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Thursday, July 16, 2009

Should You Be Renting Or Buying Your First Home?

By Alexandria P. Anderson

If you've considered buying a 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.

A lot of renters do not even consider having their own house because of all the responsibilities attached to buying and owning a home. Owning a home involves paying for your home's upkeep costs, paying for property taxes, applying for a home insurance and even paying off a mortgage, if you took a loan to purchase a property. All of these responsibilities may overwhelm you at first. You just have to understand basic home buying principles so that you can be at ease with the process.

The first thing you need to do is to list all payments attached to your prospective home. You can usually ask your realtor for information regarding average fees, maintenance costs and taxes. Place all information on a digital spreadsheet so you can compare costs for different homes quickly. Arranging all information you gathered in this way will also give you a precise calculation of a home's total purchase price and the monthly costs you have to pay.

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.

You would also need to research about the tax benefits that come along with owning a home. There are more tax advantages in owning a home than with renting - but the exact benefits depend on one's income and total real estate property tax due per year.

You can estimate your real estate tax benefit by taking into account all your other tax benefits, deductions and current income level. As always, it is better to consult with a financial advisor or an accountant to help you in doing this.

Owning a home must be seen vis-a-vis your long-term plan. You need to determine how long you intend to stay on one location. If you embrace a mobile lifestyle then you are better suited to rent a home instead of buying one. Renting allows anyone to move from one location to another easily. You can rent a home on a per year or even per month basis and be free to move as you please.

Owning a home is suited for people who can commit to settle in a city or neighborhood over the long-term. If you are serious about buying your own home, it would be best to decide on where you want to live or re-locate first in the long run. - 23222

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