Buy A Home Or Continue Renting?

If you've considered buying a Minnesota home after renting an apartment or condo for several years, you will probably need to overcome several psychological barriers to become completely comfortable with the process.

Many potential homeowners simply don't take the first step towards home ownership because of the responsibilities associated with buying and owning a home. When you buy a home, you'll be responsible for more than your mortgage payment each month; home ownership involves paying maintenance costs, applying for homeowner's insurance, and paying taxes and fees. The process of buying a condominium unit might be even more complicated. Yet, you can be assured of the fact that once you have learned some of the basic principles of home buying, there is a definite advantage to being a first time homebuyer.

It's a good idea to make up your own checklist of all the different payments involved with your prospective home. You can typically get a lot of this information from your professional Realtor; ask them for average fees, taxes and maintenance costs for the home and create a spreadsheet of all the different elements involved. If you do this in a digital format, you can create side-by-side comparisons of each home you're interested in so you have an accurate view of all the costs involved and the total monthly expenses you'll be responsible for.

Author Ilyce Glink of '100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask' explains that buying a home also means you're buying into your local community, because you're responsible for local taxes, trash pickup and other services that may not accompany renting in the same area.

Next, you'll need to do some extensive research about tax benefits. There are many incentives being given to first time home buyers and the other tax benefits you can get will depend on your current income and how much is the yearly property tax of the home you will buy.

If you can work out your tax benefits to include all of your deductions and current income level, you'll have a fairly accurate idea of what the total tax benefits of a first time homebuyer. It may be a good idea to work with an accountant or financial adviser for assistance in this area.

Finally, think about your future for the long-term. Are you intent on staying in a specific neighborhood for the next five years? For the next ten years? Where do you see yourself living 30 years from now? Renting a home has psychological benefits from the ease of moving out of a temporary residence. Renting can give someone a sense of freedom, as you can choose to reside in a place on a month-to-month basis, short term lease or to renew a yearly rental agreement.

If you're not feeling settled in a particular city or neighborhood, buying a home may be causing a lot of anxiety. Make some solid decisions about where you want to settle and where you're willing to relocate to in the long-term so you can make the best decision about which among the Minnesota homes for sale to buy.