A Buyer’s Guide to Purchasing a Home
Buying a home is both exciting and demanding.
Homeownership comes with a variety of financial and cultural benefits:
- Building equity. Despite short-term ups and downs in the market, most people
who buy homes and live in them for a long period recoup their investment as the
value of the house, and their proportion of ownership, grows.
- Tax and cash flow advantages. Mortgage interest is currently deductible, which
makes it easier to afford a house.
- Self-determination. Your home is yours. You can do what you want with it
(within the limitations of zoning, homeowners’ association regulations, and the
law, of course).
- Community and personal stability. Homeownership correlates with greater
wealth, higher educational achievements of children, and neighborhood quality of life.
The process of buying a home pivots on your financial resources, both current and future.
You will need to sort what you need from what you want, and narrow down your options
from there.