I am sure their will come a day again soon where the proverbial question should I rent a home or buy a home will actually be a difficult one. Fortunately for most right now the answer is easy, BUY!!
Here are a few reasons why I personally feel its not even a question (at least for the next few months).
1. FREE MONEY. With the feds handing out $8,000 big ones for the next few weeks and possibly months depending on your contract why not take old Uncle Sam up on a big hand out. It's kind of like having the rich uncle I never had, except Uncle Sam is not rich but he acts like it and he has a money printer so whats the diff?
2. Lowest average interest rates in nearly 40 years. Yes there have been a few dips where rates were a few 10th's of a percentage point lower then they are today but on average there never has been and never will be a time where you will pay The Man less interest on your loan.
3. Low Home Prices. With bank owned REO properties dotting the landscape and short sales starting to pour in it has brought all of the home prices here in Utah back down to a manageable price range. You can pick up a great starter home built in the last 10 years with everything you NEED for less then $200,000. Need being the key word there. Sure you can still spend as much as your heart desires on a home but at least the entry level homes have come back down to earth. When the banks finally churn through their foreclosures watch out as the cost of building a home has not come down as much as the prices have so I expect the price of new home's to jump back up in the next 2 years.
4. Tax breaks. In a time where there is no where to go but up for our taxes you need to have every tax advantage you can. The 1098 tax form from my mortgage company is the only letter they send me every year that I am happy to see in the mail box. It will literally increase your tax return by $1000's of dollars every year. Not to mention energy saving tax credits you qualify for when you do energy improvements to your home like adding insulation to the basement, attic and air ducts.
5. Having something you can call your own. Can you even put a price tag on being able to paint a wall any color you want any time you want with out having to call your landlord for approval. How about if you want to switch from cable to direct tv, you wont be at the mercy of your landlord who may put the kibosh on any satellites on the roof.
6. Building equity for you not your landlord. I actually am a landlord and do own rental property so in the essence of full disclosure I have to admit that I do benefit from tenants who help build my equity. If they ask me I always tell them that we need to get them on the road to home ownership. It's everyones right to own their own piece of property, a place they can call their own. For some the road to home ownership is longer then for others do to credit issues, income limitations and for other very valid reasons. There are those that could be buying a home right now, those are the ones I am talking to when I say stop building your landlords equity and start building your own.
7. Neighborhood, schools for your kids, growing your own garden.....
The list could literally go on and on but I think you catch my drift. Right now with the financing options that still allow some to get into a home with little or NO down payment there is really no reason (if you qualify) you should be renting over buying a home.
Here is a link to a great Rent vs Buy Calculator you can go to and plug in your own numbers or those of a client if you are an agent and have a client that needs a little more proof that renting is better then buying. With this Rent vs Buy Calculator you can see if a dollar amount how much of an advantage it would be to buy a home right now over continuing to rent.
So if you live in Lehi, American Fork, Pleasant Grove, Lindon, Orem, Provo, Springville, Spanish Fork, Payson, Santiquin, Saratoga Springs, Eagle Mountain or even Ogden to St. George you should really take a closer look at buying rather then continuing to flush your rent money down the toilet every month.
Take the plunge get pre-qualified today!
Stetson Lowe - Security Home Mortgage
Security Home Mortgage is a correspondent lender. We are a leader in Utah in FHA, Utah Housing, USDA Rural Development, Conventional Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Mortgages.
