Benefits Of Home Ownership In America

alhassanRecently as an African born Real Estate Agent in Knoxville, Tennessee; I’ve been engaged in a massive marketing campaign among African immigrants particularly Gambians to buy homes as it is a better option and investment than renting. One obstacle I encounter among many is the misconception of buying a home in America as well as the process it involves. In fact upon approaching some they object like I’m trying to commit them to commit murder which I’ve been able to boil down to lack of awareness of the benefits of home ownership and the process which I will attempt to chunk down and explain better. As they’d say in sales and marketing, objection is not lack of interest to buy a product but request for more understanding of the value and benefits of the product which I will attempt to explain here.

BENEFITS OF BUYING A HOME IN AMERICA

You Can Build Equity
Homes in US mostly increase in value by 4 to 6%. It is very paramount to build equity and provide a nest egg for your future and that of your family. Even in the event of your home not increasing in value due to economic down turn or other factors beyond your control, you will be building equity as you pay down your mortgage and as long as your home maintains its value.

Tax Benefits for Homeowners
Homeowners can deduct their mortgage interest payments and property taxes when they itemize their federal income taxes. These deductions offset the cost of your housing. How super cool is that? Just think about it, this is a better way to live, it’s a better way to invest your money than spend it renting .Just imagine.

Stability
Have you ever dreaded those times when your lease is up and your landlord raise up your rent due to some changes in the market. It happened to me and the only reason I was able to negotiate to keep paying the same price is when I threatened to not renew my lease and since I was a great tenant my landlord decided not to jack up the rent. I know so many people this happened to and they were not as lucky like me to negotiate a better deal. Fire your landlord as soon as possible. When you own your home, your payments are predictable and more stable than renting because they’re ideally based on a fixed-rate mortgage .Interest payments remain the same for the duration of the loan.

Buying a Home Is An Investment
If you buy a home and had to move for one reason or another, you can rent it out rather than sell and generate income. This works best if you can cover your mortgage (or more) with rental payments. With this in mind, it pays to choose a home that will make a good rental property in the future.

You Can Settle in a Community
There’s pride in home-ownership. Once you commit to owning a home, you are more likely to become more involved in your community because you know you’ll be there for years and your kids have a more stable neighborhood to stay and make friends for many years to come.

Personalization
The absolute beauty of home-ownership is the ability to change your environment to suit your needs, your life style and since it’s about you, your family and their needs you can make any changes to meet these needs. When renting, all changes must be approved by the landlord, and sometimes you have to revert all changes before leaving.

It’s been said that there a few types of people, those who watch things happen and the other great group who make things happen. Don’t stay on the sideline and watch things happen, make them happen. Think about it, home ownership is a better way, its freedom, it’s an investment and what’s more, it’s very progressive and American. Think big, live large and what’s more LIVE THE AMERICAN DREAM.

References: Realtor.com
Alhassan Darboe is the C.E.O of Alhassan Darboe Real Estate at Keller Williams Realty. He is a bilingual member of Knoxville Association of Realtors, Tennessee Association of Realtors and National Association of Realtors. Visit website at: http://www.kw.com/kw/agent/alhassandarboe

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