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Renting Vs Buying A Home – Things To Consider
April 14, 2010 by man
Filed under First Time Home Buyer Michigan
If you’ve considered buying a Minnesota home after renting an apartment or condo for several years, you will probably need to overcome several psychological barriers to become completely comfortable with the process.
There are some who hesitate becoming a first time home buyer because of what they need to do to purchase and own a home. When you buy a home, you’ll be responsible for more than your mortgage payment each month; home ownership involves paying maintenance costs, applying for homeowner’s insurance, and paying taxes and fees. If you’re interested in buying a condo, the process may be even more complicated. However,you can overcome this initial barrier that may be leaving you feeling overwhelmed as you might be a first time homebuyer – by understanding some basic principles of home buying.
It’s a good idea to make up your own checklist of all the different payments involved with your prospective home. You can typically get a lot of this information from your professional Realtor; ask them for average fees, taxes and maintenance costs for the home and create a spreadsheet of all the different elements involved. When you do this using a computer, you can make side-by-side comparison of the homes for sale you are interested in order to have an accurate assessment of all the cost involved.
Author Ilyce Glink of ‘100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask’ explains that buying a home also means you’re buying into your local community, because you’re responsible for local taxes, trash pickup and other services that may not accompany renting in the same area.
Next, you’ll need to do some extensive research about tax benefits. There are many incentives being given to first time home buyers and the other tax benefits you can get will depend on your current income and how much is the yearly property tax of the home you will buy.
Estimate how much tax benefits you can get and take into account all the deductions and your current income level to get an idea what is the grand total of all the tax benefits you can get when become a first time homebuyer. It may be a good idea to work with an accountant or financial adviser for assistance in this area.
Plan for your future. Are you planning to stay in the same are for the next 5 years? What are your plans 10 years from now? Where do you see yourself living 30 years from now? One of the biggest psychological benefits of renting is the ‘temporary’ mentality and ease of moving. Since you can choose to rent a place on a month-to-month basis, sign a short term lease or just renew from year to year, there is a sense of freedom involved with renting.
If you’re not feeling settled in a particular city or neighborhood, buying a home may be causing a lot of anxiety. Make some solid decisions about where you want to settle and where you’re willing to relocate to in the long-term so you can make the best decision about which among the Minnesota homes for sale to buy.
