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Wow! What a beautiful place. We are looking to buy next year in great falls. Moved here recently from Helena, before that we were in Bozeman area. My husband is from here, but until 2009, I was a Cali resident for 35 years. Born there. So I totally understand what you're saying.
Prices are through the roof in CA. So glad you were able to move out here and get a great place!
Great Falls sounds nice. 188 days of sunshine a year vs 151 for Kalispell. As you know, sunshine matters!
Ownership gives you a lot more control of your destiny.
Holding title to dirt brings many more protections than you have in a tenant/landlord relationship.
^^Mike said it best.^^
I hopefully close on my first house this week, so I'm in a similar boat as you are.
I've never felt that renting was "throwing my money away" like so many of my peers seem to think.
I never felt that owning a home was a great investment, or even a good investment, compared to other ho-hum pedestrian investment options.
The pro's eventually outweigh the cons, at least they did for me, and I'm the last of my group of close college friends to buy. I'm looking forward to not asking to repaint, bigger yard, fixed monthly cost, etc...
The benefits are that your rent can't go up or double, you can't be told to leave at the end of your lease or with 30 days notice. Plus you are insured where many renters are not so in the event of a fire or theft the items in your house are covered. If you property sky rockets in price for any reason that's profit right there when you need to sell. If you have a spare bedroom you can also rent it out to a trusted roommate for extra revenue. Plus you don't have to ask anyone for permission when getting a pet or being told that you can't have one.
Last edited by LifeIsGood01; 08-30-2017 at 10:47 AM..
Home ownership is an investment and allows you to do what ever you want (legally) to your property without asking for permission. It also shields you from rent inflation. At some point your home will be paid off and all you'll have to pay for is property taxes. Of course there is also maintenance, but I still feel that the pro's of homeownership outweigh the cons!
Agreed. Just knowing we won't get kicked out when the owner decides to sell (which just happened to us in July), is a great comfort.
I am growing increasingly excited about our purchase which we move into in late September. For me a big part of the equation is the "dignity of space" and having nature to experience in my yard.
Property also has two, two-car garages (one actually a clean "hang out" space attached to house, the other a standalone man-cave garage), two sheds, even a hot tub on the deck. All for ~$220 less per month than if I rented a 1000sq-ft 2BR condo with a postage-stamp "yard" in my native Orange County, CA.
In the meantime, we are homeless living in an old camping trailer in our relative's back yard, but we consider that part of the sacrifice of transitioning from renters to owners.
The benefits are that your rent can't go up or double
If a fixed rate mortgage then the mortgage only payments won't increase unless you change the terms but taxes, insurance, fees and upkeep costs will. Those are included in rent. Those costs will eventually double your total payments if you live there long enough. My parents home the taxes alone are at about 140% of the yearly payments for the original mortgage on the home.
With that I still believe over the long term owning is usually better than renting but let's not give the false impression that the 'rent' does not increase when owning a home. One nice part of owning is that eventually part of the 'rent' payment can go away (mortgage) which is huge.
If a fixed rate mortgage then the mortgage only payments won't increase unless you change the terms but taxes, insurance, fees and upkeep costs will. Those are included in rent. Those costs will eventually double your total payments if you live there long enough. My parents home the taxes alone are at about 140% of the yearly payments for the original mortgage on the home.
With that I still believe over the long term owning is usually better than renting but let's not give the false impression that the 'rent' does not increase when owning a home. One nice part of owning is that eventually part of the 'rent' payment can go away (mortgage) which is huge.
I have a fixed rate and we have Homestead Exemption that helps with out taxes in Florida, plus I bought a home in an area with low taxes. Insurance is high here though.
My father's taxes in NJ are about twice what his mortgage was when he bought the house. Recently he found some rebates and tax discounts for seniors to help him out, but even with all that he could not rent a one bedroom apartment with the taxes he pays in his area so he's still ahead and renting his home would cost 3 times what he pays for taxes. Plus he can sell the home and move if he wants to a lower cost state
and the costs that you say are included in rents are costs plus a profit monthly.
FHA *is* only slightly better than renting. With the mip & the exposure to repair costs, the "average" homebuyer who moves in just 5-7 years walks away with pretty much nothing after sales fees, repair costs & even including tax deductions.
No, after 5-7 years, you may not be able to sell for a profit. But you have something you can sell.
If you rent, you walk away after 5-7 years, you have nothing except maybe a few bucks earned on your deposit.
All those forms, especially with an FHA, they can really drag you down and make you loose the excitement from home buying. Congrats!
i think there are pros and cons to owning a home. When purchasing, it is always good to weigh what's best for you. The one bad aspect to loans is you aren't just borrowing the money for your purchase price. By the time you pay interest, you have paid a lot more. I think one way to get more out of your money is to purchase a home that you can pay a lot of extra principal on house payments. As time goes on, you will quickly pay it off and build equity faster. Eventually, you will have enough cash in hand to buy a more expensive home and be able to pay it off faster because of the big down payment. In this case, your money worked for you and not to line a bank's pockets.
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Owning Home
