The Advantages and Drawbacks of Being a Homeowner
Homeownership can be compared to a high-maintenance personal relationship. You need to invest a lot of money, effort, time, and commitment in your home. It will definitely provide you with plenty of good memories. At the same time, there is a bucketful of responsibilities to fulfill which may make you long for your carefree renter days. However, there’s no denying that homeownership can give you great pride and confidence that you are taking good care of your investment.
You’ve Truly Become an Adult
Purchasing your first home, at any age, can give you the feeling of entering real adulthood. You’ll feel happy that you’ve become independent and have gotten your personal life together. Though the path to property ownership is complicated and difficult, it’s certainly a priceless moment when you get your home keys.
You’re not Renting, You’re Building an Asset
You can stop paying your landlord’s debt and instead pay your monthly mortgage which will give you complete ownership at the end of the loan period. Renting does offer flexibility in choosing where to live, but your rent can keep increasing, and after the lease period your landlord can make you vacate.
A 2019 real estate industry report reveals that average rent rates increased by 3% over the previous year. Homeownership means you won’t be spending your money on rent which will leave you with nothing to show for your payments at the end.
Exercise Your Creativity
As a homeowner, you can remodel your kitchen, paint the bedroom walls in attractive colors, convert an additional room into your personal studio and more. You own your property and are free to experiment with it. Perform the alterations you wish without needing to get any landlord’s sanction. Your home is a blank canvas where you can design to your desired modifications in order to express your creativity.
Decorate to Your Liking
Before buying a house, you may not have thought about the shower curtains in your bathroom, the plates you use, or the brand or color of your bed mattress, but now you’re busy spending weekends shopping at a home improvement store. You look out for home warehouse sales so you can get good bargains. Buying home improvement items at discounted prices gives you a good excuse to refurbish your residence.
Initial Fear of Messing Up
Every consumer takes good care of their newly purchased things like a car, gadgets or shoes. You want to maintain the product in good shape for at least a few weeks. As a new homeowner, you need to maintain every part of your property in an organized and clean manner.
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Do Chores Yourself to Save Money
Homeownership entails plenty of work and you need to be prepared to make sacrifices to take good care of your investment. You could always get a handyman for replacement or fixing tasks, but if the work is simple, you should try to perform it yourself and save some money.
It’s advisable to learn to do simple home maintenance tasks like replacing an air filter, fixing leaky faucets, changing light bulbs, and other routine tasks. You may be forced to miss some weekend outings with your friends to do this priority work, but DIY can help you save a tidy sum.
Maintenance Bills Can Pile Up
As a renter, you had predictable and fixed housing expenses like basic utilities and rent. Your landlord handled all other things, especially unexpected maintenance expenses. As a homeowner now, you’re responsible for costs like property taxes and HOA fees, and payments for municipality services like snow removal, recycling collection, water, and trash. Proactively create a comfortable funds cushion for such expenses so that you don’t end up “house poor.”
You Can Do What You Like
In your own residence, you can throw parties anytime you’d like, to celebrate occasions like football games, etc. You and your friends can make as much noise as you wish without wondering what your landlord might say. However, just ensure you don’t disturb the neighbors. The best part is that you can have lasting and enjoyable memories without worrying.
Get a Community Feeling
As a renter, you may have ignored your neighbors and not even met a lot of the people residing in your building. As a homeowner, you’ll be more inclined to take part in community activities. An industry study states that the main reason why young renters opt to buy a home is to engage with their community. Homeownership helps residents of a community to become more involved civically. Greet and make friends with your neighbors and attend community meetings to discuss issues relevant to you.
No Landlord to Watch Over You
When you purchase your own home, you can fully relax knowing that there is no landlord that will be judging and scrutinizing your moves.
Enjoy Tax Breaks
Though maintenance bills are a downside, homeowners can benefit from tax credits like those for specific home improvements, interest on home equity loans, renewable energy items and upgrades, and mortgage interest and property taxes.