5 Benefits of Buying a Home

Owning a home is the American dream for most of us. But is homeownership really a good investment, or just a status symbol? The answer is it depends, but typically is considered a good investment for most of us.

The 2022 housing market is hot and interest rates are still low, making it a great time to take the plunge into homeownership. If you’ve been thinking about buying a home, here we give you 5 things to consider when weighing your options:

Think about your rent payments: Are they benefitting you beyond giving you a place to live? Most often the answer is no, leaving many renters feeling like they’re throwing their money out the window. But putting those same dollars into buying a home will allow you to build equity, which represents an investment in your future as home values tend to go up.

The best part is you can often buy a home and keep your monthly payments about the same as your current rent!

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Imagine owning your own single-family home, without sharing walls or ceilings with neighbors. And with a backyard to boot! This can mean not only a much quieter home, but also gives your pets a place to roam, your kids a yard to run and play in, and a patio for your grill and picnic table.

If you’re an HGTV addict, there’s sure to be projects you’ve wanted to do, but couldn’t in your rental. Now you can test your DIY skills and paint or wallpaper walls, change out the flooring or even do a major renovation to create your dream chef’s kitchen! It’s yours to make your vision come alive however you want. And best of all, it also allows you to put roots down in a place that’s yours, offering you and your family stability, comfort and community.

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While owning a home comes with expenses including mortgage payments, taxes and insurance, the good news is there can be great tax breaks that come along with it. While you should always check with your tax advisor for details, here’s some of the typical homeownership expenses that you can deduct from your taxes; mortgage interest, property taxes, mortgage points, home office, home improvements, energy efficiency upgrades and medical home improvements or updates.

We’re sure you’ve heard this before: You need 20% down to buy a home. Lucky for you, this is simply not true. While putting 20% down on a home allows you to skip the extra PMI payments, today you can put as little as 3.5% down on a home or even no down payment at all if you are a veteran or active military personnel. There can also be local down payment assistance programs you may be eligible for.

Talk to one of our mortgage experts before opting yourself out of owning a home.

This article was originally published in www.inlanta.com