or just renew from year to year, there is a sense of freedom involved with renting.
  
  If you don't want to settle in a specific neighborhood, then buying a home might not be for you. If you are seriously considering to buy a home, then you need to decide where to settle in and, if ever, when and where you want to relocate in the future.
  
  Author and Realtor Alexandria P. Anderson helps clients to find and purchase Real Estate in Minnesota and Minnesota properties in and around the Twin Cities.
  

  • 10:38 PM
  • 25 Views