subject: Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining. . . Why now is the time to buy a home [print this page] Anytime is a great time to buy a home rather than spend $1000's of dollars to line your landlords pockets. At anytime you will find several great benefits to homeownership such as:
Homeowners are more involved in their community than renters.
Children of homeowners do better in school that children of renters.
Your money spend on a down payment should earn over 10 years on average about 3 to 5 times more in tax savings and home equity that it would in the stock market.
You can usually deduct mortgage interest rate and property taxes from your income taxes.
In most cases when you home appreciates over time or from improvements you can sell for a profit and not pay taxes on that profit.
But what about right now in 2010 in the current economic climate, why is right now a great time to buy in comparison to say a few years ago when the economy was booming.
By far one of the best reasons is the amount of inventory on the market to choose from. Where there are more houses on the market than we find buyers looking for houses, like we see right now in most Kansas City area communities, we find that buyers can pick and choose. No matter what kind of house you want you can find it and make an awesome deal.
Want a fixer upper that you can buy and move into and build sweat equity over time, then look for that. There are 100's of fixer uppers for sale in all states of repair. And with some sellers you can pick what you want to fix. You could make your best offer and ask them to replace the roof and furnace for you and leave the easy stuff like painting and tiling for you to do.
Want to just unpack, then look for a home that has been totally renovated. Those homes are out there just waiting for you. Take a look.
FHA loans are probably the 2nd best reason to consider buying a home. While there are many options for getting a loan, the FHA loan offered by the Federal Housing Administration, part of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, is one of the best loans going these days.
You do not have to have perfect credit, but if should have at least a 580 credit score or higher.
You don't need to have a huge down payment. Typically you need to have 3.5% of the sales price as a down payment and that can come from a gift
FHA will allow most of the buyer's closing costs to be paid for by the seller.
Mortgage Rates are at Historic Lows. Right now in 2010, the mortgage interest rate you will be charged for a 30 year loan are below 6%. According to data provided by Freddie Mac, rates averaged about 9.2% during the past 30 years. So the savings between 9.2% and 6% annually on a $150,000 loan is $4,800 a year less.
Just by purchasing a home now when interest rates are so low, you may be able to buy a lot more home for your dollar than you would when rates go back up.
The Value of Your Investment will go up. Real estate is a long term investments. Values will go up and they will go down from time to time. But on average over the past 30 years, the median price of existing homes has increased about 6% every year. And thanks to the power of leverage using your down payment and a loan, your return on investment is even more impressive over time.
If you want to find out more about buying you next home please contact your local Realtor or visit with the agents in our office at Realty Resource. Serving the greater Kansas City area, Realty Resource can be found online at www.RealtyResourceKC.com .
Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining. . . Why now is the time to buy a home
