Deciding Whether to Buy

Purchasing a home may be the most significant buy you ever make. Buying a home is a big financial step and life event for most individuals. With that said, you owe it to yourself to do things right!

Buying vs. Renting

There are many advantages to buying vs. renting. Frist owning should be less expensive than renting. If you pay several hundred to thousand dollars a month in rent, that expense may not seem so excessive if you look at a home for sale.

We are talking about $150,000- $550,000 sticker price of homes here in the United States. Here is a trick that might change your vision on your cheap monthly rent.

To find your purchase price of a home, you could buy for about the same monthly cost your renting; take your monthly rent and multiply it by 200, and you come up with the purchase price of a home.
$_____________per month x 200=$_____________

For example, if rent is $1000 every month, you would pay about the same and own a $200,000 home. Crazy thought, right?! Furthermore more, as a renter, your rent is subject to inflation. Did you know that the reasonable expectation for annual increases in rent is nearly 4 percent every year!?

Let's talk FUN!

Although numbers and facts are great to have, let us talk fun of owning a home. You can make your house your own. You can change the carpet, interior paint, exterior paint, appliances, fixtures, and the list goes on! You can get as creative as you want because it is yours to do so.

Although you might say some tenants paint and upgrade, it is ultimately in the hands of the landlord. When you own your own home, you are generally in control of the decisions.

In this, there are two things to be careful of; don't make the property too outrageous and be aware of running yourself into the ground financially. You will want or need to sell your home at some point, and want to keep it appealing to buyers.

If you look to make improvements, focus on things to add value to your home. Improvements cost money and sometimes a lot of it. Be aware of the cost going out to add value to your home. Do not let the improvements bring you under instead; let them add value and bring you a high return.

Purchasing a home is a significant investment when done right. Talk to a lender and an agent to start looking in your market today! You will be surprised at what you can do!