
So with all the naysayers, sitting in their towers, naysaying, I thought I'd come along and mention some of the beautiful reasons why owning a home is so beneficial:
1) Tax Advantages
Ok, so when I mention tax advantages, most people glaze over and check the next line item. Before you get there, take a second to see what kind of money homeownership will save you. To be fair, to get the majority of tax advantages, you need to have a mortgage (i.e. debt). Since the mass majority of us need some "help" in the form of a loan, I'll assume we all have a mortgage. With that mortgage, every month you pay a portion of "principal" and "interest". Your mortgage interest is tax deductible. In the early years of a mortgage, the majority of your payment is interest, so especially when you first buy a home, your mortgage interest deductions are much greater. Say you have a $1200 dollar payment. About $1080 per month is interest and is deductible, so over a year, it reduces your taxable income about $13,000 per year. Pretty nice, eh? Among other great tax deductions are your property taxes, mortgage related closing costs and home equity lines of credit interest. It really starts to add up.
2) Financial and Physical Security and Stability
One major difference between buying and renting is that when you own your home, chances are you have a fixed mortgage that will never increase. How many times have you been in a rental apartment and you were certain that your landlord wouldn't raise your rent? Could you guarantee that your rent wouldn't be raised over the next 30 years? Unless your landlord is your Mom and you live in her basement, you would be crazy to think that. That's what is great about homeownership. You can always count on a stable payment every month, that won't go up (unless you have an Adjustable Rate Mortgage). Beyond just financial security and stability comes physical security. A study by NAR revealed that with more homeowners and less renters, neighborhood turnover rates were lower. With lower turnover rates, less crime was being committed and reported. Turns out that since homeowners are more consistent neighborhood stewards, riff-raff was more likely deterred.
3) The American Dream
