Is Homeownership Right for You?

I recently wrote an article for Trusted Choice® entitled How to Know if You Should Rent or Buy a House. You may want to check it out. These days, while interest rates are remarkably low, it’s a great time for first time home buyers, but there are a lot of things to think about before taking the plunge. If you are on the fence about whether to rent or buy, this article might help.

In the meantime, I can share some of my personal experiences. My husband and I have owned our house for 14 years now. In that time, we certainly have had our share of sudden necessary expenses. For example:

• There was the summer when temperatures were in the high 90's and our air conditioner decided it was time to give up. That necessitated the purchase of a new air conditioner immediately because if there is one thing I can't stand, it's being hot. Though the initial expense was high, our savings on electricity when using it have nearly made up for the cost!
•  There was the time when excessive rain caused one of our sump-pumps to quit without giving notice. Though we live on top of a hill, that fiasco caused our basement to flood. Until then, I did not think that flood insurance was necessary where we lived.
• There was another time when our hot-water tank decided it had had enough and dumped gallons of hot water onto the floor of our (previously) finished basement. That was fun.
•  There was the time that a clogged gutter caused water to cascade into our kitchen through the wall just above our kitchen window.
• Right now, we can see the need for a new roof, new windows, and a new stove approaching quickly.

We have been consistently saving money for these frequent home expenses, but it doesn't make it any less painful to shell out thousands of dollars when the needs arise. At times like these, I sometimes hear myself asking, "Is home ownership worth it?"

In the end, the answer (for me, anyway) is yes.

There are a number of reasons I love my status as a homeowner.

• I love that we are building up equity with every mortgage payment.
• I love that we can paint our dining room orange on a whim. (The color we had in mind was terracotta but when we got it up on the wall, it looked more like pumpkin.) We found the color altogether ridiculous but it made us laugh so we stuck with it. We can always change it later.
• I love that I don’t have to worry about rent payments going up every year the same way that our health insurance and grocery expenses increase over time.
• I love my kids have a yard to play in and that when they work on digging a hole to the center of the Earth, they are doing so on property we own.
• I love that we could take a building at make it into our “home.”

In the end, home-ownership was the right move for us. Is it right for you?