There’s a myriad of reasons to buy a house. At the same time, there are a couple of bad ones too.
Still, most of the time, people seem to focus only on the investment side of things and forget about all the other benefits of buying a home.
This is true even more than ever. Ever since the housing crisis kicked in more than a decade ago, people have been more concerned about the material aspect of buying a home and tend to forget about everything else that comes with having your very own piece of land or house.
Sure enough, nobody wants to overpay for a house. Especially nowadays, when people seem to engage in bidding wars just to get a proper roof over their heads. That’s a legitimate concern, but there’s simply more to buying a house than only financials.
A house isn’t just an investment. It’s your very own private space. It’s the shelter that keeps you warm in the cold and dry when it’s raining.
As such, in this article, we’ll focus on all the reasons for buying a home that aren’t related to the investment aspect.
Reasons to Buy a Home
Simply put, a home is a safe haven where you can start a family, where you can truly be yourself and express yourself freely.
Needless to say, when you’re looking at all the benefits of homeownership and the possible drawbacks, you might need to think outside the box a bit. Considering prices and looking at the right time to buy is important, sure, however, homeownership isn’t only about that.
We all want to get a good deal. Still, the benefits of buying a home can outweigh even a higher asking price if you look at things a certain way,
That being said, here are nine less materialistic but rather obvious reasons to buy a house.
Locking the Price and Inflation Hedge
One of the benefits of buying a home is the ability to lock the price. By this, we mean the ability to lock your monthly payment in even if prices on the housing market rise over time.
You will have to address slight fluctuations in property taxes and insurance costs, but if your mortgage is fixed-rate, you will pay the same monthly payment as long as you have the loan.
When you’re renting, you might have to deal with annual increases depending on your landlord and if you’re subjected to rent control.
Obviously, there’s no certainty in this scenario, and you might end up paying a lot more for the same living space that isn’t even yours.
On the other hand, a home can also double as a great inflation hedge. Why? Because you will keep paying the same loan installments while renters will have to face the diminishing value of their money as time passes.
Paying a hypothetical mortgage of $1,500 today might not feel like a huge expense in a decade or fifteen years.
At the same time, renters will have to find ways to combat the constantly increasing rent prices because of inflation.
Lastly, the value of your home will rise due to the effects of inflation, making it a win-win deal if you play your cards right.
As long as You’re Paying, You’re Staying
There are a lot of pros and cons of homeownership, and some pro-rent advocates will argue that being a tenant is more stress-free than owning a home.
However, when you’re renting, you are pretty much at the mercy of the landlord, just like in the case of rent cost.
You own nothing, and when the leasing period is over, your landlord can simply decide to search for new tenants, move into the property, or even sell it if they please.
When you’re renting, you’re only secured for the duration of the lease, and everything else is uncertain.
All in all, when you’re renting, you can’t really call the shots.
The Concept of Forced Savings
Another one of the benefits of homeownership is forced savings. A portion of your mortgage goes toward your loan balance every month. This will more or less force you to save up a certain sum of money every month during the loan term or until you sell your home.
This can present you with a terrific opportunity to become a better saver. And when it’s time to sell the house, all those savings will show your home equity.
To give you a better idea, the average homeowner’s net worth hovers around $255,000, while a typical renter has a net worth of $6,000, mostly because of equity.
Being Closer to School and Work
If you choose your location wisely, you can significantly cut down on your commute expenses. Surely, certain city locations and districts might be more expensive than others. However, being close to school or work can simply make life a lot easier in the long run.
Also, living closer to friends and family or living in a nice neighborhood can be good reasons to buy a house at a certain location.
It’s Yours
When looking at the benefits of homeownership, this has to be the most obvious one.
The house is yours, and you can do whatever you want. Remember not being able to hang up a picture in your rented apartment? Forget about that.
When you have your own house, you can renovate the kitchen, bathroom, remodel the landscape, tear down non-load bearing walls, reliant everything, change the furniture, and the list is pretty much endless.
Sure, you have a certain degree of freedom when you rent, but still, the home isn’t really yours. As a result, you’ve either made a better living space for yourself for the time being, or you’ve managed to improve the property that belongs to someone else.
Space for the Family
Here’s another huge advantage when looking at the pros and cons of homeownership. If you are looking forward to starting a family, having more space at hand can make raising a family a lot easier.
If there’s one thing the pandemic showed us is the importance of having enough personal space. Outdoor areas for a bit of peace and quiet, along with home office requirements, suddenly became a hot topic, and those who live in large family homes managed to face these new challenges a lot easier.
It’s true that you can rent a home if you need more space. Still, you won’t have the stability as you do with a home. Rising rent expenses and your landlord’s mercy will still creep up at you from time to time.
You Will Have a Backyard
Having a yard, in general, can be a huge plus to make your life more comfortable. Living in a crowded city in an apartment can be a hassle if you’re a car driver and constantly mess around looking for empty parking spaces to get out of your car after a long day of work.
Also, if you have kids, the backyard can be a source for endless adventures and will provide the scenery for countless cherished memories with your children.
Pride of Ownership and Passing Along Something
For most of us, owning a home is an accomplishment. It’s something that fills you with pride. You truly are the king of your castle.
Lastly, among the most important reasons to buy a home is the fact that you will have something to pass on to future generations.
Most homeowners love their properties and even insist that their piece of land stays in the family.
There’s Probably Something We’ve Left Out
In this blog post, we’ve aimed to highlight all the advantages of buying a home. We agree that it’s a huge financial decision. Still, it shouldn’t only be treated as an investment. A home is your safe haven, your peace and quiet. And apparently, it’s also something that can help you combat the effects of inflation.
Also, we probably left out a few great reasons. If you want to add them to this list or would like to find out more about us and our mission of building homes and communities, feel free to get in touch with us and be a part of our vision.
