What Are the Benefits of Owning a Home?

English Real Estate Group Video Blog with Scott English

Owning a home comes with a lot of financial benefits that many people have become less confident in over the decade of real estate turbulence. We'll review them today.

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Homeownership actually comes with a lot of financial benefits.

Growing up, we learned owning a home is a financially savvy move. Our parents knew it and their parents before them knew it. This past decade of real estate turbulence, however, has shaken everyone's confidence in homeownership. It's important to remember, though, that homeownership is only a savvy financial move if you buy a home you can afford.

When you own a home, you build equity every month. This equity is the amount of money you can sell it for minus the amount you still owe on it, and every month when you make a mortgage payment, it reduces the amount that you owe. This is especially true now with the elimination of risky mortgages like negative amortizations and interest-only loans.

When you own a home, you build equity every month.

Thanks to new mortgage rules, the principal portion of your payment increases slightly each year. It's lowest on your first payment and highest on your last payment. As you make these payments, you also reap mortgage tax deduction benefits in that the tax code allows homeowners to deduct mortgage interest from their tax obligations. This is a huge deduction for many people since the interest component can be the largest component in the early years of owning the home and making mortgage payments.

The first year you buy your home, you can claim points on your loan called 'origination fees' no matter if they're paid by you or the seller. Since origination fees of 1% or more are common, the savings are considerable. In addition, real estate property taxes paid on your primary residence or vacation home are fully deductible for income tax purposes.

There are plenty of other benefits to homeownership that we'll discuss in the near future. In the meantime, if you have any questions or you're thinking of buying or selling a home, give me a call or send me an email. I'd be glad to help!