The Time is Now.
by Evan Vanderwey on 04/09/09 at 9:15 pm
The housing downturn has, over the past few years, challenged some of the conventional wisdom about owning vs. renting. Let’s face it. Renters have weathered the storm ok; whereas owners, as a group, have not.
Does that mean you should dump your home and rent? Not at all. In fact, if you’re renting now, this may be just the right time to cross over into home ownership.
Some things to consider:
- Affordability. Prices are very low, but there’s good evidence out there that we’ve seen the bottom and are now starting back up. We may spend some time at this level, we may not, but it’s not likely that we’ll go any lower.
- Rates have hit an all-time low in the past week. Again, we may be here (or very near it) for months. We may not. But no one’s expecting rates to go much lower.
- Tax credits. Included in Obama’s stimulus plan is an $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers. This is a credit, not a deduction like mortgage interest, so it represents real tax savings. The program is scheduled to end Dec. 1 of this year, and while it’s likely to be extended, there’s no guarantee of it.
- Reality. You’re less likely to believe that buying home is an air-tight investment, and more likely to see it for what it is—a chance to own the house you live in, make it your own, grow deep roots, and then look forward (15 years? 30 years?) down the road to no more payments.
So while conventional wisdom may be going through a revision, there’s still plenty of good wisdom out there today that says home ownership is a good thing.
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