It’s very true that home is where the heart is. Owning a home doesn’t just give you a permanent residence to call your own, it will shape the course of your life. Here are a few of the major ways home ownership will affect your life:
Lifelong Friendships
There are good neighbors (they bring you soup when you’re ill) and bad neighbors (they blare music at all hours and toss empty beer cans over your fence), but the people who live close to you and your family can become and remain your closest friends. Neighbors go through a great deal together – major weather events, holidays, births, and deaths, so it’s natural that they form a bond and find common ground, despite coming from different backgrounds and cultures. As your neighborhood evolves, and neighbors come and go, you’re likely to stay in touch for many years with the people who once lived next door and helped you jump your car battery that time you were running late for work. Your home might even grow to be a haven for the neighbors and your children’s friends and touch lives outside of your immediate family.
Financial Stability
While buying a home is an enormous investment, it’s one of the best you’ll ever make. Every month when you pay your mortgage you’re increasing equity in your property. Further, property taxes paid on your residence are deductible on your income tax, and that deduction can come in handy if you’re hoping for a return. Likewise, the interest you pay on your mortgage is also tax deductible. And, in many neighborhoods across the country, the value of your home may also appreciate over the years, so your home may be worth much more than you originally paid for it when you decide it’s time to sell.
Lifelong Memories
Your home tells your story. The current guestroom was once your daughter’s nursery. You spent hours in the backyard tossing a ball with your son. You gathered in the living room to celebrate birthdays and to watch major sporting events that you couldn’t score tickets to with friends and family. Your dishwasher once leaked all over your newly installed wood floor, and you shared many homemade meals at the kitchen table with the people you love best. Wherever you go in life, these memories will tag along.
It Changes With You
The rose pattern wallpaper you once thought so elegant will come down and be replaced by a more subtle shade of beige. The couch the cat shredded will be donated in favor of a sleek, mid-century sofa. You’ll install granite counter tops, take down old curtains and install modern-day shutters. Your home, like you, will evolve over time. Many people have a hard time parting with a childhood home, or even just a home they’ve lived in for a number of years. The space will cease to be just a house, and transform it into a home for you and yours.
Whatever your experience, your home will likely feel like a part of your family. That is why it is so important to find the right one when you’re looking. Firms, like Jeff Glover & Associates Realtors, can understand and appreciate the importance and value of finding the right home for you.
