Stroudsburg, PA – My name is Sonia Kern and I am an award winning, top Listing and Selling Realtor with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates. Not only am I a Top Producer, in addition to that I pride myself on my biggest source of business which is referrals from my past customers and clients.
My past customers and clients include families who have purchased a home from me and, possibly, more important, people who have rented a home from me.
I would not be doing my job as a Real Estate Professional if I did not highlight reasons while most people own their own home. While renting is a good option for a lot of families, there are also good reasons to purchase a home and a lot of times, that doesn’t mean just because of the financial aspect, it may also have to do with the position you’re in in your “lifecycle”.
For older persons, say 65 or older, who have sold their primary home, it may not be a good idea to by another home, but instead it may be worthwhile for them rent, especially if they’re on their own.
Also, if it’s a very volatile market, either completely a seller’s market or completely a buyer’s market, in those times you may need to decide if you are in the position to become a buyer or a tenant. Only you, along with your real estate professional—me, can make that decision intelligently.
My blog gives you 3 Good Reasons to Rent and 3 Good Reasons to Buy. I hope you enjoy it!
3 Good Reasons to Rent
Here are my 3 good reasons to make the decision to rent a home.
1) You want to maintain flexibility and mobility.
What I mean is our younger generation is actually living in a “mobile” age where people like to keep their options open. While they may be single, or simply sharing the rent, this part of our population doesn’t want to be tied down to homeownership yet. Instead, they want their weekends open to hike, ski, travel, or just simply kick back. People are getting married later in life and have children in their 30s rather than their 20s. The other thing is that few people, even those who love their jobs, believe that they are going to work for the same company for their whole career. Lots of times, renting becomes the option for that person to move ahead with their career and gives them the ability to move to wherever the job or career calls for them to go. If you are at that point in your career, it makes sense to have flexibility.
2) You need to repair your credit history.
An unfortunate consequence of the recent economic downturn over the past few years is the number of people with blemishes on their credit history. This may be a family that was foreclosed upon and is forced to be a tenant.
The truth of the matter is, that’s a good sign! Those people are able to rebuild their credit history within two years and then already know about homeownership, like it, want it and will be the new buyer.
If this is you, please make sure that you pay your rent on time and by check, because when you either go to rent a new home and/or apply for a mortgage, you want to make sure that you use paying your Landlord just as a bank would use your paying a mortgage as a good part of how your credit score is determined. Keeping record of paying rent on time will go a very long way.
3) You need to save for a down payment.
We all know how hard it is to save money and renting offers you the opportunity to save for a down payment to purchase your own home. For many, renting is the short-term solution for their housing needs while they save up for a down payment; and, as the mortgage industry tends to loosen, the amount of the down payment may in fact drop below 5% in certain cases. Never make the determination yourself that you cannot afford a mortgage, always let the bank tell you if you cannot afford a mortgage.
3 Good Reasons to Buy
And now, here are 3 good reasons to make the decision to buy a home.
1) Building investment equity over time.
The biggest reason to own rather than rent is to build equity. Every time you make a mortgage payment, you are reducing your principal and building equity. So, it’s a forced savings plan that simply grows and grows and grows.
In the best case scenario, and if you can afford it, I always advise my clients to go the least amount of time in amortizing their mortgage. That way, in a very short period of time, you’ll see how much of your monthly payment will become part of your principal reduction. And, with the principle reduction, the equity and then the positive appreciation, it’s just a perfect formula from which to profit.
2) Leveraged Appreciation
Most people understand the concept of appreciation—it’s the increase in value of an investment over time such as when a stock goes up in value. But most people forget that appreciation in real estate is actually leverage appreciation. For example, if you buy a stock, you pay for it in cash, 100%. When you buy real estate, you only have to pay 5% – 10% of the value in cash and the rest is financed or leveraged. Now, if the stock (or your home) appreciates, you’ll be able to see how much your investment has grown; and it continues to grow the longer you occupy your home.
3) Home Ownership is American
Probably the single most important reason to own a home as opposed to renting is in America, we all have grown up with the idea of wanting home ownership. Yes, we understand the appreciation, the building of equity and the reduction of principal from our mortgage, but another big reason is simply the pride of owning your own home.
I remember my first home and how excited I was to paint the inside, and landscape the outside of the property, and it just felt good to do it.
As your family grows, and children enter the picture, home ownership is practically a must. So while the benefits are there financially, the wants and needs of owning your own home is something that is truly an American Dream.
Well, I hope that’s given you a few tips as to why there is no right or wrong answer in buying or renting, it’s simply a decision that’s determined based on the many factors in your life.
So, if you ever need to rent or purchase a home, please don’t hesitate to give me a call. You can always reach me at (570) 421-8950, Ext. 353; my dial direct at (570) 269-4103 or via email at skern@wilkins1.com. In my line of business, our most important asset isn’t real estate…it’s you.
Sonia Kern, Realtor, has been with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates for 5 years. During that time, Sonia has, year after year, been a member of the “Top Ten” who are those Agents that are the Top Ten in Sales volume each year; was awarded Outstanding Salesperson 2014, and has been a member of the “Million Dollar Club” for the past 6 years. Sonia has received recognition from her peers on both a local and national level. Said Thomas R. Wilkins, CEO, “Sonia is one of the most trusting Real Estate professionals I have met in my 35 year career.” “In addition to that, whether you need to rent, want to rent or are considering making a decision between renting or buying, you can trust Sonia in always putting your welfare first.” added Wilkins.