If you’re currently renting, you’ve probably heard more than once that it’s better to buy than rent. And you’ve probably heard all the standard reasons: rent is just wasting money; if you own your own home, you can do what you want with it; and so on. That’s all true, but the undeniable financial benefits are the most compelling reasons to own. So let’s see, from a financial perspective, why it is better to buy vs. rent in Cincinnati.
Rents Go Up
For some people, the best reason why it is better to buy vs. rent in Cincinnati is the predictability and stability. When you own your home, you’re not subject to the whims of a landlord. When the real estate market does what it did in 2008-09, it caused a massive amount of renters to flood the market. This increased demand caused rents to go up nationwide.
Unless you’re in a rent-controlled building or neighborhood, your monthly rent payment can go up at any time. If, on the other hand, you buy a home with a fixed-rate mortgage, your monthly payment will always remain the same. You have stability, and you can budget for other expenses without any surprises.
Automatic Savings Account
While you do have to have a place to live, the old argument that rent is wasted money has some truth in it. When you make your monthly rent payment, that money is gone forever. But when you own your own home, part of every payment can go towards building up equity in your home. That turns into real dollars that you own!
Although part of the monthly mortgage payment goes toward interest, at least some of it is applied to the principal. And that amount of the loan principal you pay down is equity. It’s like an automatic savings account, and the loan pay-down amount increases over time – and so does your equity savings account. Depending on the length of your loan, at some point you may own the home completely.
Appreciation and More
Another reason why it is better to buy vs. rent in Cincinnati is that buying a home is usually a good investment. That is, you can make money in the long run. And investing in a home is often a sounder investment than in stocks, not only because it can net you more, but also because it accrues faster owing to the down-payment investment.
Most of the time, homes appreciate over the years – they increase in value over the long haul. The home -appreciation value is usually at least 3% (often more), which is considered a pretty decent return on stock investments. Cincinnati is quite a stable real estate market. You won’t see massive growth in appreciation, but you also won’t see major dips during hard economic periods.
In addition, if you sell your home at some point, you may be exempt from paying taxes on the money gained through appreciation.
Tax Benefits
For a final reason why it is better to buy vs. rent in Cincinnati, consider the tax benefits. As a renter, you have basically none. As a homeowner, you can deduct mortgage interest and property taxes each year when you file federal income tax return.
Here’s an example. Suppose you purchased your home for a sale price of $300,000, with a 10% down payment ($30,000). Using fairly standard calculations, your total monthly housing cost would be about $1,700, including mortgage payment, property taxes, insurance, and mortgage insurance.
Your tax deductions for mortgage interest and property taxes would save you approximately $335 per month, which would make your monthly housing cost closer to $1,400. The upshot is that, in some cases, the savings from tax benefit can make owning more affordable than renting. And there are also that automatic savings and appreciation to keep in mind.
Renting vs. buying is a big deal. When I made my first purchase, I remember that queasy feeling I had in my stomach from signing those papers. Yes, I was taking on debt, but I was also taking the first step in growing my net worth and building equity from my house purchase. Now, I’ve never looked back!
If you’re ready to stop wasting money on rent and start building equity in a house, give us a call. We help first time home buyers and have a keen eye for investment properties as well.