The Cycle
Recession and Expansion
- There are times when theeconomyis brisk and everyone feels confident about his or her prospects for the future. As a result, they spend money. People eat out more, buy new cars, and… theybuyhouses.
- Then, for one reason or another, the economy slows down. Companies lay off employees and consumers are more careful about where they spend money, perhaps saving more than usual.
Freedom, Individuality and Space
Freedom & Individualism
When you rent, you are normally limited on what you can do to improve your home. You have to get permission to make certain types of improvements. Nor does it make sense to spend thousands of dollars painting, putting in carpet, tile or window coverings when the main person who benefits is the landlord and not you.
Since your landlord wants to keep his expenses to
Tax And Actual Savings
Income Tax Savings
Because of income tax deductions, the government is subsidizing your purchase of a home. All of the interest and property taxes you pay in a given year can be deducted from your gross income to reduce your taxable income.
For example, assume your initial loan balance is $150,000 with an interest rate of eight percent. During the first year you would pay $9969.27 in interest.
It's The Best Investment!
As a fairly general rule, homes appreciate about four or five percent a year. Some years will be more, some less. The figure will vary from neighborhood to neighborhood, and region to region.
Five percent may not seem like that much at first. Stocks (at times) appreciate much more, and you could easily earn over the same return with a very safe investment in treasury bills or bonds.
But take a second