You're Career is Moving Forward
Money is usually the largest motivating factor when purchasing your first home. If you are fresh out of college and just starting your career purchasing a home may not be the best idea when your financial future is so uncertain. However if you have started your career and are confident that you are going to continue growing in the career path you have chosen then purchasing a home makes sense for many reasons. The pride that comes with owning a home can boost your confidence as a young professional and help drive you to succeed.
Owning real estate is a sign of maturity... Just look around your work environment, can you tell a difference between those who own and those who lease? Owning a home can help you feel more established and be a serious boost to your career.
Your City is Truly Your Home
If you are uncertain whether you will be living in the same town you are in right now over the next 1-2 years purchasing a property may not be a good idea. On the other hand if you love your town and know that you will be there for a long time purchasing a home may be a great idea.
As a homeowner, you will most likely feel more connected to the overall well-being of the area in which you live. When a new park is built in your neighborhood, it means much more when you actually owned property in that area. It is common for tenants to move around every year, or so. Homeowners typically move every seven years on average. For this reason homeowners are more involved in the local political issues since they have more at stake by owning property in the community. If you enjoy the town in which you live owning a home is a great way to commit to your local area. Homeowners are the heart of the city!
Love Is In The Air
I work with many different first-time homebuyers every month. One of the most common reasons for purchasing a home that I see is for a new couple to solidify a relationship by purchasing a home to build a life together. Homeownership feels much more stable and permanent. For this reason, couples feel a strong urge to buy a home together as a way of committing to each other. Deciding to purchase a home with the new love of your life is a big commitment. A home is one of the most solid foundations to build lasting memories as a new couple. For this reason, purchasing a home is usually the first step that couples make when they are serious about moving forward in their relationship.
If you are engaged to be married or have been with your current partner for a long while it may be time to think about purchasing your first house together. For many people the thought of real estate is merely a monetary transaction... however for others they think of a home as a place to invest in memories and close life experiences with their family. The first thing that comes to mind are holiday get-togethers, kids birthday parties, and many other special memories that happen while they live in their home. This is what makes owning a home such a privilege as a young couple. Nothing compares to building wonderful memories in your own home.
You've Been Renting For Long Enough
For some people, life just gets too busy to think about purchasing a home and so they get stuck in the routine of renting. This becomes an obvious problem when you look back over the last 5 years (or more) and calculate the amount of rent that you have spent during that time. Take those numbers and put them into a home mortgage calculator and you will soon realize that you could be sitting on tens of thousands of dollars of equity if you would have bought a home years ago, rather than putting it off.
If you have been renting for more than two years and you are fairly confident that you will be within the same town you're in right now in the future you're probably ready to buy your first home. The longer you wait, the more money you are losing every month with your rental payments.
The Home Improvement Bug
The most difficult part about renting for a lot of people is not being able to alter a property or remodeling while they're living there. One of the greatest benefits of owning a home is that you can do anything you want to it (within obvious parameters) to make it your home. Some landlords will let you paint and redecorate a property before you move in, but all of your hard work and expenses are for their benefit since they own the property. The reality of working on home improvement projects only exists when you own your own place!
Final Thoughts
So, what's the verdict? Have any of the five points above hit home with you? If you have any questions about purchasing a home in the Centre County area, please feel free to reach out to us. We are here to assist you throughout the home buying process!
The Linda & Ryan Lowe Team
(814)280-2424