The biggest reason ever given for buying a home instead of renting one is that when you buy, you are making an investment in your future, and for something that is completely yours. While renting, you pay rent every single month to someone and that money is gone forever, giving you nothing really but a place to live for one more month. When you own a home though, that monthly mortgage payment is going towards equity in your home, meaning there’s another little piece of it that you actually own. Once your mortgage is entirely paid off, you’ll then have the biggest asset you’ll likely ever own – a home!
But in addition to just making a sound investment for your future, there are other reasons that buying is so much more attractive than renting. You can also deduct your mortgage interest from your federal, and often your state taxes, every single year. This can save you thousands of dollars because your monthly mortgage payments are largely made up of that interest that you can write off each and every year. The property taxes you pay for the home can also be deducted from your yearly income tax.
Lastly, when you own a home – even before the mortgage is paid off – it’s yours to do with as you wish. Paint the walls, dig up all the landscaping and replace them with new, and knock out walls if you wish. When you buy a home there are no limits on what you can do with it because it’s yours and so, you can feel free using it as another means of personal expression. When you rent, however, that property still belongs to someone else so even if you just want to touch up the paint job, you’ll have to get written permission, which can be difficult to get and isn’t always granted.